Master artist Joe Palmerio is coming to Thomasville this Friday through Sunday to teach a three-day class in oil painting. Palmerio is a non-stop painter, lecturer and award winner, popular with artists and collectors alike. He is a fixture in the plein air paint out circuit for his work and his generosity to amateur painters. This class with his intimate teaching style has a few openings and beginners are welcome.

You can see his work at his website: www.palmerioart.com. The class is a benefit for Pines & Palms: The Georgia/Florida Artist Association. 

The fee is $250 for members of Pines & Palms and $275 for non-members. The class will be held in a private studio in Thomasville.

Pines & Palms is also helping to build the success of well-known and award-winning local artist Kay Cromartie with her horse and hunting life scenes. She is teaching a new class at the Ochlocknee train station. Cromartie, who is a member of Pines & Palms, has taken a year and a half to completely remodel the historic building and at the beginning of the year opened it to the public for art and social events.

“The interior has ample space for the class, and the restored kitchen and dining area with the original tall ceilings, brick walls and woodwork of the depot are charming. Top that off with the smell of fresh coffee and rolls, and we get our creative juices going,” says one of her students.

You can see Cromartie’s work at the Wiregrass Gallery on Broad Street in Thomasville.

Cromartie’s instruction helps students master drawing by practicing several ways to capture the lines and shadows of the muscles and clothes of a live model. The class meets the last Monday of the month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The fee is $30. The first two classes attracted 10 to 12 students from as far away as Valdosta, Tallahassee and Hahira. Students need to bring charcoal, pencils, erasers, a large drawing pad and a bag lunch. Students pay only for the classes they attend.

In addition to offering these classes, Pines & Palms has moved some of the recent Thomasville Fall For Art Show paintings to the Roddenbery Memorial Library in Cairo. Artists from Sarasota, Florida, Apalachicola, Florida, Valdosta and Tallahassee, Florida are in the show. The exhibit runs through March 10.

To enroll in either class or to learn how you can get more involved with Palms & Pines call Sandi Shaw at (816) 309-5131.