Barns, pears, abstracts in Block show at library

SHARON — The work of Sharon artist Janet André Block is on display at the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon through Jan. 31. Block has been painting since the late 1990s, inspired (as so many people were, in so many ways) by her husband, the late Zenas Block. “Zenas wanted to sculpt, so we took six weeks off and went to Italy so he could study sculpting.”She found that she enjoyed creating art, but decided to pursue two-dimensional art instead of sculpture. Upon their return to Sharon, she began to study drawing and painting. She studied for a while at the The School of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and is now enrolled in a master’s program at New York University.Block has recently moved from Salisbury to Sharon. Her library show opened in December. Block’s show at the library is divided into three categories. There are large black-and-white abstract acrylics as well as smaller paintings, in oil, of pears and barns. Block said she loves the shapes of pears. “They can represent so many things.” And she finds the shapes of barns to be “fascinating.”When asked if she paints in real time or from photographs, Block said she normally paints from memory.“People are always asking me how I do this,” she said. “I sincerely believe anyone can make art if they’re willing to take the time. I just love the whole process of it.” For information about other library programs, call 860-364-5041 or go to www.hotchkisslibrary.org.

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