Art workshops popular with snowbirds

For many, the thought of using oil, water based paints or acrylics to transfer what one sees with the inner eye to paper or canvas is daunting.  Not so for the 62 artists who are engaged in two free snowbird art workshops and two fee-based classes led by snowbirds.

Jan Young heads up the snowbird club’s oldest art workshop, now in its 13th year. The artists meet each Tuesday at 9 a.m. to review techniques, hold critiquing sessions and then work on individual projects that include watercolors, acrylics, pastels and oils. The members count themselves fortunate to have in their midst Betty Swenson, a retired art teacher, who coaches snowbirds on the finer techniques of converting photographic images into physical objets d′art.

Individual tastes vary widely in this group.  Louise Ferron of Montreal prefers acrylics because they are more forgiving than watercolors.  Marcia Kerr of Frankenmuth, Mich., on the other hand, likes the challenge of dry brush water coloring, a technique involving gobs of moist paint and dry paper from which is produced a crisp image as if by magic. Carol Towe of Ottawa, Ontario, takes her inspiration from news sources as she did when she painted the portrait of nine-year old Alannah Shevenell, a Maine youngster who underwent six major transplants.

Debra Bailey hosts an afternoon version of Jan Young’s workshop where artists with backgrounds extending from five to 20 years share knowledge in a congenial atmosphere. Dee McAlpine of Muskoka, Ontario, enjoys the challenges and rewards of working with acrylics and watercolors. Rose Tomlinson projects a heterogeneous range of interests. She makes jewelry, earrings, watercolors, and delights friends and relatives with an assortment of painted shoes. Lynn Quackenbush of Thunder Bay, Ontario, brings her 10 years of experience to bear on the task of bringing a field of geraniums to life. Margie Snowsell of St. Thomas, Ontario, draws upon 15 years of experience to craft detailed landscapes while her friend, Larry Smith, also of St. Thomas, who applies his talents to drawing buildings.

Bonnie Schwichtenberg specializes in teaching beginning watercolor and drawing. Students practice basic skills like flat and graded wash and wet on wet and wet on dry techniques using a limited palette of transparent watercolor paints that lift. Continuing beginners move on to transparent staining colors. The artists work also from photographs to create an artistic composition, graph it up to size and onto art paper, and then paint it. Pat Erickson, Marlene Zogalo, Dianne Reid, Rita Kozlowski and others will display their talents at an admission-free art show from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Feb. 24 at the Resorts of Pelican Beach Conference room.

Beth Sargent, reporting for the Tuesday golf league, relates Al Berrie’s team carried off top honors with John Van Dueser’s team placing second. Closest to the pin went to Jude Spoerl on the fifth hole; Dick Barry was closest on the sixth hole.

Pierce and Betty Martin report recent bridge winners are Andy Lynch, Eleanor Terry, Crawford Stephenson and Bill Morris. Trumped by the Ladies Luncheon, the bridge players will stow their cards on Feb. 22 because the players plan instead to experience the hospitality of the Embassy Suites starting at 11:30 a.m. followed by lunch and a fashion show courtesy of Bealls.

The Creative Writing Workshop reports Bob Hendrickson secured the highest technical score (93 percent) on the workshop's fifth critique for his story, Love or Money. Best Story honors went to Tom Mahar for The Kidnapper. Carole Zoller's description of a woman listening to her husband give a speech secured the most votes in the Description Challenge.

Tom Mahar writes for the Walton County Snowbirds and can be reached at tkmahar@aol.com.