Painting classes start Tuesday at Flanders Ctr.

WOODBURY >> Flanders Nature Center has two painting classes starting this week and continuing into May.

Chuck Fulkerson will teach a plein air watercolor class at Flanders Nature Center on four consecutive Tuesdays from April 25 through May 16. Previous drawing experience and familiarity with watercolor would be helpful. The class will be held outside amid the scenery at Flanders, which includes fields, ponds, barns, houses, animals, and the natural landscape.

Fulkerson is an anthropology graduate of Stanford University and later studied at Paier School of Art. A freelance artist/illustrator and writer, he is the author, co-author or illustrator of books on trains and Native Americans. He has taught both adults and children, most recently at Paint, Draw & More in West Redding.

Classes will be held from 1-4 p.m. on each of those days. The program series is $125 for members and $160 for nonmembers. Students should bring watercolor supplies to the first class and a suggested material list is available from the instructor. In case of rain, the class will be held in the historic Art Studio on the Flanders’ property.

Wildlife artist Melody Asbury, a signature member of the Society of Animal Artists, is offering a four-week class series where individual instruction will be given on learning anatomy, gesture and characteristics of various animals using Flanders collection of taxidermy and their own barnyard animals as well as photographs. All artistic levels are welcome and any medium can be used. Participants are asked to bring a sketchbook, pencils, and their own art supplies to the first class.

The first four-class series will begin on Wednesday April 26 with classes also held on the following Wednesdays of May 3, 10 and 17. All classes will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Flanders’ studio. The cost for the four class series is $100 for members or $150 for non-members.

Preregistration is required. Those interested may register online at w w w.f landersnaturecenter.org or call 203-2633711, ext. 10, for more information.

Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust is a nonprofit organization that focuses on environmental education, and on the acquisition, conservation, and stewardship of open space. Through its land trust initiatives, Flanders actively works to protect important natural sites and the area’s landscape character and quality of life. Flanders manages over 2,300 acres of preserved land in Woodbury and neighboring towns. Educational programs for children and adults are offered at the Van Vleck Farm Sanctuary, Flanders’ main campus in Woodbury. Trails at its major nature preserves are open to the public at no charge from dawn to dusk. For more information, call 203-263-3711 or flandersnaturecenter.org

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST A watercolor by artist Chuck Fulkerson, who will lead a plein air painting class at Flanders Nature Center in Woodbury.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST Cow, by Melody Asbury, who will teach a painting class at Flanders Nature Center.