The Society of Creative Arts of Newtown (SCAN) will host Frank Bruckmann on Wednesday, March 11, at 7:30 pm, with a demonstration of painting with oils.

The program will be in the lower level of Newtown Meeting House, 31 Main Street. The demonstration is open to the public and admission is free.

Bruckmann discovered painting in his 20s, while living in his native state, New Jersey. Compelled by the seductive properties of oil paints, he began studying at the DuCret School of Art, and at the Art Students League in New York City.

Early on, he knew he had embarked upon a lifelong career, as professors and art collectors encouraged him to continue his studies abroad, and so he spent nearly a decade in Europe. In Paris, he studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and the Paris American Academy.

Wanting to better understand the techniques of the Great Masters, Bruckmann found himself in the Musee D’Orsay and the Louvre, copying painters from Frans Hals to Cezanne.

Later in Madrid, Bruckmann copied at the Museo de Prado, reproducing painters like Velasques and El Greco.

For those years abroad, Bruckmann made his living as an artist selling his local landscapes and museum reproductions and, from time to time, modeling for figure classes. He participated in a number of group shows and solo exhibitions, and then returned to the US.

In 1990 Bruckmann was offered an artist’s studio in South Norwalk. There he discovered the very paintable Connecticut shoreline. Through art guilds and galleries, Bruckmann made connections and began showing his work in Connecticut, New Jersey, and further into New England.

He began winning awards in exhibitions, including the First Prize Jurors Award (2006, 2008), the coveted Grumbacher Medal Award (2004), and the Weiss Sisters Award (2001, 2008, and 2009) at the New Haven Paint and Clay Club, and the Brush and Palette Club.

Reservations are not necessary for SCAN programs but additional information is available at scanart.org.