LONGMEADOW — Longmeadow Artist Stuart Warshaw only has to visit the town’s Adult Center to see the fruits of his work this month as an exhibit of his cartoons and drawings is on display throughout April.
The exhibit features roughly 30 works, each with vivid colors achieved using a mix of watercolors, pastels and pen-and-ink. The centerpiece of the exhibit is a work near the Adult Center entrance. The painting depicts people on the lawn at the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox. Visitors are invited to guess how many people are shown picnicking in the artwork. The winner of this contest will have a choice of art pieces to take home.
Warshaw has been drawing since the age of 5. He began his love of art as a child, when the Springfield Daily News, now the Springfield Republican, ran a children’s drawing contest. Warshaw said he was hooked.
The budding artist attended the Rhode Island School of Design, before becoming a Marine during the Korean War. When he returned to civilian life, he entered a family business in chemicals, but continued with his passion for art, painting and drawing as a sideline and for the pleasure of it.
Warshaw has also drawn for charitable endeavors. As a sort of Bob Ross for cartoons, he visited a children’s ward at Baystate Health and drew notable cartoon characters while the children followed along. He undertook similar programs at adult centers and libraries, as well.
Warshaw is a prolific artist and estimates he has drawn about 1,000 cartoons. While he sells many of them, he also gives them away, whether to charities or individuals he knows.
The topics of Warshaw’s drawings range from owls to sports figures and everything between. Much of his work could be considered slice-of-life, with the content reflecting day-to-day scenes and activities.
“Everything I do is meant to bring a smile to someone’s face,” Warshaw said. “In tough times like this, it’s necessary.”
Warshaw has found solace in his work during his own recent tough times. After losing his son about 18 months ago, Warshaw’s daughter died in early April. “If I hadn’t had cartooning to turn to, it would have been even harder,” he said. When he is drawing, he said, “My thoughts are not on anything.”
While some of the artwork is part of his personal collection, much of it is for sale. The exhibit is displayed on the second floor of the Adult Center, 211 Maple Rd., Longmeadow.
