Every third Monday of the month, the Nature Coast Art League meets in Hernando County. They gather at People Helping People in Kass Circle in the heart of Spring Hill and following a brief meeting of members, a local artist is invited to provide a demonstration of their work.
Their March 17 meeting featured the intaglios and drawings of award-winning artist Elizabeth Grange Okulski Coachman, M.D.
Coachman grew up near Chicago in a family of punsters and art appreciators. After initially studying advertising design at Philadelphia’s Moore College of Art, she transferred to Rutgers University’s Biology Department in Camden, N.J., with aspirations toward medical illustration work. Somehow, she morphed into a pre-med major but continued drawing and painting.
Intaglio, derived from the Italian word “intagliare,” meaning “to incise” or “to carve,” is a printmaking process where the image is produced by cutting or etching into a metal plate. The intaglio family is a big one, encompassing everything from crisp etchings and beautiful aquatints to velvety drypoint and embossed carborundum. The wonderful versatility of intaglio is probably why it continues to be a most popular medium.
Visit Coachman’s website www.elizabethcoachman.com to view her gallery of work.
The next monthly meeting of the Nature Coast Art League on April 21 will feature a free artist demonstration by nationally recognized and award-winning artist Leslie Neumann. The demonstration will take place from 10 a.m. to noon at People Helping People, located at 1396 Kass Circle in Spring Hill.
Following a brief meeting, Neumann will demonstrate her ”Vanishing Worlds: Encaustic Paintings.” Neumann describes her encaustic paintings as “seductive beauty coupled with an invitation to adventure.” This is an opportunity to meet the artist and learn more about her painting techniques.
Registering for a tour of her studio in Aripeka will also be available; the tour is on April 25 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cost for Nature Coast Art League members is $35 and for non-members is $45.
Leslie’s studio is surrounded by 15,000 acres of coastal wilderness that inspires and influences her as an artist. She moved there after living in New York for 20 years and says, “This beauty has inspired and influenced me as an artist, and every day I’m engaged by its raw, primitive energy.” Visit Leslie Neumann’s website at leslieneumann.com.
For more information about the Nature Coast Art League, contact Mary Ellen Caesar at 508-826-3890 or visit www.facebook.com/NatureCoastArtLeague.
[Courtesy photo]
