Franklin Art Association welcomes Paul Olson as their demo artist for Sep 3 Meeting

The Franklin Art Association is excited to welcome Paul Olson as their demo artist on Wednesday, September 3, to kick off their 2025-2026 season.  The FAA meets at the Franklin Senior Center at 6:30pm first Wednesday of each month, where new members and the public are invited. 

Paul will demo his approach to plein-air painting.  Paul Olson is a Rhode Island-based plein-air painter inspired by the natural splendor of our beautiful Narragansett Bay. Olson’s artwork reflects his deep connection with nature and his love for the flora and fauna of the coastal landscape around him. He can often be found at his easel on his small boat, documenting the effects of wind and weather, sky and water. His work has been exhibited in galleries throughout the Northeast, and in some less traditional spaces like the Providence Place Mall and the Local 251 Teamsters Union Hall. 

Paul is also a lover of trees, having had two exhibitions of tree paintings at Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, and is a potter making containers for Bonsai, and cultivating his own collection of miniature trees.

Olson has been a passionate teacher at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt) with a career spanning over 25 years. Semi-retired but still teaching Oil Painting as a Senior Critic in the Illustration Department at RISD, Paul now spends more time out painting, enjoying being part of the landscape in the open air.