Primary Colors Art Guild holding annual spring art event
Joan Rastetter of South Fayette Township works on a painting of a Pueblo girl.
Janice Trempus of Mt. Lebanon works on a painting of Lake Superior using a palate knife.
For more than a decade, a group of area artists and aspiring artists have gathered in Dormont to paint and keep each other company. The Primary Colors Art Guild is made up of about 20 artists, many from the South Hills. The group is holding its annual spring art event on May 17 and 18 at the LifeSpan Center located inside the Dormont Municipal Center.
Although entrance to the show is free, because of its many Chinese auctions and raffles, the art show is a main source of fundraising for the Dormont LifeSpan Center, which offers programs for area senior citizens, said Mary Simon who has been painting with the Primary Colors guild for about 11 years, and is one of the first members.
The guild started in 2001 when a group of about five artists took a class at a community college. The group enjoyed it so much that they decided they wanted to continue and brought friends. The guild grew from there, Simon said.
The group is made up of mostly women – though there are a couple of male members – and meets each Wednesday and Thursday starting around 9 a.m. until about 1 p.m. “Most of us have become wonderful friends,” said Arlene Stadler, who has been a member of the group for more than 10 years.
Simon said the group is “very fortunate” that LifeSpan provides them with a room where they can paint and also are able to leave their supplies, so they don’t have to tote them back-and-forth from home.
Ann McCartney, who is the instructor for the guild, said painting in a group provides a “good dynamic.”
Simon agreed and joked, “It’s cheaper than therapy.”
During the show, the paintings will be displayed in the hallway and in a large room in the downstairs of the building.
The Primary Colors Art Guild annual spring art event will be held from 6-9 p.m. May 17 and from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. May 18 at LifeSpan located inside the Dormont Municipal Center, at 1444 Hillsdale Ave. Paintings also will be available for purchase. A free shuttle from Dormont Pool will be provided on May 17.
For more information on joining Primary Colors, contact McCartney at 412-344-1682 or LifeSpan Coordinator Courtney Audley at 412-343-6050. Any LifeSpan member can join the group.