Artists’ Reception: Second Saturday, August 10, 5-8 pm (during the Village Art Walk). Please join us for an evening of light refreshments and to purchase your 10$ raffle ticket for a unique opportunity to win a beautiful autumn landscape created by several Guild Member Artists. (raffle winner will be drawn December 14, 2013; need not be present to win)
Artist Biographies:
Thom Robinson, OPA, grew up in Flint, Michigan. He was raised in an artistically inclined family—his mother enjoyed painting, and his father practiced woodworking. Robinson attended the Flint Institute of Art and his talent led to an appointment as an assistant art teacher, while he has still in high school. Following his studies, Thom joined the Navy. While stationed in San Diego, he traveled extensively, painting Southwest desert and mountain scenes.
After his Navy stint in southern California, Thom and his family were returning to Michigan from California, when they stopped to visit family in Bedford, the heart of Indiana’s limestone country. Intrigued by the southern Indiana landscape, Robinson changed his plans and settled down to paint the Hoosier hills. With just a knapsack and the naked eye, Robinson paints outside, in all kinds of weather, any time of day and hikes or boats for miles to find scenes that inspire him.
“I believe you cannot find anything without looking. I spend several days at the places I paint, observing from the morning to evening, looking for simple but strong compositions. Sometimes when hiking I’ll suddenly notice a scene that I may have been past a hundred times. When I do start painting I have no formula. I just let the scene and the painting guide me.”
If Robinson is hiking a long distance, he travels light. When painting winter scenes in frigid temperatures and closed roads, he will pack his sled with his painting supplies and hike thru the woods, until he finds a spot to paint.
He doesn’t use thinner with his oils, applying paint in thick strokes and bold gestures. His oil kit contains five large tubes: titanium white, alizarin crimson, cadmium yellow, ultramarine blue and cadmium red. From these primaries, he can mix any color in the spectrum. His landscapes reflect his intimate observations of Indiana’s diverse natural resources and rural life.
He is currently a signature member of the Oil Painters of America and the Small Painting Society. Thom also belongs to the Indiana Plein Air Painters and the American Impressionist Society. He has received numerous awards with the Hoosier Salon, the Indiana Heritage Association, and the Oil Painters of America national exhibition. His paintings can be viewed and purchased at the Brown County Art Gallery (Nashville, IN), the Hoosier Salon (Indianapolis and New Harmony IN) and at the Brown County Art Guild, where Thom has been an artist member since 2011.
Donna Shortt is a life-long Indiana resident and skilled in the use of oils and pastels. She enjoys painting landscapes from life with other painters. She also enjoys painting from light-filled still life sets in her studio or with another group that meets weekly. Painting with others or teaching has its benefits both ways. Sometimes the student becomes the teacher and we learn from each other.
Recent accomplishments include a Purchase Award from the Indiana State Museum in 2008 and a Best of Show in the fine arts professional division at the Indiana State Fair in 2007. In 2011 she received a Best of Show in the Greenfield Will Vawter Show and in the Madison Art Club Member Show. She was also honored to be part of a pastel exhibit at the Richmond Indiana Art Museum in 2008 and held a solo exhibit at the Johnson County Museum of History, Franklin Indiana, in 2011. Several of her plein air paintings are included in the 2013 book “Painting Indiana III: Dignity of Place.”
She has held workshops in the pastel medium as well as weekly classes that teach adult students various ways to paint and draw with pastels, the surfaces and materials used as well as composition, color and under painting techniques.
She is a member of the Hoosier Salon, Indiana Artists Club, Brown County Art Guild, Chicago Pastel Painters, Pastel Society of America, Southside Art League, Indiana Artisan and Indiana Plein Air Painters. Her work can be seen at the Hoosier Salon (Indianapolis, IN) and the Brown County Art Guild, where she has been an artist member since 2011.
Artists Statement: “My Inspiration to paint starts with the light at early morning or late afternoon and I would be content to spend most of my time capturing it. Color is just as important which is why pastels are my favorite medium. I consider each painting not a destination but a journey, always looking forward to working on the next blank surface.”
Cost: Free
For more information contact:
Tamara Joy
(812)988-6185
[email protected]