The Society of Creative Arts of Newtown (SCAN) will present Frank Bruckmann painting a landscape in oil on Wednesday, October 12. The free program will begin at 7:30 pm in the lower level of Newtown Meeting House, 31 Main Street.

Bruckmann discovered painting in his 20s while living in his native state, New Jersey. Compelled by the seductive properties of oil paints, he began studying both at the DuCret School of Art in New Jersey and The Art Students League in New York City.

Early on, he knew he had embarked upon a lifelong career. As professors and art collectors encouraged him to continue his studies abroad, Bruckmann spent nearly a decade in Europe. In Paris, he studied at École des Beaux Arts and Paris American Academy.

Wanting to better understand the techniques of the Great Masters, he found himself in the Musée d’Orsay and the Louvre copying painters from Frans Hals to Cezanne. Bruckmann later spent time at Museo de Prado in Madrid, reproducing painters like Velasques and El Greco.

During those years abroad, Bruckmann made his living as an artist, selling his local landscapes or museum reproductions and, occasionally, modeling for figure classes. He participated in a number of group shows and one-person exhibitions before returning to the US.

In 1990 Bruckmann was offered an artist’s studio in South Norwalk, and discovered the very paintable CT shoreline. Through art guilds and galleries, Bruckmann made connections and began showing his work in Connecticut and New Jersey, and then further into New England.

Reservations are not taken for SCAN programs but additional information is available at SCANart.org.