Maryland artists Lori Myers, left, and Margo Lehman, right, meet every Monday to paint together. Myers worked in the art industry, while Lehman started painting in earnest after she retired from a 40-year career in accounting. Anyone can take an art class, Lehman says. “There’s no gatekeeper to say you can’t come and participate.” Photo courtesy of Margo Lehman and Lori Myers

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Margo Lehman sits painting by the southern window of her home art studio in Sunshine, Maryland, eight miles west of Clarksville. Her friend Lori Myers is across the room, painting by the north window. The two women, who are in their 60s, spend time painting together every Monday.

The women had their first joint exhibit, titled “Monday Painters: First Look by Margo Lehman & Lori Myers,” last fall at the Sandy Spring Museum.

The term “Sunday painter” usually refers to a part-time amateur artist, but Lehman and Myers studied art for many years. During the pandemic they were classmates in the Master Artist Program at the Compass Atelier in Rockville. They had known each other previously, but the program created a strong bond between the two artists, who grew up in Maryland 50 years ago, when it was more rural. Both paint landscapes and nature scenes.

“We happened to be in the same class together, and that was when we really realized that we had very similar subject matter that interested us, a very similar style,” Lehman said.

Although they both graduated in spring 2023, they’ve been painting together ever since.

According to Myers, painting together every week is much like being in the classroom with Lehman.

“We bounce ideas off each other, and we can give each other critiques. And if one person has a question, the other person can sometimes answer it,” Myers said.

Two paths to painting

Myers studied fine arts in college and worked adjacent to the art world as a visual merchandiser and an art framer, all the while painting in her free time.

Lehman became a painter after a career in accountancy. Although her interest in art began in high school, her family didn’t think she was good enough to be a professional artist.

“It was determined by my elders that I did not have talent. And so, it wasn’t worth taking art classes,” said Lehman, who grew up in the Ashton-Sandy Spring area.

Instead, she majored in dance in college and later entered the business world to support her family. Ten years ago, though, Lehman began studying fine arts and painting in a county art class.

“That was when I realized that…learning to see the world through an artist’s eye is something that can be learned. You just need to be taught,” Lehman said.

Myers also became interested in art in high school and went on to study graphic design in college. “When you go to college art classes, they seem to expect you to know it already,” Myers said.

She found the classes at the Compass Atelier much more satisfying. “The first year is basics. If you already know it, you re-learn it. If you’ve never done it, you’re learning it,” Myers said.

Capturing childhood memories

With the basics behind them, Myers and Lehman found themselves drawn to landscape painting.

Myers was raised on her grandfather’s farm in Damascus, which is now a subdivision.

“There were streams all over the place, and during the summer we’d spend most of our time in the woods, playing in the streams,” Myers said.

Myers is currently creating what she calls “still scapes,” which are close-up, still-life versions of the landscape.

“Right now, I’m working on a ripple in the water after I drop a stone in it. So they’re more like still scapes,” Myers said.

“I just like limiting the focus rather than [painting] the expanse — honing in on something, whether it’s a flower in a tree or a bough of leaves,” she added.

Lehman, a Quaker, also focuses on details in her work, particularly light and shadow.

Quakers “refer to the light,” she explained, “which is a way of referring to that divine force that any person of theology is trying to connect with. When you’re an artist, what you’re trying to do is paint the effect of light on everything else.”

Lehman considers her oil paintings of the woods a way to celebrate the beauty of the natural world. “But also, there is some message in there about caring for the earth and recognizing that it’s under attack right now, and we need to preserve it,” Lehman said.

Lehman urges everyone to explore what she calls “their human right to create art.” After all, art is open to everyone, she said.

“There are no walls. There’s no gatekeeper to say you can’t come and participate.”

Lehman and Myers hope to hold more joint exhibits in the future. In the meantime, they’ll continue painting together on Mondays.

To see the Monday Painters’ artwork, visit margolehmanart.com and lorimyersart.com.