Retired art teacher keeps on teaching, painting at 92
Bill McFarland shows off the rings he wears, each a souvenir from a country in which he traveled.
McFarland, who taught art in public schools for 33 years, shows one of his favorite oil paintings.
Bill McFarland paints a portrait of one of the residents at Broadmore Assisted Living.
Bill McFarland paints a portrait of one of the residents at Broadmore Senior Living in South Fayette Township.
BRIDGEVILLE – A guest entering William McFarland’s private room at Broadmore Senior Living in South Fayette Township will forget for a moment that he resides in a personal care residence in a Pittsburgh suburb.
The 92-year-old artist has been to so many parts of the world that souvenirs from his travels adorn his walls, his shelves, his furniture, and even his fingers – eight of them are decorated with unique and colorful rings collected from his travels – and he can describe to you the significance of each.
Until he retired at age 58, Bill was an art teacher for the Moon School District. He said teaching youngsters brought him joy because art is something he always loved – and he feels it is a form of expression that everyone can be taught.
Bill might have retired from teaching children, but he hasn’t completely lost his gift of teaching.
These days, Bill looks forward to the monthly informal art class that he teaches to about 12 fellow residents at Broadmore. Lately, they have been working on sketches.
“We asked Bill to teach the class because he is still motivated to do art and he still loves and wants to do it,” said Amy Shonts, interim executive director at Broadmore. “He has Parkinson’s disease, so he has some limitations with many movements and sometimes his hands shake, but ironically, when he paints, his hands don’t shake. For Bill, eating is sometimes more challenging than painting.”
As a visitor entered Bill’s room, he wheeled himself to the entrance. He rummaged in the corner and struggled to pull out his painting easel. Bill was eager to share the collection of portraits that depict foliage, landscapes, places and faces that he has painted over the years. The paintings are stacked three and four deep, along the floor.
His room is filled with an abundance of paints and supplies. A beautiful lamp beside his bed that resembles an illuminated, rugged, blue rock is from Afghanistan, and Bill proceeded to point out his favorite trinkets from around the globe, all which he selected for their artistic characteristics.
Currently, Bill is working on a portrait of his neighbor, whose name he can’t recall.
“She stopped me in the hall one day and asked me if I would paint her,” said Bill. He speaks slowly and pauses between words as the Parkinson’s slows his speech and motor skills. His eyes signal, though, that his mind is sharp and firing more quickly than his words and body can convey. “I told her I would paint her. She has come in here a few times and posed. I still have some work to do on the painting. I work on it a little at a time.”
Shonts stressed that mental and physical activities, like those involved with teaching and learning art, keep the aging person sharp, creative and active.
Last April, Bill and his masterpieces were the center of attention when Broadmore hosted an art exhibit, featuring Bill’s paintings from over the years. A portion of the money that was raised from the sale of his pieces was donated to the Alzheimer’s Association, one of the charity organizations that Broadmore supports.
“Bill is unique,” said Shonts. “For 92, he is still very active. He paints almost every day, except for those days when the Parkinson’s is a little harder on him. His love for art and painting has been a conversation tool since he came here. It allowed us to get to know him and it has been a great social tool for him, giving him a chance to meet new people and share his love of art with them too.”
Bill showed the rings on his fingers and politely explained from where each was collected. His favorite ring is the ruby from India, and the most beautiful place he visited was the Taj Mahal.
During his travels to Mexico and Central America, Panama and South America, Europe and North Africa, the Greek Islands, the Caribbean Islands and throughout the United States and Canada, each location became an inspiration for his paintings. He earned a B.S. degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, received a Frick Scholarship to study in Valencia, Spain, and studied under Russell Hyde and Samuel Rosenberg.
He won numerous awards and exhibited his work at a variety of events and is proud to have donated many of his paintings to high schools and churches in the Oakdale area where he grew up.
Having the chance at 92 to engage with his peers at Broadmore, and most importantly, to teach, motivates him and gives him something to look forward to.
“Has your Parkinson’s slowed you down, Bill?” Shonts asked.
He took a long pause, let out a long, slow chuckle, and turned in his wheelchair to make eye contact with Shonts.
“Just a little,” he responded with a shrug, proving that his humor and attitude have made all the difference in the quality of his 92 years on this Earth.