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Beauty is in the Eye of the Painter
By Lisa Eastman

What inspires an artist such as Margaret Twitchell to paint? Her answer: “Beauty! It’s all around us and people don’t even notice it. I get very excited about it…sometimes I think that if I had my camera and captured the beauty, then painted it just as I see it, no one would ever believe it was real.”

Imagine going through life beckoned by the call of beauty; blessed with the gift to see beauty in everyday things and the drive to recreate it with paint. “I get so mesmerized by clouds,” she shares, “most people would probably think that’s weird.” But to Margaret all the world’s a potential painting and in order to see…you must look.

Margaret’s artistic career began young, sketching her classmates in school, and for the yearbook as a teen. She attended her first painting class in Dover at 19, where she learned the art of mixing colors. Later she took classes at UNH and attended workshops and demos with the late Helen Van Wyk, host of PBS series “Welcome to my Studio.” Helen Van Wyk had a huge influence on Margaret and though it was many years ago, Margaret can still quote her:

“You must have the three Ds to paint well: the Desire, the Dedication and the Determination; as well as the Heart, to want to paint, the Head, to know how to paint, and the Hand, to do the painting. You aren’t painting a picture, you’re creating a painting.”

Margaret has been painting and creating most of her life. "Now I’m more into the paint than ever.” Painting two to two and a half hours every night, she says she constantly has at least four paintings going at any one time, and never runs out of subjects to paint.

Most of her work is commissioned and are special requests. Mostly word of mouth brings her work and often times it comes from total strangers who may have a friend of a friend who has one of her pieces. Quite humbly, Margaret is amazed by that! Taken aback by her own reputation, she said, “Why would someone want me to paint for them, when they never even met me?”

Some larger paintings may take up to two months to complete but Margaret feels a real sense of satisfaction when she sees the look on her client’s face when she reveals the piece to them. “That makes me feel really good, that’s the real reward.”

Painting is not only rewarding for Margaret, it is also very therapeutic. “If I get upset or frustrated, I just go down in my studio and put on 94.9 and listen to soft rock while I get lost in my painting. It’s very relaxing even though some of the detail work can be quite exhausting; when I am done I’ve forgotten what I was upset about.”

Margaret’s paintings are very diverse, including portraits, stills, animals, houses, land and seascapes. Working mostly with oils, her skills permit her to recreate anything almost exact. Every detail in her paintings can hardly be distinguished from the same details in a photo. The smallest details are brushed in with needle point brushes. Some of her paintings are all done with palette knives and she even does an occasional watercolor.

Having won a scrapbook full of ribbons, certificates and awards for her artwork, she is particularly proud about having gone national on four separate occasions after winning at the local and state levels. She is very honored to have had such opportunities.

Margaret’s paintings have been exhibited at the New England Center in Durham and she has recently sold paintings and prints at the Cottonboro Farm in Wakefield, NH.

Margaret is a lifelong resident of Somersworth and has been actively involved in the local Women’s club since the 1950s. Having served as president, she’s now the club’s corresponding secretary and publicist. She has donated many paintings to the club, the church and other causes for fundraising, and is proud of her connection to the Women's club and all the good work they do for the surrounding communities.

Margaret's paintings are breathtaking and awe inspiring, and pale only in comparison to her unassuming personality, extensive history of community service and commitment to her craft.

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