Explore the talent and inspiration of the many varied artists that are members of the Franklin Art Association!

Diane Bell

Everyone needs a passion and I have found mine painting with watercolors. Until  recently I lived and painted in Vermont for over 30 years. Painting the landscape provides limitless possibilities and the ever changing light offers much inspiration along with the challenges associated with the medium. My paintings are bold and colorful impressions of the places I visit and the vistas I capture around my home and beyond.

Learn more about Diane and view samples of her art in her Gallery.

Hannah Close

I consider myself to be more of an art enabler than a working artist these days.  180 school days a year I work with about 125 talented and hard-working high school students, challenging them to expand their art making skills and ideas. I have served on the board of the Franklin Art Association for over 12 years.  In addition I have 2 children whose art I am to foster whenever possible. Consequently I rarely have time to make my own art, preferring to work on small collages and photography in recent years.  The vast majority of my photography features locations where my feet and wheels pass regularly walking our dogs and commuting to Silver Lake Regional High School where I teach.

Learn more about Hannah and view samples of her art in her Gallery.

Marc Cohen

I am a landscape and nature photographer with professional experience in the environmental field. My field work sometimes brings me to beautiful landscapes and wetlands which allow me to experience the art and science of photography. I like to experiment with aperture, shutter speed, and ISO settings to present the best quality of exposure.

Learn more about Marc and view samples of his art in his Gallery.

Gail Eckberg

When retiring from elementary teaching, then moving from Maine, Gail Eckberg was asked to teach art with the Franklin Public Schools Continuing Lifelong Learning in 1999.   She has taught pastel, watercolor, oil, acrylics, mixed media, monotype images, and more, from that time.   She has demonstrated for art groups, held plein air workshops, and has judged both adult and youth art exhibits.   Her award winning art is held in private and public collections, both here and abroad.    Her travels worldwide have taken her from simple to over-the-top places, staying and ‘going native’, while honing her artistic skills.  Growing up with many various artists in her family, she learned to appreciate art as well as doing it herself from a young age, and throughout her life.     She loves sharing her art background and knowledge with others, and wants everyone to either paint or appreciate the arts, or both.    As a teacher, it is so gratifying to see students achieve, grow, and accomplish skills with each class.    Drawing out the artist in a person, to paint in their own style, while truly enjoy doing it, is what it is about, for this artist-teacher.

Learn more about Gail and view samples of her art in her Gallery.

Dick Fotland

Dick Fotland received science degrees from Case Western Reserve University.  During his professional career, he conceived and developed a number of technologies for forming images on paper.  He started watercolor painting in 1997, switching to oil in 2000.  He reasons that conceptual engineering and art share many attributes; both require vision to foresee possibilities, striving for simplicity and focus, and the ability to discard what doesn’t work.

Learn more about Dick and view additional artwork on his YouTube channel at Colors and Keys – YouTube

Anthony George

I’ve been painting for most of my life, always trying to find new ideas and new ways. Modern, painterly, spontaneous, alive, any subject but mostly landscape. My goal in life is to paint murals.

Learn more about Anthony and view samples of his artwork in his Gallery.

Dale Hoopingarner

Scanner photography, or scanography, is a fairly unknown but growing art technique, using a digital scanner to capture images of flowers, leaves, seashells and more. The unique images the scanners capture yield an almost three-dimensional effect. But after visualizing and composing the shots, that’s where the hard work begins: detailed editing to remove any stray pollen or dust, and to turn the background 100% black — a process that can take 15-20 hours per image and often much more. The inky black background, though, makes the resulting images “pop”.

Learn more about Dale and view additional artwork at www.BitsOfNature.biz or in his Gallery.