Page 10 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • September 21, 2011 Ridgewood During the month of October, the Valley Hospital Art Gallery will feature the plein air paintings of Carolyn Opderbeck and Lorrie Pallant’s watercolors. The gallery is located in the corridor leading to the Kurth Cottage Café and Gift Shop, 223 North Van Dien Avenue in Ridgewood, and is open seven days a week. A resident of Hawthorne, Opderbeck enjoys the challenge if painting outdoors and capturing the beauty of the colors, contrasts, and textures of the surrounding landscape and focusing on painting the light. Born in Paterson, she credits her father and her seventh grade art teacher for the encouragement to become the artist she is today. She entered a city-wide contest for students in the Paterson schools and won first prize for watercolor painting done from the school window. Opderbeck studied art at the Entwhistle Schiool of Art, the Ridgewood School of Art under Arthur Maynard, Allan Avery and F. Rossi, The Isobel O’Neill studio in New York City, at various workshops, and with private teachers. Throughout her art career, she has enjoyed success with a variety of media, including watercolors, oils and tile murals for kitchen backsplashes. She has taught art at the Hawthorne Christian Academy in Hawthorne and to home-schooled children. Opderbeck has received awards at local exhibits and has sold her paintings through various galleries. Her paintings were also exhibited at the Designer Showcase House of New Jersey in Upper Saddle River. Pallant’s watercolors of landscapes and flowers are an expression of her passion for the play of light and color in natural settings. She finds watercolors a natural medium for painting these places and things she loves. Painting for more than 30 years, she used oils and charcoal before concentrating on watercolors. Currently she is studying with Christine Ferreira Friedman at the Art Center of Northern New Jersey. She has also studied with Eli Rosenthal, Mel Stabin, and Joel Popadics. Pallant, from Spring Valley, New York, is a signature Valley Hospital Gallery to feature Opderbeck, Pallant Pictured are examples of Carolyn Opderbeck and Lorrie Pallant’s artwork. member of the North East Watercolor Society. Her work was accepted and shown in the 2010, 2006 and 2005 Northeast Watercolor Society International Shows and at the 2006 -2009 CAA National Juried Shows, in which she won the Norman Felton Memorial Award. Her work appeared in the Open Juried Shows of the Ringwood Manor Art Association, every year, from 2003 to 2011 where her paintings have won prizes. In 2011, she took first prize in the watercolor category. Her work has been exhibited throughout the area. Pallant is a member ACWA, an association of professional watercolor artists. She belongs to the CAA Arts Association of New Jersey and the Art Center of Northern New Jersey. Her paintings have been awarded first prize in art competitions of the CAA.