David Beale watercolor

Trekking to Centerville in October for the second year in a row, David Beale will be found at the Wild Duck Soup Emporium teaching a watercolor workshop. The trip will be a sort of homecoming for Beale, whose father, Dr. Irvan Beale, painted vibrant watercolors of the region, many of which can still be seen on display around Centerville, including Breece’s Café on the town square.

Residing just outside Cortland, New York with his wife, David Beale didn’t begin as an artist. “I’m a sort of Renaissance man, having done many things in my life, which is not always a blessing,” he remarked. Trained as a classical composer following two years in the Peace Corps, he ended up spending over 20 years as a remodeling contractor. He and his wife now live in a small cottage he built on the edge of a seven-acre wildlife pond.

Becoming hooked on watercolor when his wife enrolled the two of them in an evening course, Beale has painted since 1995. “One of the things I’m most grateful for is that I began painting a year before Dad passed away,” he commented. “It meant a lot to him.”

A picture frame shop came on the market in 2001 in Cortland, and Beale made the leap to focus more on art as a career. He purchased The Picture House Gallery and Frame Shop, began teaching watercolor classes, and became part-time director of the Cultural Council of Cortland County a few years later.

David Beale watercolor

David now teaches watercolor workshops across the country and abroad. In addition to the Centerville workshop, he has scheduled 2015 workshops in Sedona, Arizona in April and in Southwest Ireland in September. David has had paintings included in many national exhibits, including The Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors, widely considered to be one of the top five of its kind in North America, the Pennsylvania and Philadelphia National Watercolor Exhibits, the Northeast Watercolor Society Annual Exhibit, and exhibits in Memphis, Portland, Oregon and Peoria, Illinois.

David Beale watercolor

“I consider it a compliment,” claims David, ”when students produce good work that doesn’t look like my own.”

“He listens and responds to students as individuals who have unique personalities and means of expressing themselves,” stated Antonia Meadors of Wild Duck Soup Emporium. “His classes are always fun and supportive.” The workshop is scheduled from October 22 through October 24 with a student exhibit on Saturday, October 25. For more information, call Antonia at 931-729-0690.

Find David online at http://www.davidbealeartist.com/.  Visit the Wild Duck Soup Emporium at http://www.wildducksoupemporium.com.