Twenty five pairs of paintings (landscapes, interiors and still lives) simultaneously painted – depicting the same scene. For over 20 years, seated side by side, 2 artists, with very different backgrounds and styles, have met on Sundays to pick a spot and paint the same scene. 

“What we enjoy is seeing the way each of us sees the identical view. We usually don’t talk and at the end we put the pieces next to each other and laugh over the similarities and differences. It’s a very therapeutic and comforting kind of experience, a kind of meditation that allows the mind to rest while the eyes and hands are working on the subject,” says Sherraid Scott.

They started by doing still lives in Scott’s brand new Japanese style house. Then they moved on to area parks, and finally they drove around the countryside finding places with good views, shade, parking and quiet. 

When asked about any memories that stand out Scott chuckles and says: “Once we were sitting by a farm on Clifton Road, painting peacefully when we heard the clatter of hooves and looked up to see a huge bull staring down at us. We left in haste.”

Cannon describes the benfits of all these years of painting together: “Our painting sessions have not only given the benefit of putting painting on a regular schedule (one can’t say one is too busy to paint when one’s painting companion is at the door!)  and been a lot of fun (exploring the countryside for views), they have also helped each of us see things in a broader way than just our way of seeing would provide.   We notice this not only when we choose what to paint,  but also and especially when we compare our works when we finish:  we notice, for example, that I pay special attention to the sky full of clouds, while Sherri might emphasize the complicated and interesting shapes of the branches in the foreground, and we laugh when we notice time and again that my trees and vases come out extra tall, while Sherri’s come out extra wide. “

Scott, says she is a printmaker at heart and does paintings for fun and relaxation. She taught English in Japan for many years after growing up in YS and going to Antioch College. In the 1990s she moved back to YS to work with Japanese exchange students at Antioch.  For many years she spent half the year in Kyoto and half in Yellow Springs. The Dayton/Kyoto Print Exchange was born out of her dual life.  The Gen Studio Group from Kyoto and the Dayton Printmakers Cooperative from Dayton join together semi-annually to display their prints.  This fall they open their 9th show at the Springfield Art Museum, November 23, 2016, (closing in March of 2017) with the theme STORM. 

Cannon has not had formal training in Art, but she had an artist mother who had studied at the traditional Paris ateliers in the 1920’s and 30’s. 

Her mother gave painting lessons to her and a school friend. When as a child, she accompanied her mother on landscape painting expeditions Cannon often attempted to paint the scene as well.  “One of my very earliest memories is of an occasion when my mother was painting a landscape and I was given her (oil) palette to scrape off, spreading the partially mixed colors onto a rock.”

Please join us September 16^th from 6-9 p.m. for the opening Reception for “Shared Views” at the YSAC Community Gallery, 111 Corry St. in Yellow Springs.

Refreshments will be served.