How did you first get into art?
During my working life I was a science teacher and high school administrator. I started learning to paint as I approached retirement, wanting to use the right side of my brain for a change. Fortunately where I lived outside Chicago there were many opportunities to learn and appreciate art. However, my learning really took off when I moved here to The Villages almost ten years ago. I couldn’t believe all the clubs, the Lifelong Learning College/Enrichment Academy and the amazing Villages Art Workshops.
Do you have a preferred medium (watercolor, charcoal, pencils, etc)?
I like using a Sharpie and watercolor or colored pencil for everyday sketching in a sketchbook. The sketchbooks have become a visual record of where I have been and what I have been doing. If I am doing a painting for someone else I prefer acrylics.
What are your favorite types of things to draw?
I most enjoy drawing faces, and I attend the Portrait Club every Friday, where we have a live model for about an hour and a half. It’s amazing what over nine years of portrait practice does for one’s skill development!
What is your favorite Studio production to date and why ?
I have enjoyed every one of The Studio productions I have seen over the past few years. Being so close to the actors is wonderful. If I have to pick one, it has to be Neighbors: A Fair Trade Agreement. The set was so clever, with the two very different houses and the abstract river running between them. It was funny and entertaining with so many layers of meaning that I still think about it often.
What drew you to the sets of our shows in particular?
I am amazed at how well the sets work within the space. I like plays in general more than movies because the sets are not so detailed as to be distracting, just enough to get the idea across and let one’s mind fill in the rest. I love the way the props or spotlights are moved or changed just a little to completely change the scene or mood.
*all production photos for The Studio by Brian Sumner
**all sets designed by Kenneth Constant