Like most autumn buddy trips, this one involved rising at dawn, brewing strong coffee, and making hearty sandwiches that were tucked in the cooler. By 8 a.m., they had left their cozy lakeside cabin and ventured into brisk morning air.
Cars were loaded with equipment and they were ready to begin the hunt.
The five Toledo-area men, ages 54 to 74, who roamed Indiana's Brown County in October, were tracking down winsome motifs, not furry beasts. Twenty-five of the trophies they bagged are hung for viewing beginning tonight at the American Gallery in Sylvania through the end of the month.
As winter's drabness clutches March for dear life, autumn's rich colors are a special delight.
"It's pure gold," Pete Beckmann says of the rolling countryside famous for its landscapes. About six hours southwest of Toledo, Brown County has drawn artists for decades. "We drove through tunnels and tunnels of golds and browns and coppers."
For 10 days, they made "plein air" paintings of Midwestern Americana - fading red barns and white farmhouses with laundry flapping on clothes lines; white-water brooks cutting through dappled woods; forested hilltops melting into the distance. There are puddled dirt roads along green fields dotted with hay bales, and the circa-1880 covered Bean Blossom Bridge.
Mornings, and again after lunch, the men painted, usually within 100 yards of one other, each positioning his easel to capture a different view. When they set up in a state park, admiring crowds gathered around.
"Plein air," or outdoor painting, is challenging not only because of cold fingers, but because light and sky are continually changing, said Beckmann, who was joined by Larry Golba, Rick Dziak, Joe Boyles, and Jim White.
Some of these paintings have bold strokes; others, a soft palette. Some are detailed; others impressionistic. All captured mood with vibrant oils or watercolors, and the results are charming.
Some of the men completed three pictures a day. "I might do a half [painting]," said Joe Boyles, adding that with only four years of experience, he's the group's apprentice.
The framed works range in size from 8-by-10-inches to almost 4-by-3-feet, and in price from $240 to $2,400.
This was the group's second trip. In September, 2001, they painted coastal scenes in Maine for 10 days. They are members of the Monday Morning Painters, a decades-old group of about 27 men, mostly retirees, who meet for breakfast, conversation, and a session of plein art painting.
"Autumn in Brown County, Indiana" opens tonight with a 6-8 p.m. reception for the artists at American Gallery, 6600 Sylvania Ave., Sylvania. It continues through March 31. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. Information: 419-882-8949.
First Published March 5, 2004, 12:38 p.m.
