FASST: Fine Arts Society of the Southern Tier

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Don is a retired Pharmacist living in Endicott, NY with his wife Eleanor.  They have three sons and seven  grand-children. 

He is essentially a self-taught artist and  credits renowned artists Marian Simpson and Ted Whipple with inspiring him to enter in the world of art.  Don paints in oil, acrylic, watercolor, and pastel in his “Studio” a converted rec-room  which has wall-lighting to display his work, in essence a Mini-gallery.  He works at an easel  with  Ott Lighting and also GE Natural Daylight to maintain a natural lighting for his work.  Most of his paintings are from his many digital photos that he has stored in his computer or many from friends taken in their travels throughout the world  and are used only as references for the paintings.  

He started to paint only after he retired.  He became a member of the Board of Directors of the Fine Arts Society around the year 2000 and served for nine years.  Don has  exhibited paintings in the Fine Arts Gallery for many years and has won several ribbons in the Fine Arts Juried Shows held yearly.  He has exhibited and sold paintings in the Broome County Library, a featured artist in the Phelps Mansion, the Endicott Library, the Bundy Museum, Starbucks on the Vestal Pky,  July Fest in Binghamton the several years, the Heart and Song Gallery in Greene, NY.

Don’s love of art just didn’t begin when he retired from the practice of Pharmacy.  It began many years ago but was over-shadowed by his love of science which he pursued and made his career.  Art to Don means creating a painting from within, from your soul, and it relates to  your finished product.  A painting has a feeling emanating from it.  To stand in front of paintings by the Masters, being there in person, evokes emotion.  No matter what field of endeavor one is in, art should be part of your make-up.  It will make you whole.  A big mistake would be to remove art and music from our school curricula.