For a decade, Kalispell Senior Center members with an artistic streak have been painting and drawing under the watchful eye of Barb Abbott.

Abbott, a lifelong artist, is hanging up her art room key today at the senior center.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time,” she said of her tenure at the senior center. “But I have to be here at 12:30 on Friday. I want to be free to travel on Fridays.”

Abbott, 72, said she is far from stopping her painting career and proudly showcases a watercolor she painted of Glacier National Park on a rainy day.

Although she does teach on occasion, most of the art-inclined seniors are experts in their own right.

“We have a lot of professional watercolorists in this place,” Abbott said. “It’s not so much me leading the class, I’m just the one with the key.”

The Kalispell Senior Center’s art room, adjacent to the main ballroom and exercise room, has a small library of technical books and plenty of supplies for the members. At $20 a year, the membership fee for the center is what Abbott calls the deal of the town.

The classes will run on a “free paint” period until the center can attract a new art teacher.

Before then, Abbott’s friends and students plan to throw her a party from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. today at the Kalispell Senior Center.

“I had painted for a long time,” she said. “I had sold a lot of art and even had a gallery down in the Bitterroot. I saw they were looking for a volunteer art teacher up here and thought it was my time to give back.”

Now the center is scrambling to replace someone who has been a staple in the art room for 10 years. Patient people with a good sense of humor will do well as  volunteer teachers, Abbott said.

Her background in en plein air painting and watercolors made her a perfect fit for the weekly summer outings to paint the many scenic backdrops around the Flathead Valley.

Members are always welcome at the class, along with enjoying exercise and computer classes and having a hot meal downstairs.

“I think more people should give it a try,” Abbott said. “I’ve made a wealth of friends here. There’s lots of laughing. It’s a gift.”

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.