Prompted by their art teacher, five friends create award-winning watercolor
Painting need not be a solitary affair.
Five friends — senior artists ranging in age from 74 to 83 — won a Third Place Award in C.C. Young Senior Living’s 25th annual Spirit is Ageless Art & Writing Contest with their collaborative still-life watercolor, Class Act.
Their teacher Gaylord O’Con, of University Park, got them started with a preliminary sketch for the vibrant piece.
Then Jacque Wacker, Rosari Birmingham, Pat Moore, Cate Cloft, and Nancy Roberts took over.
“Each took turns, 15, 20 minutes at a time, working on the painting,” O’Con said. “We all did a piece of it; then we all signed it. It was a lot of fun to do it together.”
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Though some are relative newcomers to art, their work possesses a unique perspective and depth, reflecting a lifetime of experiences and wisdom.
The journey toward artistic collaboration began in 2013 when the friends took notice of O’Con’s work.
“It all started when he had a show here, and a few of us asked if he could teach us,” Wacker recalled.
“We’ve done a lot of paintings since then,” added O’Con, a 30-year painting veteran and former president of the Southwestern Watercolor Society. “We have a whole library of paintings. I also teach a class quarterly for the residents.”
The Spirit is Ageless Art & Writing Contest is available for C.C. Young residents and non-residents 55 years or older. Two pieces per artist can be submitted to its 13 categories.
Wacker took up painting after she retired.
“So, it’s probably been 20 years,” she said. “I also get a lot of the artists for the art shows here.”
The story is similar for Birmingham, who taught school for 25 years.
“After I retired, I wanted to start painting,” she said. “I started with oil then switched over to watercolor. I’ve always loved art and used art in my teaching.”
Cloft reflected on 2017 and her artistic flowering.
“I became the massage therapist at C.C. Young and ran into another art teacher,” she said. “Here, I’m desperately trying to learn watercolor, because it’s really fun.”
Roberts began painting at the relatively youthful age of 40.
“So I’ve been doing it 45 years,” she said. “Acrylic is my first love, then I got into mosaics. I do watercolor; Gaylord’s been real patient with me.”
Moore found artistic inspiration while traveling.
“In 2018, I went to Santa Fe, to the Georgia O’Keefe Museum, and I fell in love with it,” Pat said. “I mentioned it to Jacque because I knew she painted. She is kind of the reason I got started painting. Then, Gaylord came along and has really fulfilled my dreams to learn how to paint.”
O’Con’s two-hour Tuesday classes with the group usually happen at C.C. Young, though sometimes they meet at his house on Purdue Street.
“We’re just going to keep painting, That’s the plan,” O’Con said, drawing a chuckle from Wacker.
“We pray that we can keep going,” she added.
And why not? Creativity knows no boundaries of age.
