Renowned Artist To Lead Next Lawrence Hopewell Trail Walk

LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP, NJ — A renowned local artist will lead a walk at the Lawrence Hopewell Trail (LHT) on July 25, 9 a.m. to noon. Rain date is July 26.

Jeffrey Charlesworth, the immediate past president of the New Jersey Chapter of the Landscape Architects of America, will lead a walk featuring "slow looking," his approach to capturing the art of nature.

"Slow looking is a technique that enables you to truly see the beauty in nature -- and to capture it on paper," Charlesworth said.

Participation will be limited to the first 20 enrollees, so they can maintain social distancing in accordance with health guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Participants will also be expected to wear facemasks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

To sign up, go to https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a48aca629abfd0-lhtsketching.
The LHT will maintain a waiting list if the class fills. If last-minute issues prevent a registered walker from attending, please let Becky know so someone from the waiting list can be invited to join.

Charlesworth is a teacher of landscape design, planting design and graphics at Delaware Valley College in Doylestown, Pa. His oil paintings are featured regularly in local galleries, and his landscape design firm has received state and regional awards for landscape architecture, planting and environmental design.

Charlesworth will demonstrate sketching techniques and talk about developing an eye for careful looking. He expects two-to-three sketching sessions to occur during the walk.

The walk will start at the entrance to Carson Road Woods accessible via the Mya Drive neighborhood off Rosedale Road. Attendees are asked to parallel park on Belleview Terrace, at the LHT entrance as shown here: https://goo.gl/maps/zMAm7kA8rxavsdwf7.

"We plan to explore the open fields and woodlands along the trails," Charlesworth said. "Our drawing studies will include landscapes, trees, and plant forms. Bring your curiosity! Ideally, we will find a shady place for a group review at 11:30, when we will share our works and our thoughts."

Participants should bring the following items:

• An artist's sketchbook—hardback, 8.5x11 inches minimum. Blank, white unlined paper. Spiral bound is helpful for larger sizes.
• Drawing tools such as #2 graphite pencils or HB, B, 2B hardness. Mechanical pencils are fine.
• Optional accompaniments include a lightweight camping stool, sun hat, water bottle, bugspray, and a cooler with drinks to fetch at 11:30.

For more information, contact Jeff at jeffreycharlesworth@gmail.com or Becky Taylor, co-president of the LHT, who will host the group, at info@lhtrail.org.