NOTE: this meeting and demo is the 4th Thursday, April 25th!

After a short and informative members meeting, we will welcome Bill Mancuso, sketcher, watercolor painter, Plein air enthusiast who joins us from Ohio. Here is his “Bio of Sorts”.

Bill shares: I have drawn for as long as I can remember and since 1998 I’ve shared that interest with students at Ohio Northern University in the flatlands of Ada, OH where I live and work with my wife Melissa, an accomplished artist who also teaches at Northern, our two amazing daughters and a small herd of cats.  Before ONU I taught at Thiel College in Greenville, PA for nine years after a year of shuffling between several schools in WNY teaching as an adjunct professor.

I first came to painting as a kid with a local artist, Rose DiCarlo, who taught out of her home and who had us out on the street drawing and painting whenever she could.  Later I was extremely fortunate to be taken under wing by Don Grieger and John Hodgins who loved to paint outdoors and this was my real introduction to not just the process, but also thinking about the purpose of the work.   

My “official” training came afterwards and consists of an undergraduate degree from SUNY College of Brockport where I was fortunate enough to study painting and drawing with Robert Marx and ceramics with Bill Stewart. My graduate degree is in drawing and painting from the University of Buffalo where the wonderful Harvey Breverman taught. I have also had the opportunity to participate in workshops with Charles Movalli, Andy Evansen, Bill Vrscak, Vladislav Yeliseyev, Eric Michaels and Yuki Hall amongst others.

For myself, drawing and painting is about seeing interconnectedness. By attempting to see, by participating in the process of seeing, I try to be conscious and pay attention. Drawing and painting, for me, is a way to create a trail of my attention to the moment, of being here now. When I consider what Gandhi said when asked about his message, “my life is my message”, perhaps the trail one leaves in art and life is not only our message, but the ultimate form of art?

Everyone is welcome to join us. We are a group that shares enthusiasm for watercolor and watermedia, shares friendship and good snacks!!!