Brush Strokes

Real-life twins Deidre Hall and Andrea Hall-Gengler share a passion for painting, and so much more

- Stephanie Sloane

DAYS’s Deidre Hall (Marlena) and her twin sister, Andrea Hall-Gengler (ex-Samantha/Hattie), were quarantined together during the coronavirus pandemic and passed the time working on watercolor paintings. Inspired by their love of flags, the duo created a series of originals that they’ve turned into note cards. The Westbrook Collection, named for a family vacation spot, is available now at Deidre hall.com/shop. Here, they talk about their artistic endeavors, their relationship and more.

Soap Opera Digest: How did your interest in painting begin?

Deidre Hall: We both have fallen in love with watercolors in the past few years. We obviously don’t live close to each other, so it’s been hard to share that passion. But when she was here for the visit, we realized we were both doing a couple of flag pictures and then we had four flag paintings. And then it was like, “Oh, wait a minute.” We also fell in love with shoes, so we have a whole series of shoe paintings that are really spectacular. We were thinking of doing a shoe series, which we will still probably do.

Digest: When did you paint during the day?

Andrea Hall-Gengler: The best time of the day is when you have the best available daylight. We painted across the living room table. If I had a problem, I’d say, “Oh, my gosh. I’ve got too much water here.” She’d throw me the paper towels and say, “Sop it up. Quick! Sop it up and redo it.” And we shared techniques that we both learned in different venues. I had taken art classes here also when I retired.

Digest: Are they collaborative pictures? Is one Andrea’s and one Deidre’s?