(A special thanks to Allen Gladwell Carter, Sr., artist extraordinaire and my brother-in-law for permission to reprint the following article.  It appeared in the May 2006 issue of “DelawareToday Magazine” under Active Lifestyles section with full page photograph by Thom Thompson. Thanks to Allen for adding an “update” at the end of the article.
Be sure to check out his paintings at http://www.allengcartersr.com/bio.htm)
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Aging with Easel

Until four years ago, Allen Carter Sr. had never touched brush to canvas.

Now he’s mad for Velasquez, takes 12 hours of painting instruction a week and is working on three different paintings.

Carter, 74, and a handful of fellow artists sometimes share the cost of a model. They meet in the basement studio of Carter’s Wilmington home.

Frances, his wife of 41 years, earned her master’s in psychology in 2000 and has worked as a therapist and substance abuse counselor for the past five years. It was his wife’s return to college that inspired Carter to pursue art.

He retired eight years ago after a career in international marketing, then returned to college, earning a bachelor’s of fine arts in 2001 from West Chester University.

“I had fun with the kids in college,” Carter says. “It was a blast. The age difference disappeared in about two weeks because I was competing with them.”

Carter studies privately with Neilson Carlin, director of the Brandywine Atelier School of Classical Painting in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. “I can’t wait until I get to his class, and I hate to leave,” Carter says.

Carter, who paints in the classic realist tradition, works in his own studio two days a week and spends at least thee hours a week training another artist. He held his first show last year at West Chester’s Mitchell Hall.

“I never expected to get this far, quite frankly,” he says. “I surprised myself. I didn’t think I’d have the talent, energy or the desire. All of the sudden I thought, What the heck? I can do this, too.”

Carter is working on a replica of Diego Velasquez’s “The Water Seller of Seville,” a portrait of the Duke of Wellington and a painting of Frances with their son, Allen Jr., from a photo Carter took 30 years ago.

UPDATE, MARCH 2010

Aging with Easel continues.  Allen had a two man show (with Neilson Carlin) at the Pierre S. du Pont Art Center in Wilmington, DE in February, 2009.  He was a featured artist in the Feb./Mar. 2009 issue of International Art magazine, “A Students Case For The Reproduction of Master Paintings”.

He is currently a  member of the Philadelphia Sketch Club, and the Portrait Society of America.   And, he has participated in shows at The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Newman Galley (Phila.), and the Rehoboth Beach Art League.

Where can you find and purchase Allen’s paintings?

• His website, http://www.allengcartersr.com/
• Currently, some of his works are showing at the Hardcastle Galley in Centreville, DE.
• This spring if you’re in the New Jersey/Philadelphia area, check out his show at the Burlington Art Center in Burlington, N.J.

Thank you, Allen, for sharing your journey in discovering your passion for painting and your wonderful works of art!!!

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About the artist –Allen Gladwell Carter, Sr.

Allen Gladwell Carter, Sr. (1931 -) was  born in Southampton, New York and obtained an engineering degree in 1953.  Following military service he pursued a career in international marketing, during which time he took advantage of his worldwide travels to study the great architecture and major museum collections of the world.  Upon retirement, he obtained a second degree at West Chester University in West  Chester, PA, earning in 2001, a BFA in the studio arts with a minor in art history.  Since that timed he has studied continually at the Rilievo Studio with artist/director Neilson Carlin in Kennett Square, PA.  This has been supplemented with courses at the Delaware College of Art and Design (DCAD), the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and teaching as a visiting artist at West Chester University, instructing in the areas of art history, color and design, and drawing of the human figure.  Mr. Carter is a member of the Portrait Society of America, and the Philadelphia Sketch Club.

Mr. Carter’s last exhibit of the works of his studio was at the Pierre S. du Pont Art Center in Wilmington, DE, 6 – 27 February 2009.

Mr. Carter resides with his wife in Greenville and Rehoboth Beach, DE.

For more information visit www.allengcartersr.com

I immersed myself for 15 minutes in using a new kit called the “Virtual Dementia Tour”.  Ok, so it was just a simulation and only for 15 minutes, but it totally changed my perception of dementia.  In fact, I can’t get the experience out of my mind.  I believe that’s a good thing!

2.  My Top 5 List – Things I Wish I Had Known

If you didn’t have time to listen to my 30 minute radio interview with Viki Kind, do not worry!  I’ve created two Top 5 lists that summarize keypoints from that conversation.  You can quickly peruse my lists and hopefully pick up one or two tips that will help you and your aging parent before crisis hits.

5 things I did (in my mother’s crisis) that helped
5 things I wish I had known and done beforehand

3.  Amazing Art Therapy for the Elderly

An artist/philosopher brings his love of art and deep belief in its healing power to a nursing home. You will be moved by this video which describes his form of art (mandala) and shows one of his weekly workshops. People who can’t even speak their names become engaged!

4. New Software Enabled Elderly Mother to Send First Email

Right before my mother wrapped up her two week vacation with us this summer, an amazing thing happened.  She logged on to a computer for the very first time in her life, sent an email, received photos from me, and set up her calendar.  She will be able to view all these from one screen – one portal when she returns to her retirement community.

5.  Love Letter from Aging Parent to Daughter

This is a beautiful tribute to our aging parents…a reflection on the wonderful gifts we can give our parents as they age.

As I put this list together, I can only wonder, what 5 posts will appear here at the end of 2010?

Arnold Bresky, a preventive gerontologist, uses art therapy in his work with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.

Twelve years ago, Bresky began working with patients on preventing memory loss, developing a program he calls “Brain Tune Up”.  Besides drawing and painting, it includes a mult-disciplinary approach that also uses music. And, his program is covered by Medicare.

He recently introduced his program to 8 residents at the Sunrise Senior Living facility in Woodland Hills, CA.  He got each of them to draw the face of a person by “copying lines and patterns from one sheet of paper to a grid on another sheet”.  The result:  the participants all produced renderings of the face and were excited to discuss what they had done.  And, they exercised their brains.  Bresky says this type of activity connects both sides of the brain.  “We’re getting the brain to grow new cells.  It’s called brain plasticity.  The brain changes physically to the environment”.

Bresky says, “My program improves the memory function to enhance a person’s quality of life”.

He now teaches his program to caregivers, nursing students and through his book, “Brain Tune Up: The Secret for Caregiver Success”.  If you live in the Los Angeles area, some  of Bresky’s artwork is on display this month at City Hall.

(Source: http://www.kansascity.com/news/nation/story/1250801.html