align="center">Nature is a Haunted House — but Art — a House that tries to be haunted.

— Emily Dickinson

Lancaster Avenue artist Joyce Hartman takes this line from a letter by the enigmatic early American poet as a personal challenge.

And there's nothing Hartman, 79, likes more than a challenge.

"At this point in my life, if I can't keep learning and growing, I want to kick it in," says the retired nurse anesthetist, who worked full time while she and her husband John raised seven daughters, including twins.

You can look for what haunts Hartman in her paintings during Lancaster's Fall Art Walk.

Hartman's work will be part of a show by the West End Gang, at DogStar Books & Gallery, 529 W. Chestnut St., and Chestnut Hill Cafe, 532 W. Chestnut St., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

The West End Gang is a group of artists — working in photography, oil, calligraphy, collage, pastels, sculpture and woodworking — who live within a four-block radius bordered by Concord, Mary, Walnut and Chestnut streets.

In past art walks, the gang has exhibited on the lawn of the Wolf Museum of Music and Art, 423 W. Chestnut St.

Besides Hartman, current members are Fred and Blake Albright, Brad Charles, Michael Clapper, Susan Gottleib, Roberta Little, Jean Sharf, Tanis Shaw and Joanne Young-Stephan.

Sharf, whose painting of "A Pig with Lipstick" hangs in DogStar's window, founded the loosely knit gang about 10 years ago. Charter members, besides Sharf and Hartman, were former Charlotte Street resident John Jarvis and the late Mary Bitting.

The gang carries on a legacy begun by a previous generation of well-known artists who lived in the neighborhood: Florence Starr Taylor, Pauline Stauffer, Edith Allport Lestz, Margaret Dana Lestz and Hazel Dell Brown.

Hartman says art appeals to her because "it's a solitary thing, and I'm a solitary person."

She grew up in an old Victorian house in the tiny town of Newport, west of Harrisburg, with five sisters and a brother.

"When things got too much, I went out and sat along the Juniata River," she says.

Her favorite subject for paintings is landscapes, including of the river.

"Each (landscape) is a special place tied to family or history," she says.

The exhibit at DogStar includes landscapes of Tucquan Glen Nature Preserve, Martic Township, one of her favorite spots for solitude; and Windsor Chapel, in England, which she toured.

Hartman retired in 1994, after more than 35 years in nursing. In 1995, she enrolled in art at Millersville University, taking one course each semester until recently.

A "doodler" since childhood, she took workshops with well-known artists long before she retired.

"Because a nurse never gets eight hours of sleep," she often painted in the middle of the night, when the house was quiet.

She began working in oils, moved to watercolors and now prefers pastels.

"I hate mixing colors," she says. "Pastels have such wonderful colors, and (working in them) is more a drawing medium."

Her work has appeared — and won awards — in numerous juried shows.

Hartman has lost count of how many paintings she has done over the years. "Probably hundreds," she says.

Many of them were gifts to relatives — including 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren — who live as far away as Australia and Vancouver, B.C.

"They've moved from my children's kitchens to their family rooms to their living rooms," she says, with a big smile.

A modest Hartman ranks herself as "far from the best artist in the (West End) gang."

The only distinction she will acknowledge is her age.

"I am the oldest," she says. "If I can encourage someone else out there not to sit on the shelf after they retire, that's a good thing."

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DOWNTOWN LANCASTER FALL ART WALK

More than 50 Lancaster City galleries, studios, museums and other arts venues will open their doors for Fall ArtWalk, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

There will also be live performers, artists and artisans. The event is free.

More than a dozen restaurants will present special culinary offerings for "Art on a Plate."

For a complete list of participants, visit www.lancasterarts.com.

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CONTACT THE NEW ERA: YourLife@LNPnews.com