Sachem Library's Art Club Gets Colorful

On a Wednesday morning at the Sachem Public Library Tom de Gruyl of Ronkonkoma worked on an abstract drawing in pastels. The drawing was commissioned by his nephew who is battling cancer. It reflects his struggle.

"It is the image of a person standing unsteadily over a cancerous state of destruction with an invisible force that's attacking," de Gruyl explained.  

At the same time Patricia Statuch of Centereach worked on a watercolor of a landscape scene.  And Ann Schug, of Sayville, worked on another landscape theme, this in water based oil.

All were participating in The Art Encounter, an art club that meets weekly at the library and has been for about three years.

The club is an informal gathering of artists that work in different mediums who come together to enjoy the camaraderie of working together and taking tips from one another.

The group's leader, Jack Dean of Islandia, enjoys working with the club. Dean, 72, has been a painter since he retired as an operations manager for an educational and office supply distributor in 2003. He did take an art class in high school but he says that wasn't any criteria for the work he does today. He works in acrylics and enjoys recreating the masters such as John Constable and Johannes Vermeer. He also paints original works from photographs he's taken while traveling.

"If I emotionally love what I see I do it," said Dean who sells his work for $200 to $500.

As far as running the art club he says he enjoys people.

"I like to see people progress and have fun," Dean said. "A lot of people go away very fulfilled."

Marion Roddin, an artist who works in watercolor has been attending the club almost every week, apart for the winter months which she spends in Florida, for nearly two years.

"Jack is very helpful and the artists get to share," she said. She finds painting very relaxing. At 73, she has been painting for 23 years. She would have been at it longer, if it weren't for her mother's wishes, she says.

"I majored in art in high school," she said. "I could have gotten a scholarship to the Fashion Institute [of Technology] but my mother didn't want me to be a hippy. I was a secretary and didn't touch paint again until I was in my 50s."

Now she paints every day. She has a passion for it. She has sold some of her work in the East Hampton Guild and has taken lessons in Florence, Italy.

"Maybe someday I'll be famous," she jokes.

Schug also came back to painting after a long hiatus.

"I painted 25 years ago and stopped," she said. "I was working full time and had kids I just didn't have the time for it." Schug started painting two years ago at the Islip Senior Center.

"Painting takes me away from everything," she said. "I could waste a whole day away."

Vivian Gattuso of Lake Ronkonkoma likes to paint landscapes and seascapes.

"I go around with a camera and take photos of scenes that I like," she said. "Sometimes you look at something and you can't believe you did that."

She enjoys working at the art club.

"There are some really talented people here," she said. "It gives me a chance to think clearly and forget the work week."

Statuch has returned to the club after taking a year off and attending other workshops.

"It's a lovely place with a lot of nice people doing all kinds of different works," she said.

Statuch said she enjoys working in watercolors because she likes to see the colors blend.

"You don't really know what you're going to get. The watercolor takes over and decides on its own how it will spread and how deep the colors are going to be," she said. "It's complicated you're not going to get everything right away. You learn over time. I'll probably be learning the rest of my life."

The Art Encounter meets every Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Sachem Public Library. For more information call 631-588-5024.