Reno art club premieres show at Brewery Arts Center

Since 1921, a select group of artists has spent at least one day a month painting. They learn about color triads, brush strokes and where to find subject matter that interests them.

While the members - and the mediums - have changed over the years, the premise of the Latimer Art Club has remained the same. Talented artists meeting and working to promote the fine arts.

Through April 6, the Reno-based club is holding the first of three shows featuring works by its members at the Brewery Arts Center Gallery.

The Latimer Art Club, founded by the followers of artist Lorenzo Latimer who made yearly journeys from his home in San Francisco to teach for the club in Reno, is one of the oldest art clubs in the state.

To become a member of the Latimer Art Club, artists must be invited to join and sponsored by a current member. There are approximately 60 members, hailing from Reno, Sparks, Carson City, Gardnerville, Fernley and Fallon.

"The fascinating thing about an art club is they all have their own style and topics, so the shows are amazing," said Aleta Hursh, club president.

The BAC exhibit includes scenery, still life, portraits, abstracts and animals done in oils, pastels and watercolors.

Among the exhibited works are those of Pat Holub, 82, a longtime member of the club and the only current member from Carson City. Holub said exhibiting her work presents a dilemma.

"If you want to keep painting you have to sell your work, even if you don't want to," she said.

The ladies said anyone can become a good artist, all it takes is some determination, a basic painting class and a willingness to experiment.

"I spend 95 percent of my time experimenting with things and 5 percent putting it to use and hoping it works," Hursh said.

Once the exhibition closes at the BAC, the group will host a show in July in Yerington at the courthouse gallery and in September at the Washoe County Public Library in Reno.

History

• Lorenzo Latimer, for whom the Latimer Art Club was named was born in Gold Hill in 1857. He studied art at the California School of Design in San Francisco before becoming a teacher and accomplished painter.

• Latimer worked in watercolors and oils and painted landscapes, preferring sites among the redwoods in Santa Cruz Mountains. He also traveled in the Reno-Tahoe area, creating several works of South Tahoe and Fallen Leaf Lake.

• In 1921, Latimer's students in Reno formed the Latimer Art Club. The club was instrumental in the founding and sustainment of the Nevada Art Gallery, now the Nevada Museum of Art.

• He died in Berkeley, Calif., in 1941 at the age of 84.

• Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.