This Brooklynite loves going in to work on the weekends — so much so, he wants you to come, too!
An artist living on the cusp of Park Slope and Windsor Terrace is organizing an open studio tour in the two neighborhoods on Nov. 8 and 9. And he said he cannot wait to give locals a peak at what he has been working on.
“It’s a wonderful experience,” said Tom Keough, who has been a staple of the community since the 1970s. “You get to let your neighbors know what’s going on.”
Keough’s work includes paintings of Brooklyn streetscapes drenched in dramatic light.
“It’s all about a sense of home,” Keough said of his work. “I’m trying to show the city from the perspective of the people who live here.”
Another artist who draws inspiration from the borough is Laura Shechter, who along with her husband Ben, will be opening up the doors to their studio on Fourth Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues for the tour. Shechter’s work includes realistic landscapes of Brooklyn rooftops that she paints from photographs she takes while out on walks with her husband. Shechter said she doesn’t have to look too hard to find something to snap.
“We’re very lucky here,” she said. “We have a lot of trees. But we also have the skyline in the background. Where else can you get that?”
Keough said the area was teeming with artists when he first moved there. And though many have come and gone over the years, there is still a strong contingent living and working in the neighborhoods today, with 27 signing on to open their studio doors to the public.
“About half of the artists are people I’ve know for a long time,” said Keough. “But others are people I just met.”
Between noon and 7 pm, nosy p-art-kers will be able to wander into and around participating studios at their own leisure, where they can chat with artists, watch them at work, and even buy some original Brooklyn-made artwork right off the wall.
And as excited as Keough is about showing his work and workspace to people from outside the community, he said he is just as thrilled to share the two-day event with his neighbors.
“You don’t get to pick your neighbors,” he said. “But ours are just great.”
Park Slope Windsor Terrace Artists Open Studio Tour at various locations [From Lincoln Place to 23rd Street between Fourth Avenue and Seeley Street in Park Slope and Windsor Terrace, www.parkslopewindsorterraceopenstudio2014.wordpress.com]. Nov. 8–9 from noon–7 pm. Free.
