On Wednesday, August 28, at 1:30 pm, The Society of Creative Arts of Newtown (SCAN) will host Sandra Cointreau, who will demonstrate painting a horse or crow in watercolor. This program will take place at Newtown Meeting House, 31 Main Street (at the flagpole).

Cointreau was raised in Connecticut in a long family line of Connecticut settlers and farmers. In her art, she focuses on the local lands, trees and animals that she loves.

Cointreau was the only woman in 1,000 men to graduate in her civil engineering class. When she started, she was the first in her family to go to college, and she had never known a single engineer. It was the beginning of the environmental movement, and so she focused on projects that dealt with cleaning and protecting the environment.

For 50 years, Cointreau spent about 30% of each year traveling for work, doing infrastructure plans, hazardous waste remediation, and climate change mitigation for more than 60 developing countries and six post conflict countries. Her suitcase was packed with watercolor supplies and usually a helmet, crop and boots for riding. At home in Connecticut, between assignments, she kept horses and dogs, immersing herself in their behavior and language, while painting daily.

Mostly self-taught through books, museum visits, DVDs and workshops, Cointreau continues to this day to constantly study and try to improve her art work. She teaches watercolor technique and shows regularly at local venues, as well as juried watercolor society shows.

Reservations are not needed for SCAN programs but additional information may be available at SCANart.org.