HANOVER — After Tony Edgar retired about a decade ago, he and his wife, Bea, were looking for a hobby they could pursue together.
“We tried golf. It just didn’t work with us,” Bea Edgar said.
Then, the couple turned to art and found a perfect fit.
Their exhibit, “Animals, Flowers, Icons,” will be on display at the Osher Art Gallery, located at 7 Lebanon St., Suite 107, in Hanover, through Dec. 10.
“We paint things we want to paint, things we think are pretty,” Tony Edgar, 82, said. He is drawn to icons, including New Hampshire’s Man of the Mountain, which holds a special place in the couple’s hearts as they would often pull over to look at it on their way up north for family ski trips.
“I’ve gardened all my life and I love plants,” Bea Edgar, 78, said.
Tony Edgar studied art as a child and it is an interest that has carried through his life.
“He can draw anything,” Bea Edgar said. “On the other hand, I’ve had to take lessons learning to draw.”
The Kendal residents love to travel and often paint from photographs they have taken on their trips. In their 52 years together, they have moved 16 times. The Edgars have studied drawing and scratch art, among other mediums. Recently, they’ve been focusing on watercolor.
“Watercolor has beautiful, surprising results,” Bea Edgar said. “When you work with it, you can’t control it.”
The Edgars have taken lessons from many professional artists, including Estelle Smith, Patty Dean and Stephanie Reininger.
“All of them brought something to our approach,” Tony Edgar said.
They spend four-five hours on most Wednesdays painting at Smith’s studio in Bow, N.H.
“It’s very meditational,” Bea Edgar said. “It’s very calming and centering I’d say. I feel very relaxed when I do watercolor.”
They paint together in companionable silence, occasionally pausing to ask each other’s opinions on their work.
“We’re still students,” Tony Edgar said.
“We’ll probably consider ourselves students for years to come,” Bea Edgar added.
And they’ll continue to study, learn and grow together.
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com.
