The Art League of Nassau County (ALNC) was happy to welcome artist, Denis Ponsot to its May meeting. The Bellerose resident demonstrated a watercolor cityscape to members, friends and visitors. Using Winsor- Newton Watercolor paints with sable brushes, Ponsot showed how he achieves beautiful landscapes using saturated colors. Part of his demonstration on 300 pound Arches paper was indicating how to lay down masking tape before large washes and then peeling it off when dry. He then added lively color to the white paper for the buildings in the cityscape. One of the intriguing things Ponsot mentioned was how he owns a very small William Turner (1789- 1862, English painter) sketchbook that serves as inspiration for him. "The Turner book I have is a small two- inch square book of his sketches. It is in print, not an original, but it clearly shows how the small watercolor sketches made it possible to for him to create more information in his larger paintings. I use studies and sketches from locations to add details to paintings in progress," Ponsot said. Denis Ponsot has over 35 years of experience as an artist and teacher. Ponsot's one person shows include the Artists' Woods in Amagansett; the Daruma Gallery and the Alfred Van Loen Gallery in Huntington Station. He has participated in group shows that have been with the Salmagundi Club; the Art League of Long Island; the Heckscher Museum of Art and the Islip Art Museum. Awards include the Grumbacher Award at the Salmagundi Club. Currently, Ponsot teaches classes in watercolor painting at the Art League of Long Island, the Continuing Education Department at the School of Visual Arts and in other venues. For more information, please visit DenisPonsotArtStudio.webs.com. The Art League of Nassau County, formed in 1925, has four goals for its members: To exhibit their art in public, have workshops, to give artists an opportunity to join together in fellowship and to host monthly demonstrations by our area’s top fine artists in various mediums. It meets at the Clinton G. Martin Recreation Center, located at 1601 Marcus Avenue, at the corner of Marcus and New Hyde Park Road near Union Turnpike. The next meeting will be in September with a demonstration by a professional artist. All residents are invited. Refreshments provided. Please visit www.ArtLeagueofNC.org or Facebook for more information. (photos by Suzie Alvey)
