A canvas cruise: Visitors of the Art Drive see art on the go

It was quite the hot day Saturday, Aug. 3, but that didn’t deter those seeking a glimpse into the world of art in Westport and Dartmouth, according to Beverly Carter, one of the founders of The Art Drive. 

This was the drive’s 16th year, and featured 26 studios of juried art in a 15-mile loop for people to visit. 

Carter has had her studio on Fremont Street for 20 years now, which as long as she’s been doing ceramics. 

Though she did other art prior, after taking a class with a Japanese potter, she said, “I just fell in love with the actual hands on, the texture [and] actual making of the things out of a mound of clay.”

She joked, “I was just addicted and I still am.”

Carter said this year’s drive had gone well with people “very interested” and “complimentary.”

In addition to the studio visits, Carter said, “I think a lot of people were very interested in the diversity of the presentations and demonstrations they could learn about.”

Among the presentations, one demonstration was on floral arranging and another was on how to develop characters for a book — that was taught by Sandy Hall, another of the drive’s founders.

Hall has had her studio on Elm Street for about 29 years and has done art her whole life. 

“It’s just always been my love,” Hall said. Her work includes watercolor and ink, with paintings, prints and books filling up her studio.

She said the drive was “very hot, but it’s been well attended.”

“It’s a wonderful event that I personally look forward to every year,” Hall said, adding how she loves to see community participation.

Sally Foskett, of Newburyport, was working on the start of a watercolor painting outside Carter’s studio as visitors came and went. Though she has helped Carter with the event in the past, this was her first year as a participant. 

Foskett said she was inspired by her father to do art as he was a photographer.

However, for her, “Photography just wasn’t enough. With the lens you can see stuff clearer and farther away, but you can’t get the softness that you feel in nature. You can’t get the character.”

Once she started to do watercolor, she found it to be “really satisfying and absorbing,” she said.

Participating in the drive this year, she said it’s “so gratifying” to connect with visitors over her art. 

“Painting is a very solitary endeavor and face-to-face is just so rewarding,” Foskett said.

Kathryn Mitchell Dirico, of Melrose, and Jane Sandor, of Los Angeles, California, said they are both typically in town around this time of year and make an effort to visit studios in the drive. 

Mitchell Dirico said she loves hearing everyone’s story of their time in Dartmouth and how their art came to be.

“I hope they keep doing it,” she added. “It’s a fun way to connect with the community.”