Meet the Artist - Thelma Segal

Thelma Segal’s water color of sailboats on a sandy shore, entitled “Lake Kezar, Quisisana,” was selected as the official poster art for PCA’s “Seniors Celebrate the Arts” this year.


Segal, who lives in Center City, says the work was inspired by visits to one of her favorite vacation spots, “a wonderful place in southwest Maine. You sit near the lake, and this is what you see.”

“Lake Kezar, Quisisana” is on display at the PECO building, 2301 Market Street as part of the “Seniors Celebrate the Arts” exhibit there this month. (PECO is a presenting sponsor for the festivities.) (Another exhibit of senior artwork is on display at the Philadelphia Senior Center, 509 South Broad Street.)

As a child, Segal remembers, “I always said I wanted to be an artist, but I later decided it was an impractical way to make a living.” Instead, she went on to forge a long career with the American Friends Service Committee, work that included stints in Paris and Geneva in addition to many years spent working for the organization in Philadelphia.

Upon her retirement, she found herself able to devote much more time to her lifelong love of painting. Accepted as a student by the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, she not only honed her painting skills in her senior years but branched out to learn other art forms as well.  She also joined in arts activities at the Philadelphia Senior Center and pursued her interest further by signing up for Elder Hostel and other painting workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Segal currently paints with the Plastic Club, an art club and gallery devoted to the promotion and preservation of visual arts in Philadelphia.

“The main thing about being an artist is that you have to keep at it – that and always be willing to try different things,” she advises. “Also, take a sketchbook and a pencil and pen with you when you go places so you can make a drawing. It could be the start of something wonderful.”