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Whether a beginner or an advanced artist, the Downriver Council for the Arts in Wyandotte offers feedback and friendship during drop-in painting and drawing sessions with local artist Bruce Tims.

Tims facilitates drop-in sessions from 1 to 3 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays at the DCA in the James R. DeSana Center for Arts and Culture, 81 Chestnut Street.

Tims, a Wyandotte resident and a photographer and graphic designer, said most of the drop-in participants paint with acrylics and watercolors, and are a blend of beginners and experienced artists.

“If they have questions, I help them,” he said. “I think everybody can draw and paint. I feel it’s just like music – the more you do it, the better you are going to be at it.”

Tims said that while there are some artists who are naturally gifted, he believes that anyone willing to practice can learn to draw and paint.

He said the current participants get along well.

“It’s a social thing,” Tims said.

Participant Dawn Howard of Wyandotte, who knew Tims prior to the class and who owns some of his art, said when she wanted to try something new, his art classes were a good fit.

“I called him up and said, ‘Do you think I’d fit into your group,’ and he said, ‘Absolutely – you’ve got the character and the humor to handle it,’” she said.

Howard said her only previous exposure to painting were the social group sessions where one drinks adult beverages while painting.

“No drinking here, except for coffee,” she said with a grin.

Participant Gina Schoen of Flat Rock said when she retired from teaching middle school English and history in 2019, she looked for an art class to join, but when the pandemic hit in early 2020, it prevented in-person classes until recently.

She said she painted in her teens and twenties, but hadn’t picked up a paint brush again until she retired.

“Life was too busy for a hobby, so I got back into it, and I love it,” Schoen said. “I love the group and I look forward to it. I am happy to get back into my hobby and it’s a fun group to hang out with while I am doing it.”

Attendee Susan Henry of Maybee, who heard about the group from a friend, said she has always had a desire to paint.

“I painted years ago – folk art painting, and I really didn’t like that,” she said. “I wanted to do ‘real’ painting, like animals and people and landscapes and things like that – not pottery pieces.”

Group member Pam McCullough of Woodhaven, who recently retired as a computer-aided design operator, is returning to watercolors after years of not having the time to paint.

She said she likes painting from actual three-dimensional objects, as opposed to working from a photo.

McCullough said that for her, painting is calming and peaceful, and boosts her self-esteem.

She said Tims facilitates the group in an effective manner.

“He knows what he is doing, but he doesn’t step on your toes,” McCullough said. “He will give you little clues of information for direction but he doesn’t grab your pen and start doing whatever it is – he helps you to come back to where you need to be.”

Participant Janet Keathley of Woodhaven said she likes to explore many types of artistic media, from watercolor to acrylics to charcoal.

While working on a winter landscape, she said if one chooses to live in Michigan, one learns to appreciate the beauty of pristine snow – at least until one has to drive in it.

“This is great,” she said. “I’ve learned something every time I come.”

Attendee Diane Moyer of Flat Rock, who is a retired high school English and history teacher, also likes capturing Michigan scenes, and was painting from a photo she took while on Mackinac Island.

“I was trained in watercolor, and Bruce convinced me to try acrylic, so I have been working in acrylics since then,” she said.

Moyer said she enjoys the class and doesn’t miss grading papers.

“It’s definitely therapeutic,” she said. “I’ve met really good friends in here. What have you got to lose? If you don’t like it, paint over it.”

For a list of art classes and drop-in sessions at the DCA, as well as other programs for children and adults, go to downriverarts.org.

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