In the Easy Chair with Jill DeGroff - The Westerly Sun

AGE: 66.

OCCUPATION: Graphic designer, fine artist.

RESIDENCE: Stonington.

BORN, RAISED & GREW UP IN: Brooklyn, Long Island and New York’s Lower East Side.

RIGHT NOW I’M IN THE MIDDLE OF: Studying the techniques of some of my favorite artists and challenging myself to tackle new works that pay tribute to great characters and legendary bars of lore.  

I AM COPING WITH LIFE IN THE AGE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC BY: Being the reclusive non-social 24-7 artist I always wished to be.

MY PROUDEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: Using my position in the beverage industry to interweave my art with projects that enabled support from liquor brands, which led to visiting bars around the world meeting and drawing bartenders while collecting stories, all of which culminated in my book, "Lush Life; Portraits from the Bar," and later, an exhibition of my Dream Bar Series at Porchlight in NYC and most recently at Stage Left in New Brunswick.

TOP ON MY BUCKET LIST: Tuscany and hiking in the Dolomites; return to Cuba to paint all the bartenders; also Key West, I’ve never been there.

I ALWAYS CARRY: Pens and sketchbook.

WHAT I WANTED TO BE WHEN I GREW UP: I wanted to run away to join the circus and become an elephant trainer.

MY HEROES ARE: At the moment it’s Anthony Fauci. Joe and Kamala too.

FAVORITE AUTHORS: Joe Mitchell, Mark Twain, Elizabeth Gilbert, Pete Hamill and Dale DeGroff.

BOOKS ON MY NIGHT STAND: John Grisham’s "The Client," "Glitter and Doom: German Portraits from the 1920s," and "Sunny’s Nights: Lost and Found at a Bar on the Edge of the World," by Tim Sultan.

TOP THREE SONGS ON MY PLAYLIST: Nina Simone, Omara Portuando, Aretha Franklin.

FAVORITE MOVIES OF ALL TIME: "Casablanca," Scorcese’s "Goodfellas," Pedro Almodovar’s "All About My Mother," "American Splendor," Woody Allen’s "Broadway Danny Rose" and "Midnight in Paris."

FAVORITE TV SHOWS: "Finding Your Roots," with Henry Louis Gates Jr., "Escape to the Chateau" and "The Marvelous Mrs. Mazel."

FAVORITE RADIO STATION/SHOWS: WNYC, WKCR, "The Moth Radio Hour" and "Fresh Air" with Terri Gross.

TOP COMFORT FOOD: Stuffed peppers, baked clams, roasted cauliflower with breadcrumbs and Parmesan dripping with olive oil, quesadillas and pizza.

SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES I USE MOSTLY: Facebook.

TRAITS I MOST ADMIRE: I admire well-read individuals who consider it their personal responsibility to do everything they possibly can to combat racism and climate change.

PET PEEVES: Family members who try to persuade me to get a real cellphone rather than the flip phone I keep turned off most of the time.

FAVORITE QUOTATION: "Life is short, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably and never regret anything that made you smile. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." — Mark Twain.

MY FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT OUR LITTLE CORNER OF THE WORLD: Sweet little Pawcatuck has a river running through it and big, old Gothic homes with gardens (established generations ago) that look like they’re on steroids since we've got a micro climate here. Also, the many hills here, with 360-degree views, that allow you to see way out yonder and imagine the terrain as it was when the Pequots roamed these hills. Every day the sky is an ongoing drama from sun up to sun down, and there are lots of big, old hawks flying around (they live in the chimney of the school at the top of the hill). In our neighborhood lives Ray, down the block, with his ragtag army of four different kinds of dogs led by Henry, a tall statuesque coon dog who howls up and down the street in the late afternoon, signaling to us that it’s cocktail time. Also, Dutch’s, the little family-owned and operated bakery that serves homemade minestrone soup and crusty bread to-die-for plus pastries and ice cream too where everything's vegan and all natural. Best of all is when the Amtrak train comes whistling through Pawcatuck on its way to New York, you can see it curve along the coast and disappear into the sunset and you know everyone on that train has something important to do when they arrive.

CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT: My husband, Dale. He’s my best friend plus he makes me a delicious cocktail every night. He’s a wonderful cook too, always gets excited about my artwork, and has been my greatest advocate. His unusual career path has enabled me to travel extensively and meet some of the most interesting people in the world.

LITTLE KNOWN FACT ABOUT ME: I’m not the one you thought I was when I first walked in.

BEST ADVICE I EVER RECEIVED: Do what you love to do, the rest will fall into place.

ADVICE I BEST LIKE TO GIVE: Follow your heart and don’t look back.

IF I RULED THE WORLD I WOULD: Give everyone 24 acres and a racehorse (you can always trade it in for a mule, a truck, or Mini Cooper) and free access to a college education. I'd also allow Republicans to establish their own separate state somewhere overseas and give them complimentary one-way tickets. (Since Amtrak is right here, they could get to JFK quickly.)

IF I WON THE LOTTERY, THE FIRST THING I WOULD DO IS: Purchase a little lime green house at the top of a hill on a tropical island overlooking the sea (large enough for Dale’s library and my art studio) with an outdoor, west-facing patio bar. Then I'd create a community garden and truck in rich, organic soil so everyone could grow their own food. Then I'd add a fabulous restaurant (with outdoor seating and plenty of large shade trees and lanterns); purchase the surplus produce from the garden; build a distillery to keep everyone fully employed and the bars stocked and make sure we'd have fabulous live music at night — Big Band and Latin orchestras — and dancing of course. The cocktails would be world-famous because (naturally) Dale would design the drink menu and I'd fly in all the best bartenders from around the world. Our sons would come to help; Leo would take guests out on his boat to go fishing and lobstering, and Blake would build and manage the WIFI communications system so there would be no need for anybody to ever go home.

I DRIVE A: 2011 black VW Jetta.

I WISH I DROVE A: Mini Cooper.

ALWAYS IN MY FRIDGE: Assortment of cheeses, mustards, olives, salads from Trader Joe’s, wine, vermouth, plus in the freezer, large cubed ice and several martini glasses.

IF I COULD INVITE ONE SPECIAL PERSON TO JOIN ME FOR DINNER AND CONVERSATION, I WOULD INVITE: The Obamas.

— Interview arranged and edited by Nancy Burns-Fusaro

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In the Easy Chair with Jill DeGroff - The Westerly Sun
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