Seniors Capture Original Wildlife

Doris Graeme took her first painting class 32 years ago at Dundalk Community College. But then life and work took back her time and she stopped painting shortly after she’d begun.

She never lost interest in it, however.

Three years ago, at the annual Dundalk Art Show in Veterans Park, the spark returned.

“I just thought, ‘I could do that,' ” the 73-year-old Graeme recalled.

Not retired - she’s a realtor with Long and Foster - Graeme makes sure she finds time for regular painting classes at the Ateaze Senior Center on Holabird Avenue. She has several original wildlife works in the center’s show, highlighting members’ watercolors, pen and ink drawings and acrylic paintings. The show opened July 7 and runs through September.

In one work, Graeme drew a white, leafless birch tree in winter, with a solitary red cardinal resting on a lone branch.

“The tree is right outside one of our windows,” Graeme said, describing her inspiration. “I really like the white birch in winter time.”

Ray Leonard, also 73, leads the Thursday and Friday afternoon painting classes at Ateaze, which are offered all year. Leonard, a retired Maryland state trooper, began painting about 15 years ago at home and eventually started taking classes at Ateaze several years later. About 8-10 people participate on a good day.

He describes himself as a self-taught artist and said he took over leading the classes after two previous instructors passed away.

“You pick things up from other people. We all learn from each other,” Leonard said. “I just wanted to keep it going.

“It’s relaxing, it’s a social thing and a really good group,” he said.  “Nobody is doing it to sell paintings, but for their own enjoyment.”

His own work, landscape, bird and nature paintings, are largely based on photographs that he likes.  “I see a photograph and I try to make it my own,” he said.

Lorie Szarek, 65, also began painting classes at the Ateaze Senior Center several years ago and has several paintings among the roughly 60 in the exhibit. She said she likes attending classes rather than working on her own because “it makes me work on things.” Like others, she said she picks up tips on brushes – and brush strokes - from others in the class.

Her paintings in the show are small, intimate portraits of a cat, mouse and horse.

“I actually like to get something of an expression in the animal,” Szarek said. “I like to do something that catches your eye.”