Friday, November 14, 2003
NEWS-LEADER / Fernandina Beach FL

Architect lives artful life (by Beverly Miller for the News-Leader)

    "When Bill Maurer gave up his last architecture practice in Morocco after 10 years, he moved to Englewood, N.J. - a move that lasted only three years before he realized he wanted to move south.
     "I moved to St. Simon's Island, and after 10 years , moved to Fernandina," Maurer says, "taught at the Y, then at the Peck Center and then at the Island Art Association co-op." But he spends May to September in Cannes, France.
     "In Cannes, I belong to the art association and go to the film festival," he says."The French have a certain philosophy of life that I enjoy."
     Maurer says the French are an easygoing people, "and contrary to what we are told here, they are very pro-American. French young people are coming here and to Australia, and some go to England for jobs," he says. "I live in Provence, and there is an American square dance club in Cannes, and people celebrate July 4," Maurer says.
    But art has always been his first love, the retired architect says. He is a graduate of Pratt Institute, a noted New York art school, spent a year teaching construction methods, then went to Harvard for a master's degree in architecture. In 1962, he won a scholarship to the Ecole de Beaux Art in France.
     And he had an apartment in Paris. "But with five kids and four grandkids, that was not practical," Maurer says. "So, I bought an old townhouse in Cannes. It was built in about 1910. I have no car. I ride a bicycle everywhere," the architect-turned- artist says.
    Maurer teaches at the Island Art Association and , as past president of The Beaches Art Center, he will teach there and at the Ponte Vedra Cultural Center. ..."
    

Wednesday, December 12, 2001
Nassau Neighbors

Cardiologist gives his heart to painting (by Allison Schaefers, Nassau Neighbors staff writer)

     Painting has made a former cardiologist's heart happy. After years of left-brain thinking, Neal Coleman is enjoying a right-brained retirement. The former cardiologist picked up a paint brush along with his golf clubs once he and his wife of 44 years, Imogene, retired to a condominium in Amelia Island Plantation's Windsong community.
     "I was always interested in painting, but I never had time to do it when I was working as a cardiologist and running a group of doctors," Coleman said.
     Coleman is just one of many retirees on the island who have found a new niche in painting. A student in Bill Maurer's watercolor studio, Coleman takes a three-hour painting class twice a week.
    More and more retired professionals are finding that they can't play golf every day and are turning to art as another outlet said Maurer, a retired architect who teaches at the Amelia Island Art Association.
Students say they enjoy studying art because it adds another dimension to life.
     "When you're in the scientific world, you have to think in terms of facts and defined parameters," Coleman said. "This provides a totally different construct in which to operate. you have a chance to just let things fly."
     Before retiring and taking up painting, Coleman lived a high-stress life, he said. he was president of Suburban Cardiologists in Hinsdale, Ill., a Chicago suburb. He's also a kidney transplant recipient, but that hasn't stopped his zest for life or his desire to learn new things.
    Painting was an item on the list of things he wanted to try. He's just about as comfortable now with a paint brush as he was with his medical instruments.
"I found something that I can do for the rest of my life and have a lot of fun," Coleman said.
     More art classes and some art trips are on the agenda, he said. He and his wife recently painted in France. They enjoy traveling and painting the sights wherever they go.
    Imogene Coleman, a retired interior designer, said she's enjoyed watching her husband's new-found interest spark. "He's going at it with the same enthusiasm that he gives to everything he does," she said. "It's expanded the way he looks at the world. He's thoroughly enjoying painting."
    Looking at the world through a painter's eyes is fun, Neal Coleman said. His new insight made attending this year's Fernandina Beach holiday tour of bed-and-breakfasts more special.
"It was wonderful to go into these homes and see the use of color," he said. "Art changes the way you look at a house or a room. Shadows and color make a structure come together."
     Maurer said it's rewarding as a teacher when students begin seeing things they've never seen before. "It's great to see him discovering himself," Maurer said of Coleman. "I like to watch people come out of their cocoon. There's a creative nature in all of us. It just needs to be released.

"...I am indebted to Betty and James W. for commissioning you to paint the magnificent water color of my home. Truly, it is a work of art and one that required so much patience and ability..."
Carley Z., Sea Island, GA

"...Thanks again for handling the "project". It arrived today in perfect order. I am pleased with the water color, it is as you said. I like the composition and I like the way you handle color. I'm sure Mary will be pleased and enjoy it from now on Thanks!..."
Kendall Z., Atlanta, GA

"...Thank you for your wonderful contribution in making the "Meet Our Celebrities" series at the Clarion Resort Buccaneer so successful. ..." "...Your appearance at our event gave the series a sense of polish and panache, that of course reflected on the Clarion and Jekyll Island...."
Kate Minnock, Clarion Resort Buccaneer, GA