Ruth Brown is one of the original members of the Penn Yan Art Guild.

  Ruth was born Ruth McMaster, in Penn Yan. She grew up on Bath Road, attending District #3 school on Willow Grove Road, which was a one-room schoolhouse for elementary grades. Among Ruth's memories of country school days are the many times she would stop, on her way home from school to visit neighbors, the Thayers. Mr. Thayer had a large desk with a stool and a big supply of paper and pencils. It was at the Thayers' that young Ruth would develop her love of drawing. In school, Ruth remembers that the younger students had the advantage of absorbing what the older students were learning and therefore were often accelerated in their studies. When Ruth was in school, a seventh grader had the opportunity to take a pre-high school Regents exam, and if passed, the student could go directly to high school, thus skipping eighth grade. Ruth did this and graduated from high school a year early. Some of her favorite high school classes were those in art and mechanical drawing. To this day, Ruth is often asked to letter posters and title cards for the art exhibits in Penn Yan, because no one does it as beautifully as she does. Ruth graduated from Penn Yan Academy on Main Street, which was a lovely, stone school building, and is sadly missed by all those who knew it as students. Soon after graduating from high school, Ruth married Erwin Brown who was a vineyardist. And together they shared the chores of vineyard keeping on Fullagar Road. Ruth and Erwin had one daughter, Judith, who now lives in Kansas City, Missouri.

  After graduating, Ruth worked in advertising art at the Penn Yan Shopping Guide. This she did for many years. Later Ruth studied with Bernard Gerstner, a well-known Rochester artist. Ruth and fellow Penn Yan Art Guild artist, Florence Middlebrook, would go together one day a week to attend Bernard Gerstner's classes or workshops. These were outdoor painting classes and as Ruth said "we were painting plein air before plein air became the popular term." This was when Ruth felt she really got started in painting. Working in oil for several years, Ruth became attracted by the clearness of watercolor, and decided she had to try this, too. Again, she took many watercolor workshops, and did lots of reading of books and art magazines in the Penn Yan Library.

  Ruth furthered her pursuit in watercolor by early taking lessons from Marian Simpson, followed by attending many workshops here and as far away as Rockport, Massachusetts. When Ruth and her husband, Erwin, wintered in Florida during their retirement years, Ruth had the opportunity to take watercolor classes there. She also benefited from viewing demonstrations by Helen Van Wyk, a nationally known artist.

  Ruth Brown is one of the charter members of the Penn Yan Art Guild. She remembers the early days of the Guild when they would meet in each other's homes. There were only ten or twelve members at that time, and the meetings were very comfortable. They would meet once a month, and always there was a program with a guest artist who was very instructive. Ruth remembers, a long time ago, when Dick Kane came from Rochester to present a program to the Guild. Other fond memories she has are of going to art shows with Jane Terry and of painting with Mona Trezise, both she knew well as friends from the Guild.

  It is such a pleasure to listen to Ruth as she talks of her love of this area and her joy in painting the inspiring scenes all around her. She talks of driving and "breaking over the top of a hill and seeing the lake and the hills and valleys, and stopping the car to drink it all in." She has no problem finding places to paint---there is beauty all around and the changing seasons are each an inspiration to her. Some of Ruth's favorite scenes to paint are Knapp Road overlooking the Bluff, James Road overlooking the West Branch of Keuka Lake, barns in all seasons, wildflowers and vineyards. "In a nutshell" said Ruth, "my inspiration comes from nature and that envelops a big area."

  Ruth Brown's paintings have been exhibited in regional shows, the Penn Yan Art Guild Exhibit, and at the Gallery of the Yates County Arts Center. Ruth has been an exhibiting artist, annually, at the Hammondsport Art In The Park and the Art Barn Show in Penn Yan.