Two Berkshire County artists discuss their craft

Rosemary Trzepacz Daly (left) gives a watercolor painting demonstration to members of the St. Anne’s Ladies Guild.

PITTSFIELD – The magic of watercolor painting came to life recently as a Lenox artist touched her paint-filled brush to paper inside the auditorium of St. Mark School.

Rosemary Trzepacz Daly made a picturesque sky right before the eyes of several onlookers. With a few swirls of her brush and a dab of paint here and there, she created a scene that drew the rapt attention of those watching.

As she worked on a table in front of the stage, members of the St. Anne’s Ladies Guild of St. Mark Church observed. They accompanied the watercolor painting demonstration with plenty of “ooos”  and “ahs.”

Would-be painters in the audience

Some of the women indicated they, too, would like to learn how to  paint.

Prior to the planned painting demo, Pat Most, a Pittsfield artist who, with her husband, Hank, started the Dalton Art Guild, talked to the dozen or so women about the art guild’s mission.

“We’re a small group,” Mrs. Most said.

Members include professional artists as well as beginners. They come from all over Berkshire County.

“We all love each other and we all love each other’s work,” she said.

The guild gives local artists a place to blend in with other artists as well as an opportunity to have work critiqued. Meetings are held the third Tuesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. in the conference room of the Berkshire Mall in Lanesboro.

Small details add to painting’s appeal

Mrs. Most brought two of her paintings. One showed sap buckets on maple trees in a wooded scene.

She pointed out if a person looks carefully at the painting, a bird, deer and rabbits can all be seen.

“I love sticking things in to catch your eyes,” she said, adding she’s very colorful with her work.

The Dalton Art Guild has an annual show at Miller’s Supply in Pittsfield every spring.

In addition, members have the opportunity to go on two bus trips a year. The May 2013 trip is planned for the James Fenimore Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.

The Lenox artist, Mrs. Daly, taught in the Pittsfield Public School system for 30 years before pursuing her love of art.

She told her audience, when starting to paint with watercolors, good quality paper is needed to do a painting.

One benefit of painting with watercolors is if artists make a mistake or dislike certain aspects of paintings they are working on, they can wash them away and start again.

Practice makes perfect

A former teacher of hers, Jack Flynn, used to tell his students, “You have to do 1,000 watercolors before you have a painting,” Mrs. Daly said.

In addition to watercolors, she also works in oils. She does landscapes, portraits and still “lifes.”

Some of her paintings are of local scenes such as the old athenaeum building near Park Square and also some scenes of Park Square. She also did one showing the dome of Pittsfield High School at sunset.

The artists participated in the first meeting of the year for the St. Anne’s Ladies Guild. Mary Lou Burdick started the group in honor of St. Anne, who was the grandmother of Jesus.

New chairperson’s first meeting

Margaret Mary Richards is the new chairperson of the guild.  She invited the two artists to come and talk about their craft and planned all the details of the night. She also provided refreshments that included cookies, cheese, crackers and tea.

As the program concluded, Mrs. Richards addressed the guest artists.

“You have really inspired us and made us think that anything’s possible,” she said.

At next month’s meeting, a speaker will talk on the history of purses.

Posted by Susan M. Wicker Guerrero on September 20, 2012. Filed under Arts and Entertainment,Community Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry