People looking to learn how to paint with watercolors or take a stroll through a gallery of works from local artists will have that opportunity over the next couples of weekends.

The Selma Art Guild is hosting a watercolor workshop from June 5-7 and its annual Summer Juried Art Show starts the second weekend in June.

The workshop, which was funded by a grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, will give people a chance to work with Toska Courbron, a well-known watercolorist.

“Toska has some signature styles that she works with, and she is going to be teaching how to use those styles and achieve certain effects and pushing yourself to the next level,” said Jo Taylor with the Selma Art Guild. “We’re going to be practicing and then working on a total composition.”

Taylor said participants will learn to work with values, painting light colors against dark ones and painting loose.

“If you live in the Selma area, this is an excellent opportunity because a three-day workshop in the arts is usually anywhere from $400-$500,” Taylor said. “Because of the grant, we’ve been able to keep our registration fee at $200.”

There are a few spots left, so Taylor urges anyone interested to go ahead and get signed up.

“[The workshop] is for anyone,” Taylor said. “If you want to do this, you need to let us know as soon as possible because there is a supply list.”

The workshop will be from 9-4 p.m. each day, and participants are asked to bring photographs to paint from.

The guild’s annual Summer Juried Art Exhibition will be open to the public the entire month of June on Fridays and Saturdays from 12-4 p.m.

This is one of the guild’s biggest shows since the exhibition started more than 15 years ago.

“We had more entries this year than we have had in a long time,” said Jo Pate, the secretary of the Selma Art Guild. “We had 90 plus entries this year, and the judge, who is Scott Stephens, had a hard time because there wasn’t enough room to hang 90 paintings.”

The show will include a variety of works, ranging from oil and acrylic paintings to 3-D art.

“We’re got a raging variety of work, and some of them are huge and some are teeny tiny,” Pate said. “There are some interesting pieces. It is amazing how creative artists can get.”

Pate said one of the most important parts of the exhibit is giving local artists somewhere to show off their work.

“It gives them confidence to show their work to the public. It is amazing, especially artists that are new to the art field, they are very self-critical,” Pate said. “They’ll think their work isn’t good enough to show, and then they’ll win something because their work is wonderful.”

The 45 plus artists that are part of the show will find out if they won or not Sunday, June 14, when the guild hosts the opening reception from 2-4 p.m.

“We give best of show and then first, second and third of each category, along with honorable mention,” Pate said.

The exhibit will also give those that enjoy looking at art more than making it a chance to add some unique pieces to their collections. All of the works, unless designated, will be available to purchase.

For more information on the exhibit or to register for the workshop, contact Jo Pate at 875-1055. She will provide a supply list, which is required to participate in the workshop.