Workshop: Surreal Pet Portrait Painting
August 18 @ 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Inspired by our special exhibition, Dalí in America, and Horst P. Horst’s 1943 gelatin silver print portrait of Salvador Dalí, this workshop invites you to create a timeless black-and-white portrait of your furry friend. Using a value scale and a paint-by-numbers approach, you’ll transform a favorite pet photo into a unique acrylic painting on a 10-inch square canvas. For an extra touch of Surrealist flair, an optional Dalí-inspired mustache can be added to your masterpiece.
Once your ticket is purchased, you must email instructor Shawn Dell Joyce at shawndelljoyce@gmail.com with a photo of your pet that clearly shows their face. Photos must be submitted by Aug 11, 2026. Shawn will crop and print each image, then pre-sketch the design onto a 10-inch square canvas and provide a grayscale guide inspired by paint-by-numbers—with a Surrealist twist. The result is a striking and whimsical portrait that makes a perfect keepsake or gift.
Materials provided per person:
10″ square pre-sketched canvas with color chart and B&W photo reference
Acrylic paints, brushes, water cups and towels
Aprons and easels
Location: The Dalí Museum’s Raymond James Community Room
Cost: $50 for Museum members | $60 for non-members
Not yet a member? Join today.
Gallery access and all materials are included.
All sales are final. No exchanges or refunds.
Shawn Dell Joyce
Shawn Dell Joyce was born in Texas in 1965 and grew up on the border in Brownsville, TX. She worked in her family’s citrus orchards until an unseasonable frost killed the trees in 1982; this loss changed the trajectory of her career from farmer to artist. She went to art school at University of North Texas in Denton and studied Semiotics with artist Vernon Fisher, then transferred to San Francisco Art Institute in 1987. Joyce’s real education happened as an artist’s apprentice in SoHo section of NY, where she worked in several artist’s studios until leaving the city for the beautiful farmlands North of the city and began teaching plein air classes in 2000, and continues weekly to this day. She founded a plein air school with an Arts and Agricultural mission based on the historic Hudson River School, the Wallkill River School of Art. It still exists today as a nonprofit arts organization with a mission of bringing cultural tourism to the Hudson Valley region through plein air painting workshops and events on local farms, historic sites and open spaces. Joyce has won many prestigious awards for plein air painting and is a signature member of New York Plein Air Painters (NYPAP) and International Plein Air Painters (IPAP), plus has been featured in many national newspapers and magazines like The New York Times, Plein Air Magazine, Plein Air Podcast with Eric Rhoads, Pastel Journal Magazine and Tampa Bay Magazine. She is represented by six galleries around the country, including Wallkill River School in NY, Woodfield Fine Art in St. Pete and Lakeside Inn Gallery in Mount Dora, FL. Joyce teaches workshops in pastel and plein air techniques across the country in Staunton, VA, Olana, NY, Tampa Bay, FL and is included in museum collections in the Georges Pompidou Museum in France and The Museum of Modern Art in NY.
