For 50 years, these painters in Chelsea have found comradery in what can be a lonely art

CHELSEA, MI — While creating art can be a solo endeavor for many, a local collective of painters decades ago figured out that banding together was better than being isolated islands of creativity.

After 50 years, Chelsea Painters remains a cohesive collective of fine art painters, most of whom hail from the greater Ann Arbor area these days.

The group is celebrating its annual Chelsea Painters Art Fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 14, and Sunday, June 15, at the Chelsea Community Fairgrounds, 20501 Old U.S. 12, in Chelsea.

“A big piece of what we do is camaraderie,” member Carolyn Weins said.

“Art can be lonely, but we’re really like a family.”

About 18 member artists will exhibit and sell original fine artworks and cards at the fair. The artists work in a variety of media, including watercolor, acrylics, oil, pastels, gouache, egg tempera, and more.

Attendees can enter a raffle to win a $200 gift certificate to purchase art at the fair. Handpan percussionist Connor Pogue will perform midday Sunday.

It is a tight-knit group. The artists converge to paint together every week, September through May, at the service center at the fairgrounds. Once a month, they have constructive critiques of artworks they create. They also have discussions and demonstrations, and they exhibit together.

They are all older adults. Many have exhibited artworks in shows for decades. Some teach. Some are represented by galleries or belong to regional art societies.

Weins said the weekly meetings are “a commitment” that requires having some schedule flexibility, and younger people often have a lot of work and family commitments.

The group’s youngest members are in their 50s. And some lifetime members are in their 90s.

“Everybody has new art each year,” to bring to the fair, along with some older pieces, artist Lois Lovejoy said.

Members have to at least possess an intermediate skill level and also produce enough artworks to fill their fair booths.

“If you don’t work enough, you won’t have enough,” Lovejoy said.

The art collective formed in 1975, calling themselves the Chelsealand Painters until forming a nonprofit in 1990 and changing their name to Chelsea Painters.

The origin story actually begins in 1968, when art teacher Betty Maxwell was teaching art classes at a center that used to be at the corner of Main Street/M-52 and Old U.S. 12 in Chelsea, when it was a village.

In 1974, Maxwell organized an outdoor art show and sale on the grounds of Chelsea Hospital, as the hospital was opening its surgical wing.

Back then, artworks were hung on clotheslines, and handmade posters advertised the sale.

Madeleine Vallier, who in 1983 became president of the Chelsealand Painters, is credited with helping to develop the local art scene. The group started out having their weekly meetings in the basement of the local bowling alley.

They organized their art fairs on the hospital grounds until an expansion took away their grove. The fair was moved to the courtyard of the nearby Silver Maples senior living community and then to the fairgrounds.

Other than at the annual fair, art lovers can find the group’s artworks at exhibits across the local area. A rotating collection of their works is continuously on display inside Chelsea Hospital.

“We change that out several times a year, and it’s all for sale,” Lovejoy said.

Group exhibits have been organized over the years at a variety of venues, including Ypsilanti’s Riverside Art Center, the University of Michigan Hospital, The Ella Sharp Museum in Jackson, the Power Center in Ann Arbor, and Cherry Hill in Canton. An exhibit at the Ann Arbor City Club just wrapped up.

More information on Chelsea Painters, its artists, and the art fair is available at chelseapainters.com.

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