LI's Independent Art Society Sets Up Shop In RVC Public Library

Displaying dozens of paintings from their membership in an open exhibit free to the public – and free to other artists to join - the Long Island's Independent Art Society has set up shop in the basement of the Rockville Centre Public Library until Nov. 28.

The Long Island Independent Art Society is exactly that — a group of independent painters and artists from Nassau and Suffolk who have been organizing to share their techniques and works since 1951.

"The mission is to have artists learn from other artists and to share ideas," said society president Linda Volin. "We have oil painters, acrylic painters, watercolorists. People like to share their craft techniques. A lot of people do collages. Some work in abstract, some more in realism."

The society currently has about 50 consistent core members, while a handful of others come and go less frequently. "Whoever wants to come is welcome to join us," Volin said. "It's growing."

For society member Jack Grimando of Old Bethpage, life is marked in paintings. He's been painting most of his life and was an illustrator for the United States Postal Service for years. Since surviving pancreatic cancer eight years ago, he's found true inspiration and rejuvenation in his own work and in sharing it with others.

Grimando's work is unique in that his realism is born directly from his imagination. Rather than study his subjects in real time, he allows his mind's eye to conjure up rich details, such as of the winemakers hard at work on the presses in the old country, or seascapes he remembers from his childhood.

"Ninety percent of what I do comes out of my head," Grimando said. "I just visualize how it's been and that's it. Artwork."

As an artist, Grimando focuses on the process, not the result. With his new lease on life, he understands the importance of cultivating his God-given gift and creating art every chance he gets.

"I paint every single day," Grimando said. "I have to tell you, When I wake up and I see the sun is shining I get a little disappointed. When it's cloudy out, I say to myself 'That's it! I'm forced to paint.'"