Mayfield Village showcases watercolor paintings created by area seniors

Mayfield Village Office has a bit more color inside as it showcases artwork created by area seniors.

Now open until May 12, the display features paintings made during the village’s second spring Open Studio Watercolor program where older adults pick and vote on what they want to make over a four-week time period and then collaborate together to get it done.

Parks and Recreation Director Shane McAvinew said the “open session” actually started as a class.

“We did have an instructor for years who did it with them, but when the instructor retired they decided they wanted to go in on their own,” McAvinew said. “And they just organize it and just decide on what they want to paint and work through that.

“Now, they have a core group that works together and paints things up. And then they want to showcase their work. Some of them are for sale, but a lot of them just want to demonstrate it.”

Giving them space to decorate village office is one of best parts of the program, McAvinew said, as a lot of work goes into setting them up to look like a cohesive group.

“I love it, I love it, that’s one of the best parts of it,” he said. “To see them come in here… and they set it up. We drop the wires down and they hook it up and take time to set it up a certain way, where it the pictures go. It’s a whole thing; I watch and stay out of the way.

“And if you see some of them out there, some of them have beautiful frames… I like frames as much as pictures. How they are matted and stuff like that… I’ve always been on the art side of the world, always enjoyed it.”

The next open session watercolor painting has just begun, running every Wednesday in the Community Room until May 27 at noon. There is a $12 fee for the four weeks to help pay for supplies.