Painting Class Reveals Seniors’ Talents

By Nancy K. Crevier

Every Monday afternoon for the past 15 months, from 1:30 to 3:30, a core group of six to eight Newtown Senior Center members has met with muralist and faux artist Diana Baxter, at the Riverside Road facility, to learn the art of acrylic painting.

“We have a lot of fun,” said Ms Baxter, adding that the class is open to any senior who wants to join. “I totally enjoy this. I’m there just to teach and guide them in finding their own techniques. I don’t criticize or want them to copy my style,” she said.

Ms Baxter is mainly a self-taught artist, specializing in interior design and decorative or faux painting, with more than 15 years of experience. She owned and operated The Painted Bungalow on South Main Street, and currently teaches painting to small groups and individuals, and writes romance novels.

The Senior Center painters, all beginners, work on projects that interest them, from landscapes to still lifes to portraits. “Sometimes I provide a project or a subject, but really what they decide to paint is up to them,” Ms Baxter said. Due to the two-hour class limit and cleanup issues, the class is suing only acrylic paints at this time. “Oil paints are just too expensive and there is the problem with the smell, setting up, cleaning up — and oil takes so long to dry,” she said.

The class has dabbled in water colors, and in Ms Baxter’s area of expertise, faux painting. “I’ve taught them some faux painting techniques, like how to ‘crackle’ a canvas or piece of wood to paint on, in order to give it that ‘used’ look, or to make it look ‘distressed.’ We have learned how to do a color wash for a background on a still life, and the sorts of things that can be incorporated into their paintings,” she said. The class will be experimenting with gesso in the near future, a paint thickener that gives a more three-dimensional look to a subject.

While primarily painting on canvases and wood, the class took time around the holidays to paint ornaments, she said.

Painting gives seniors a sense of pride and improves self-esteem, said Ms Baxter, and provides a sense of accomplishment as well. It is a means of expression that can be therapeutic. “They inspire each other. They are a great group of people who have just picked this up and progressed,” she said.

Some of the students had never picked up a paint brush before trying the class, she said, and they amaze themselves by what they can do. One student, John Boccuzzi, Sr, is the only man in the class. Never having painted prior to joining the Senior Center class, he has become so proficient that his family hosted a solo show of 47 of his pieces, at his daughter’s home in Fairfield, Sunday afternoon, March 27.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Mr Boccuzzi. “We had about 50 people there, and then I gave away most of my paintings,” he laughed. “I’d rather think they’re hanging up on a wall somewhere than stuck in a closet,” Mr Boccuzzi said. He has found the painting class to be an enjoyable creative outlet, he said.

“Mr Boccuzzi does a little of everything, so far as subject matter goes,” said Ms Baxter, “and has come such a long way. He’s particularly good at architecture and buildings.”

Some of the students do bring their work home to continue painting outside of class, but generally, they find it easier to paint when Ms Baxter is on hand to help them out “if they get stuck,” she said.

The final product is not about being perfect, she tries to convey to her students — “They can be so critical of themselves” — but rather about creating their own vision.

Working with the seniors has made her realize how valuable mentoring others can be. “Everyone should mentor in their area of expertise, if they can. You easily get back everything that you give,” she said.

“It makes me proud to see their accomplishments,” Ms Baxter said. “I love to see them smile at the end of the day.”

Painting class with Diana Baxter, Monday afternoons, is from 1:30 to 3:30, in the main room of the Newtown Senior Center, 14 Riverside Road, and is open to area senior citizens. Registration is not required, and drop-ins are welcome. No experience is required. Students are requested to bring their own supplies. For more information, call the Newtown Senior Center at 203-270-4310.