Lennoxville art group: helping out future artists for Friendship Day
The Lennoxville art group exhibit and sale is coming up again at the Amedée-beaudoin Community Center. Be sure to swing by all weekend long, to see what local artists have created and get a chance to win a painting in line with this year’s theme, Far Away Places.
The Lennoxville art group has been active for close to 27 years now, and every year they participate in the Friendship Day festivities with their art exhibit and sale. On top of showcasing their work, the event allows these part-time Picassos to give a helping hand to Uplands Cultural Center youth art program.
When it’s time for Friendship Day to roll around, the 25 members of the art group collect all of their art and set it up in the Amedée-beaudoin community center for the fundraising exhibit.
“Everybody chips in. We get to see a whole years’ worth of work at once, it looks really nice!” said Jane Loiselle.
Loiselle has been a member of the art group since 2009. She jokingly described the group as “part art, part psychotherapy”; a casual weekly meeting where members can paint, whether their chosen medium be watercolor, acrylic or oil, and chat.
“It’s very easy-going and fun, and we do learn a lot” said Loiselle. “Every year we choose a different theme to help us get out of our comfort zones a little bit.”
This year’s theme is “Far Away Places”. According to Loiselle, the group votes to decide what it will be.
“Last year it was flowers and the watercolor people were delighted. The year before it was trees and the acrylic people were happy,” she laughed. “Far Away Places makes it pretty wide open this year. It’s exciting, it challenges you.”
The 25 members of the art group each have at least two pieces in the exhibit.
“There are some large, some small. We have a wide range: some of us paint for fun, but some are really talented and make things that are absolutely beautiful,” said Loiselle. “All the proceeds go towards the Uplands art program. Some years we’ve raised $500, once we raised $700! We were so pleased. We’re not interested in money. Painting is expensive, and we want to help kids. It’s an investment in future artistsmaybe even future members!”
Friday June 8 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. the art will solely be on display. Art viewers will also be able to snack on some cheese, crackers and homemade dips and punch. Saturday and Sunday are when the art goes on sale, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., respectively. The event is free all weekend long.