A family affair

A distance of about 150 miles separates sisters Margaret Schneider and Annie Schuchart, but their mutual love of painting in watercolors makes sure they see quite a lot of each other.

Starting tonight, the sisters' work will be on display at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri's "Artful Excursions: Sisters Paint Europe" exhibit.

Also on exhibit is "Art Together," featuring the work of husband and wife Dr. Ray and Ann Ritter.

The exhibits are a study in compare and contrast.

Both showcase an artistic duo instead of an individual artist, although the artists all work on their pieces individually. The art on display is not the result of two people working together, but side by side, to create their own vision.

While the Ritters are rather new artists, having started taking lessons only about four years ago, Schneider and Schuchart have been involved since they were children.

"Our whole family is artistic in some way, so we grew up with a lot of interest in art," Schuchart said. The family is made up of six sisters and three brothers.

The sisters, both attractive petite brunettes, somewhat resemble each other, but their artwork bears more of a resemblance.

Schneider and Schuchart use a similar watercolor technique in their work. Both use soft variations of primary colors and a pretty dense application of paint, giving their work a bright, clear appearance.

In their watercolor paintings, Schneider said she and her sister "look more for clarity and bright, beautiful colors."

The sisters said, however, that any similarities in their work are not intentional.

"We just do what we like and it winds up being very much alike," Schneider said.

As the title of the exhibit reveals, the artwork the sisters have on display were either done Plein Air style while traveling in Europe, or were painted later on from photos taken on the trips.

The paintings document visits to France, Italy, Germany, England and Ireland.

The trip to Ireland was particularly memorable to the sisters because their maternal grandmother was born there. Schneider and Schuchart visited relatives while they were in Ireland and saw the cottage where their grandmother was born, which was later made into a painting. The cottage painting is included in this exhibit, but belongs to their mother and is not for sale.

When the sisters entered the cottage, "you could feel your ancestry coming out of the walls," Schneider said.

Both sisters attended the University of Missouri in Columbia and Annie received a master's degree from Southeast Missouri State University, but in the years following school they were not able to see as much of each other.

Schneider moved to Colorado in 1984 and then Atlanta in 1990. She moved back to Missouri in 1993 to live in St. Louis, which is around the time she and Schuchart started painting together. Schuchart has lived in Sikeston for 30 years.

"People often say, 'do you know how lucky you are to have a sister that shares a common interest?' and we say, 'yeah, we do'," Schuchart said. "Even when she was living in Atlanta, she'd send me material. There was always this back and forth. We always spent a long time on the phone, talking about nothing except art."

In addition to their trips to Europe, the sisters have also taken trips together to New Mexico, South Carolina and Wisconsin, where they attended art workshops.

Currently, Schuchart is a member of the Visual Arts Cooperative, while Schneider is on the waiting list. Both belong to the Sikeston Bootheel Regional Art Guild and the St. Louis Art Guild.

Dr. Ray and Ann Ritter were both members of the Visual Arts Cooperative before they even started taking art lessons about four years ago from Oran's Cleda Curtis Neal.

"We went there to learn, but in the beginning we didn't know if we'd like it and stick with it, but we did and we love it," Ann Ritter said. "I'm amazed at what I can do. I'm proof that anybody can learn."

Ann Ritter works mostly in oils, while her husband's medium of choice is pastels.

There are several pastel portraits by Ray Ritter in this exhibit, including "Man from Nepal" and "Man on Train, " which were drawn from photos taken from the Ritters' travels.

Although they consider themselves students and not artists, the Ritters take their art seriously and spend time outside their Saturday class critiquing each other's work and thinking of possible subject matter.

"It's relaxing and it's our time together," Ann Ritter said. "We like having our time together to do this."

kalfisi@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182

Want to go?

What: "Artful Excursions: Sisters Paint Europe" and "Art Together"

When: Reception from 5 to 8 p.m., exhibit runs until May 29

Where: Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, 32 N. Main