"Compositions in Watercolor" by Neela Pushparaj: Summer Exhibition at Bernardsville Library

Bernardsville Public Library is pleased to present "Compositions in Watercolor" by Neela Pushparaj, on view in July and August during regular library hours. The artist will host a reception on Thursday, July 7 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

Neela Pushparaj is a 74-year-old grandmother and retired pathologist who began taking lessons in painting at the age of 49 at the now defunct Summit Adult Education program. She learned the rudiments of watercolor painting from Sarita Anne Cook in 1987, but, after two semesters, was advised to attend a more formal program of instruction. This led her to du’Cret, a non-accredited art school in Plainfield , NJ. She spent a year going to art school on Wednesdays and the rest of the week pursuing her profession in pathology. It was then, she says, that "I became addicted to painting and watercolors in particular."

Ms. Pushparaj's favorite way of painting is to add colors to wet or damp paper and allowing shapes to emerge from them by picking them out with negative painting. She likes to use a lot of color in her work, particularly in her florals which range from semi-abstract to totally abstract. “Painting is an integral part of my life,” she says, “It is an expression of my joy in everything I see.” She has exhibited in New Jersey hospitals and several public libraries.

For the past five years, Ms. Pushparaj has been the art director of a show called WomanArt which is run by the Summit College Club for women artists of the NY-NJ-PA area at the New Providence Library where artists can exhibit two dimensional art in any medium without restrictions for a small fee.

This exhibition will be on view in the library’s Community Room July 1 to August 20, during regular library hours unless a meeting is in progress. For further information, please call the library at 908-766-0118.
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Painting Displayed: Dance of the Iris by Neela Pushparaj