Bill Deveney is the water color teacher at the Lynnfield Senior Center. He has been teaching here for five years and says that he believes anyone can be an artist with patience and practice. He loves the supportive atmosphere among his students. Bill is a member of the Lynnfield Art Guild and the head of the crew that helps move and set up art shows. A favorite of his students are theme base collections. Last year the entire center enjoyed Bill’s talented students’ variations of pigs. The next theme will be goats, which I’m sure will be equally enjoyed.
The following is a narrative from Bill, highlighting his life and accomplishments.
“I’m a lifelong Lynn resident with three brothers and two sisters. As a boy I spent summers at my grandmother’s farm in Rochester, N.Y., where I learned about taking care of animals, gardening and even milking cows. In High school I ran track and was in the Art Club. I’ve always loved to draw and paint as far back as I can remember. I got caught skipping school once and they asked me where I was. I said, the Museum of fine Arts; they didn’t believe me, but it was true.
After high school I held a number of jobs in restaurants, tanneries and trucking. In 1968 I started the Apprentice Program at General Electric and graduated in 1972. During my career I’ve been in drafting, tool design and tool making. By this time I was married with three children and art took a back burner, although my interest never waivered.
When I retired, I joined Pauline Bacon’s art classes in Lynn and Lynnfield and learned so much from her. Pauline became ill and couldn’t continue to teach. I was really honored when she asked me to take over her classes and even more honored when the classes accepted me. I’ve always felt I’ve learned more from the people in my classes than they’ve learned from me. The whole experience has been great. I’ve met so many wonderful people and artists along the way. It’s been a blessing. I also enjoy reading, fishing, gardening, kayaking and traveling with my wife and my new granddaughter!”
LAG Demos by Bill Deveney
Watercolor Masking 4/19/2018 7-9 PM Lynnfield Senior Center