LOXLEY, Ala. — “Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen —  Leonardo da Vinci

Painting might be poetry, but for the artists that gather each week in a back room of the Loxley Civic Center, it’s a lot of hard work. And fun. And a chance to get together with like-minded people.

The group meets at 1 p.m. on Thursdays, and there is no charge. Participants have to bring their own materials.

“I like to paint but it’s easier to group paint, said LaRue Cavanaugh of Daphne. “You meet a lot of nice people.”

While Cavanaugh says she “liked art all the way back to elementary school,” she chose not to make a career of it.

“I had multiple things to do,” she said.

Then, her husband, Hal, got a look at some of her work.

“I saw some of it, and I went out and bought her a compact oil set,” he said, firmly adding, “I am not trying to grab credit.”

Painting became a lifelong outlet for LaRue, and to keep up with her, Hal learned to paint himself.

“I learned because I was married to her,” Hal said. “We like to do things together. She’d go to class and I was tired of being alone.”

Hall added the he was “not close to the others” in the group, but he was working from a copy of picture of Yellowstone National Park a cousin had sent him.

“These ladies here,” Hal, a former restaurant supply salesman said, motioning to the group with his brush, “have taught me more.”

LaRue mostly works in oil paint.

“I have done some acrylics and some watercolor, but I like oil,’ the former Army Corps of Engineers secretary said. “I don’t know why. They’re really messy. But acrylics don’t have that sparkle (that oils do)”

Adela Czaplinski of Fairhope started coming to the art group, “four or five years ago.”

While she worked as a graphic artist, she found that raising children left her with no time for her own work. Coming to the Thursday afternoon sessions has allowed her time and peace to do her own work.

“I get better each time,” she said.

Czaplinski and the others appreciate the Loxley Civic Center and the space and time it allows them to meet.

“It is the perfect place,” aid LaRue.

To her family’s great delight. Czaplinski found that time do do her own work meant more for them. She was working on a bouquet of yellow roses, which a family member had already spoken for.

“I never get to keep anything,” said Czaplinski with a mock sigh. “My daughter has already laid claim to this one.”

Beryl Allen, coordinator of senior activities at the Loxley Civic Center, directs the painting program. She’s also a participant, working on her own painting, in this case, a copy of a photograph of a bouquet.

“I started painting in the late 80s,” Allen said. “It’s just for fun and relaxation. I have no art ability, I just do copies of other’s work.”

While she claims to have no “ability,” the painting she was working on showed a lot of skill.

“The thing about art is you don’t have to know how to paint or draw,” said Allen. “You just dab on paint until it looks right.”