For Additional Information Contact: Margaret C. Mattheson (215) 348-3913


Artists Studio Tour 2005

Sunday, May 15, 12:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Do you enjoy meeting and talking to artists, one-on-one, about their work, in their unique studios, surrounded by their work? Do you love to spend a Sunday afternoon in the spring driving through the backroads and landscapes of Bucks County, stopping for brunch, lunch or dinner at a Bucks County restaurant?
If the answer to these questions is yes, you will want to take the self-guided Artists’ Studio Tour, coming Sunday, May 15, 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. This event is part of the Bucks Fever program, celebrating the arts in Bucks County.

Tickets are $15 per person. For further information about obtaining tickets, ticket sales locations and participating restaurants call the Chamber at 215-348-3913.

May 15, 2005 the Studio Tour will comprise a circuit reaching from Riegelsville down along the river and inland to Pineville, to visit five studios of six artists.

The Tour begins at the northernmost studio shared by husband and wife artists Pamela Ptak and Scott Hanna.  Pamela Ptak, a custom fashion designer, runs Ptak Couture from her atelier in Riegelsville. Ptak is an author, a national lecturer and teacher of high fashion design.  She serves as a personal fashion stylist for public figures and does freelance sewing for Chado Ralph Rucci’s fashion collections for NYC Fashion Week and Paris Haute Couture.

Scott Hanna, a third generation artist, began his career in illustration but soon focused on the world of comic book illustration.  Since then he has become one of the top ‘inkers’ (the artists who turns a pencil drawing into the final inked image for the colorist to complete) in the field. With his work at Marvel, he has had the longest uninterrupted run of any artists on the Spider-Man titles. In addition to Spider-Man he has worked on every major comic book character including Batman, X-Men, Outsiders, the Avengers, Daredevil.  Award-winner, guest lecturer, teacher and author, this artist’s works have been seen by millions throughout the world.

Traveling down the river one comes to the riverside studio of photographer, Miriam Seiden. Self-described as a street photographer, Seiden, a native of New Jersey, took her images from the streets of the five boroughs surrounding New York City. In the ensuing years she took her street sensibility for faces and neighborhoods, to studies in Kenya, Tanzania, Ireland and other countries.  Now a resident of Lambertville, her focus has shifted to the changing faces of Delaware River and environs.  Her work has been exhibited locally as well as at the Museum of Modern Art and in Fotophile Magazine.

Continuing down the river, the next stop is at the beautiful studio and home of pastel artist Al Lachman, on Cuttalossa Road in Lumberville. An international figure in his field, he has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the highest honor “Best in Show” at the 20th Annual National Exhibition of the Pastel Society of America.  His work is in permanent collections and museums throughout the country, and in numerous publications. His work exhibits a mastery of color, deceptive simplicity of design and assurance of touch that proclaims his mastery of the medium.

Traveling inland, the tour takes one to the home and studio of Jan Keith Lipes. A self-taught artist who began painting at the age of 40 in 1991, Jan has become a celebrity in the region for his familiar and vibrant landscapes resonating with the heritage of the Bucks County Impressionists. His works have been shown in one-man shows and group exhibitions throughout the region as early as three years after he began painting and have grown steadily in skill and popularity.  Afflicted with multiple sclerosis, Jan has created a the studio uniquely and intelligently arranged to accommodate his special needs.

Finally, traveling even further inland through the rolling heartland of Bucks County to Pineville one comes to the barn studio of painter Glenn Harren. “I seek the extraordinary aspects of everyday life, whether in the color of a landscape or the simple dignity of the human form.”  Indeed, Harren’s paintings focus on ordinary people caught in everyday moments – ‘The Carwash’, ‘Checkout at Costco’ or ‘Candy at Kenny’s’ with a familiar simplicity.  His landscapes of rural Bucks County reflect the eye of someone absorbing the calm and beauty created by color, form and light. His work has been recognized through solo and group exhibitions, awards including from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Woodmere Museum, among others.

The Artists Studio Tour, Sunday, May 15, 12 – 5 p.m., a Bucks Fever program of the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce, is supported by sponsors Graphic Energiez,  Mixed Media, Michelyn Gallery and Radclyffe Gallery & Framing.  It's self-guided, tickets/maps are $15 a person and can be purchased at the studios or from the Chamber by mail (CBCC, Bailiwick Office Campus #23, 252 W. Swamp Rd., Doylestown, PA 18901) or in person, at the Doylestown Bookshop and the sponsoring galleries.  For other ticket locations or more information call 215-348-3913 to purchase tickets.

Download the PDF and the Artists Information Document