On Friday, December 3rd, Older is Better members engaged in a Paint N’ Sip presentation and the assignment was to paint and create a winter tree scene under the caring instruction of Felician University Graphic Design Professor Melissa MacAlpin. She took them step by step into a world of creativity. Previously, at their first Paint N’ Sip, members painted cherry blossom trees.

Professor MacAlpin teaches a wide array of classes at Felician University including Intro to Computer Graphics, 2D Design, Form Space and Time, Mass Media, Women and Art, and History of Graphic Design. In addition to being an academic, Professor MacAlpin is a working artist, currently part of a group exhibition of the Artist Residency Program at New Jersey City University. “The projects I pick for Paint N’ Sips are fun, because at the end of the lesson everyone learns the technique to make that particular painting,” said Prof. MacAlpin, as she went table to table offering tips and suggestions to the budding artists. “We think art is so complex and hard, but all you have to do is be patient with yourself, and experiment, seeing what paint can do, seeing what happens with colors, seeing what happens with brushes.”

The seniors sipped non-alcoholic cider as they created their own wintery landscapes using palettes of black, blue, white, green, and red acrylic paint, and an ample supply of foam brushes. The students had the chance to paint either a daytime or nighttime tree scene with Prof. MacAlpin showing them how to achieve their end goal by using and blending specific colors, while telling Older is Better members, “the same way that everyone has different handwriting, everyone has a different painting style.” Prof. MacAlpin’s teaching style was appreciated by students of all ages including Joan Tabor of Passaic who said, “Everyone is looking at the same picture, but everyone puts their own spin on it, and I think that’s great.”

Some members expressed interest in a future lecture on art history, and Prof. MacAlpin said she would love to talk to the seniors about New Jersey art history when Older is Better starts up again in the Spring semester.

Felician University’s Older is Better (OlB), an open membership program for men and women 55 and over, meets Friday afternoons at 1pm in the 2nd Floor Lecture Hall of Obal Hall on the Lodi campus. The nominal $3 fee was waived for the Fall semester. If interested in becoming an OIB member, contact Aneta Wygonik at WygonikA@felician.edu.