Milton Public Library hosts Beth Neville’s adult students exhibit in Wotiz gallery throughout September

This month the MPL will be showing a collection of artwork by the adult students of Milton instructor Beth Neville.  Beth recently celebrated 60 years working in the art world. This display will be shown from September 3 until September 30, 2024.

Pastels, watercolors, acrylics, oils, pens, pencils and poetry attract adult students to Beth’s Tuesday Adult Art Classes. The public is invited to a celebratory reception on Thursday, September 12th, from 6:0o p.m. –  8:00 p.m.

The subjects students paint and draw are as diverse as the materials they choose to use. Janice Shamon prefers to paint her nephews using acrylics.  Keven McLaughlin is attracted to broad landscape vistas and turbulent skies using oils. Sheila Monks writes poetry and illustrates her poems with colored pen line drawings.  Kirsten MacLean uses watercolors, as did her Grandmother, an illustrator.  Her topics often explore vivid sunsets, boats, and seashores.  John McLaughlin (not related to Kevin!) likes animals and sea creatures. His watercolor of a tall lighthouse with setting sun leads into the Modernist tradition.

The student who explores the most diverse styles and topics is Andy Beliveau. His sources are photographs and paintings by great masters, but the resulting art work is uniquely his own.  Brian Conroy also uses master painters as inspiration. His interpretation of Monet’s “Burning of the Houses of Parliament” is a freely painted vision.  Christophe Van Diet also finds inspiration in masters like Van Gogh, but some of his work is based on the Blue Hills.   Mary Driscoll and Sheila O’Donnell share an interest in landscapes, seashores, and nature and both use oil paints.

Three students who have used watercolors in the past,  Patty Harrington, Mary Frances Kane, and Martha Cotton,  have switched to oils and are enjoying the free brushstrokes and overlaying of the oil paint.  Staying with pens and watercolor, Loretta Britt and Anne Dooley prefer to work with an “illustration” style, using watercolor to define flowers, vases, doorways, and trees.  Then they use black pen to crisp up the design with an outline.  The small drawings are delightful and Anne uses hers to make pretty greeting cards. Heather Putnam uses water color and loves Vermont scenes and storefronts. Lana Agnew is the sole pastel artist.  She also studies pastel with Laurinda O’Connor and helpfully shares her learning experiences with the class. The newest member of the group is Judith Warner, an experienced painter, who brings an aggressive modernist style to the painting scene with her brightly colored oil paints.

The exhibit will also include a watercolor by beloved member Kevin Elsden, who passed away in late July.   We encourage everyone to come enjoy this display during the month of September, and to attend the reception on September 12 at 6:00 p.m. so that you might meet some of the artists as well.

Questions about applying for an exhibit here at the MPL? 

Email [email protected] or call the Reference Dept. at (617) 898-4964 for an application.  We have a few openings in 2025.  Please visit the Milton Public Library in September!