Local scene inspires prize winner

Bedford club gives artists chance to shine

Elizabeth Jording of the Bedford Artists Club took first place in mixed-media art with ‘Seascape 1’ and ‘Seascape 2.’ The work is on display at the Bedford Branch Library in Temperance through May 21.

TEMPERANCE — A drive along Temperance Road near Douglas Road was a source of inspiration for Donna Whittaker. It became First Snow — a watercolor of a stream in a wooded area with light snow along the bank — that took the Best in Show award in this year’s Spring Art Show.

The show, which is on display through May 21 at the Bedford Branch Library, is sponsored every year by the Bedford Artists Club. This year’s exhibit has 35 works by club members in pastel, watercolor, oil, and colored pencil; they are voted on by club members.

Ms. Whittaker said she was honored to have First Snow gain such recognition and pleased that her winning entry depicted a scene from Bedford Township.

“I took a photograph and worked from that,” she said. “I was just driving by and saw the stream. I like trees. I just like to be around trees.”

Another piece by Ms. Whittaker on display is The Old Frog Pond, a view of a pond at Secor Road at Summerfield Road, in Lambertville. The idealized scene is of a tranquil pond surrounded by trees, with a boat pulled up on the shore.

Ms. Whittaker said the pond has been a part of her life for a long time. “I used to skate down there when I was a kid,” she said.

Alice Dewey went farther afield for her Orchids at Watkins Greenhouse in Naples, Florida, which earned an honorable mention. It’s a watercolor brush drawing of an orchid in a greenhouse in the southwest Florida city.

Her inspiration, she said, was a bunch of orchids she saw in a Naples hotel. The only problem, she said, was that she couldn’t draw them there. So she went to a greenhouse, where she spent as much time as needed.

“It was a privilege to be able to draw them,” she said. “Orchids are not what we see a lot of. And it made me wonder why we don’t go to greenhouses up here. I’m sure the growers wouldn’t mind.”

The artists club has 35 members who meet once a month in the library except during the summer, its president, Sharon Vaughn, said. It was formed in 1967 by a group of local artists, many of whom had taken adult-education classes at Bedford High School.

“Our meetings usually have a guest speaker,” Ms. Vaughn said. “We also have guest artists who show us their techniques.”

Elizabeth Jording took first place in the mixed-media category with paintings, Seascape 1 and Seascape 2, which are meant to be viewed side by side. She came across the view in Acapulco, Mexico, and knew she wanted to capture it.

“It was a beautiful ocean scene,” she said.

The club next meets at 6:30 p.m. May 21, and anyone interested in joining is invited.

Evelyn Deselms, who will become club president later this year, said the group welcomes new members. Among her works on display is an oil-and-acrylic rendering of an old pickup in a field called Old Chevy Blue.

“I took it from a photograph and changed a few things,” she said. “I tried to make the color of the grass and wildflowers tie in with the truck. You can learn techniques like this as a club member.”