GREENWICH, N.S. – Four women drove down from Dartmouth despite snowy, windy weather to partake in their monthly convention – art classes in Greenwich, with 20 other enthusiasts.
Jan. 12 was the first meeting of the year for Annapolis Valley Decorative Artists, a group that meets monthly in the community space at the Greenwich Fire Hall.
Terrie Greencorn and Kitty Grant were among the foursome who braved the winter conditions, and agreed that it would take more than a little snow to keep them from their artistic gathering.
“Life is too short to let something like a little distance get in the way of fun,” said Greencorn.
Anne Hopper led the class in a lesson on watercolours as each painter captured an abstract likeness of a lion, with its mane exploding into firework of colours on the pebble board.
Around 25 women filled the room, each with a slightly different take on the picture at hand and how to capture it with their colours.
Group president Cathy Scott said the group experiments with a variety of different art styles from mixed media to painting with oils, acrylics and now watercolours. She said a number of the participants drive over an hour for each session, because their group is one of only a few across Nova Scotia.
“You get to have a hand at a number of different styles. This is a wonderful group of people, and each one is a different artist,” said Scott.
“There’s not a lot of groups around like this anymore.”
Greencorn has been a member of the group for “probably more than 20 years at this point,” and said she and her friends drive nearly one hour because there’s “nothing else like it around.”
“Painting is so necessary these days, and this is a nice group of ladies – we always have a lot of fun when we come here,” she said.
The group currently counts around 40 active members. Sylvia Fullerton is a past president and current member of the group, and attends each session. She said she loves art because no two paintings are ever the same.
“You are all looking at the same picture, but each artist has a different interpretation – that’s what makes this so interesting,” she said.
Group member Debi Fitzpatrick said a common takeaway for group members is the therapeutic aspects of laying their brushes on the page, and losing themselves in the painting.
What she said makes this group different, however, is that they do it together.
“Art can be lonely, because it’s common to paint by yourself. It’s nice to be part of a group like this,” she said.
The group welcomes new members and will be hosting an art retreat on Oak Island in March. For more information on how to join, visit the group’s Facebook page or send an email at [email protected] or [email protected].
