Once a month, the third Thursday to be exact, members of the Merrimack River Painters gather at the Kimball Jenkins Estate.
The group, which is now 16 years old and consists of 12 women, isn’t there to paint though. Instead, they get together each month to have their artwork critiqued. And that’s really how the group came to be. Way back when, many of the current members were getting instruction from Dustan Knight through classes at the New Hampshire Institute of Art and other painting workshops she held around the state.
The women got to know each other and Knight offered up her expertise to help them improve.
“She suggested we get together once a month and she’d critique our work,” said member Kathy Tangney. “And it’s great because I get a lesson every single month, and I’ve improved 1,000 percent.”
After a while, they began exhibiting as a group, and they’ve been doing it ever since.
Right now, you can see a collection of the group’s most recent work at the N.H. Audubon McLane Center through the end of the month. The exhibit is called “My Land, Your Land, Our Land,” and is rather fitting for the group.
“We love exhibiting there because we all do enjoy painting nature,” Tangney said.
While the members get together once a month for the critique, they all paint individually and it gives a nice variety to the shows.
“As a rule we don’t all paint together,” Tangney said.
But it’s not all just paintings of the well-known New Hampshire river as the name might indicate. Since members live around the state (as well as in Maine) they thought it would be an appropriate name – considering how much ground the river covers.
Some use their backyards and surrounding environment for new pieces, while others are drawn to scenes found while traveling the country and beyond.
“We absolutely love painting outdoors,” Tangney said. “And we’re painting the land that inspires us.”
Most the core group remains intact, while a few members have moved on and others have been added. But 12 is pretty much the ideal number.
“(Dustan) can only fit in 12 of us in two hours for the critique,” Tangney said.
For more info on the group, visit merrimackriverpainters.blogspot.com. Members of the group include: Knight, Tangney, Marilyn Eimon, Bonnie Halsey, Claudette Gammon, Terry Heinzmann, Betsy Janeway, Susan Levenson, Ann Lynch, Mary Ruedig, Ann Saunderson and Jan Wittmer.
The Audubon is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 224-9909 to check on the availability of the room.
