Dunmore Senior Center’s art teacher, Jill Swersie, is featured as Artist of the Years this month.

We are proud to feature the Dunmore Senior Center’s art teacher, Jill Swersie, this month and as our favorite Artist of the Years!  Jill teaches weekly oil painting classes at the Dunmore Senior Citizen Center.

In addition to her talent and artistic credits, Jill is a very special person. She comes to class early and stays late and provides an additional drawing class, at no charge. She is constantly offering the Center exposure to additional media like charcoal, watercolor, sculpture, scratchboard, etc.  

Jill personally connects to all of the students and is well aware of the trials and tribulations in their lives.  She reaches out to her students in need with personal phone calls, handmade cards and greetings signed by class members, and follows up on their progress.  

In class, Jill meets with us individually and offers us artistic advice in order to improve our pieces.  She instinctively knows when a “dab of Alizarin Crimson” or ”highlights of Cadmium Yellow” are needed and passes along those techniques and that knowledge.  Jill is our #1 cheerleader, encouraging us, promoting the arts, and arranging at least two art shows a year for us to exhibit our works.

She and her charming husband, Jack, even host an annual class picnic at her lovely home in the Poconos, and has provided en plein air classes for us in her area.

Professionally, Jill has been oil painting for over 35 years. Her work has been exhibited in art galleries and at shows in New York City, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Colorado.

Her paintings have been seen at almost every local art venue, and her exhibition awards are numerous. Her first mural, “Art of the Dance”, can be seen in downtown Stroudsburg, and her latest mural greets patrons as they enter East Stroudsburg’s Pocono Cinema and Cultural Center.

As one of five artists selected for Adams Outdoor Advertising’s ArtPop Exhibition, a larger-than-life copy of her oil painting “Man’s Best Friend” was seen on billboards throughout the Pocono region in 2016.

More of Jill’s artwork can be seen at here.

Jill has become not only our teacher but also our mentor, our sounding board, and our friend.

Thanks, Jill, and Happy New Year from your devoted students.