Fruitlands Getting Early Start on Spring

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Meghan Ottolini, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Fruitlands has 210 acres of sprawling land

If this mild winter continues, spring in Massachusetts will be here before we know it. What better way to spend an early spring day than painting a beautiful New England pastoral landscape? Fruitlands Museum in Harvard is offering a variety of painting workshops beginning in March, a month before the museum’s seasonal opening.

“The place to paint”

Fruitlands has over 210 acres of open fields and forests, attracting and inspiring artists pursing the “Plein Air”(outdoor) painting style. The museum began openly inviting artists in 2010 to paint on their grounds, and the program has evolved into a series of workshops and courses available to the public.

“Fruitlands is the place to paint. It’s all about painting outside, not painting from photographs. We have wide open fields and this great vista,” said Maggie Green, Fruitlands Director of Education and Public Programming.

If the grounds’ historic buildings and wildlife habitats don’t quite inspire you, swing by the museum’s collection of Hudson River School Landscapes, a permanent exhibit open in April. The romanticized collection features idealized, beautiful portrayals of the Hudson River Valley Region.

"Plein Air" is a French style of outdoor painting

Spring Offerings

“There is an incredible spring line-up of artists at Fruitlands,” said Green. Course offerings range from fundamentals for beginners to method classes for intermediate and advanced artists.

2011 Fruitlands Artist-in-Resident Jill Pottle will return to the grounds March 16th to instruct “Painting Materials and Methods,” a warm-up course for Plein Air painting. She will also teach a 7-week course in May and September focusing on pastel landscapes.

Arists Marjorie Glick, who is known for her “large scales and vivid realism watercolors” will prepare intermediate students for summer Plein Air watercolor painting during a workshop March 24-25.

2010 Artist-in-Residence Barry Van Dusan will instruct intermediate and advanced students on watercolor landscapes on April 28th.

If painting isn’t your cup of tea, Green would still like to encourage you to enjoy their picturesque grounds on warm days. “Fruitlands has both historic museum buildings, but we also have an incredible campus with 3 miles of trails, woodlands, marshes, and meadows. There’s a lot of opportunity to spend time outside.”

For more information, visit: http://www.fruitlands.org/artistworkshops