Hillsborough is ever the collective edge of talent from our prolific writersto artists. On the new scene is landscapist John Beerman who has taken a break from teaching art in college and now offers private classes in Hillsborough, where he now resides. His classes are held in a dilapidated old blue and white filling station next to Walker's Funeral Home on the main drag.
On other days, we had the privilege of hanging out at Joe Rowand's fabulous home on old Highway 86. A recent Saturday at Joe's was an absolutely perfect setting for outdoor oil painting.
In addition to classes, our wonderful communal lunch was time
spent exchanging verbiage and sharing food. It was during one of these moments that we discovered one student raised bees. He brought us fresh honey, fig jam. We also savored chocolates from Matthew’s Chocolate Shop in Hillsborough; decadent and delicious.
spent exchanging verbiage and sharing food. It was during one of these moments that we discovered one student raised bees. He brought us fresh honey, fig jam. We also savored chocolates from Matthew’s Chocolate Shop in Hillsborough; decadent and delicious.
Our final day together was beautiful fall weather. We concluded our paintings and celebrated with a fabulous feast. As a private chef and having been inspired by impressionist's painting of picnics, this was a special lunch to conclude our six weeks of study with John.
I would like to take this opportunity to share a recipe from a fellow student.
"Thank you Susan!"
Susan Nelson's fabulous Molasses Sugar Cookies
¾ cup shortening (2 ¼ sticks when doubling)
1 cup sugar
¼ cup molasses
1 egg
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
Melt shortening in a saucepan. Cool. Add sugar, molasses and egg. Beat well. Add dry ingredients. Chill. Form dough into balls. Bake on greased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees.
Even as an art major, I never learned as much about grids (yes, even “painting by numbers"), values and hues. John helped us to see colors and shapes as never before. He had us squint to view different interpretations of the scene we were creating. We all experienced “aha” moments very much as a preacher’s sermon touches our soul.
Our group had different and even eclectic backgrounds; a NYC cabernet singer, engineer to a mental health specialist. From other places, backgrounds all found common ground. We learned to interpret the beauty that surrounds us from our eye to the palette to the canvas.
Thank you John for your shared vision and experience.
