Holiday Art Tour

Lisa Lea Bemish / Art by LL Bemish / www.Lisa-Bemish.ArtistWebsites.com / www.facebook.com/LLBemishArt / LisaLeaArt@yahoo.com / 574.540.1921 / Tippecanoe, IN

Art has been a passion of mine starting at a very young age. In 2009 a friend of mine introduced me to Marilyn Kruger and a true love of oil painting developed. Oils have an immense spectrum of versatility and can be executed with the speed that keeps me driven when creating a piece. My artwork has been accepted into the several juried art shows, including those by Heartland Art Gallery, where I am a member. This year I won the prestigious Hoosier Women Artist Competition held by the Lt. Governor. My painting "Home Stretch" is now hanging in the Indiana State House. Recently I also won a spot in the 2012 Ford Meter Box Calendar with my painting "Orange Blossoms", where 13,000 copies of the calendar are distributed around the country. In 2010 my oil painting "Foggy Farm Sunrise" won an Honorable Mention in the Honeywell Center Themed Art Competition. You can keep up to date on my Art Happenings on my website or "Like" my Facebook page to get weekly Easel Reports at www.facebook.com/LLBemishArt .  My original oil paintings are available as they are created but prints, notecards, and postcards of my work are available anytime. I’m inspired by nature and animals but commissioned work is always welcome, with a growing portfolio of pet portraits. Contact me today for a quote on an original oil painting that captures your favorite memories of your beloved pets!   The 2nd Annual Calendar of ART by LL BEMISH is available now….Enjoy the best artwork done by LL Bemish this past year, put together in a keepsake collection. Contact me for your 2012 copy. 

Kay DuBois / The Happy Fish Shoppe / 574.893.4344 / happyfishshop@rtcol.com / Akron, IN

I began painting in the early 70’s when Marilyn Kruger invited me to her first class upon return from California. I went as a joke, but found that painting is learnable and great fun. Over the years I have dabbled into my hobby, painting on everything from canvas to bedposts. Almost all of the paintings are in oil with my true passion being the portrait work. Also a great love for the water has stemmed a number of lighthouse paintings as well as some poetry. Greeting cards have been created from many of the painting, photography, and poetry. Although there are only a limited amount of pieces to sell cash and carry, commission work is taken upon request. Paintings are signed Jes’ in memory of my grandfather, Jes Blickenstaff.

Jan Ginther / JaleeGinther@comcast.net  / 574.223.8877 / 574.835.0488 / Rochester, IN

Jan Ginther is new to watercolor but has found her calling with pet portraits. Coming from oils and Tole painting, Jan has transitioned to watercolor and values the translucent glow that only adds to the subject. Capturing your pet's personality in a watercolor portrait will be a treasure to appreciate forever.

Don Kegarise / 547.653.2355 / Inroundbarn@yahoo.com

Don Kegarise has lived in Indiana since 1972, having moved from Western PA. He has been involved with the Pulaski Co. Arts Assn., Rochester ARts Commission and Logansport Art Assn. and has had the pleasure of showing his art throughout northern Indiana. He began painting as a youth and this passion increased through his life. Since 1972 he has had a small studio in his home, painting pictures of the local scenery, foucsing on the quickly disappearing barns, and providing lessons for those who had a desire to draw. About 14 years ago Don narrowed his media to pen and ink and watercolors, and just recently has been working iwth acrylics. Many successfull projects induded community calendards, note cards, greeting cards, designing logos and sign painting. In 2004 he added woodcarving to his many talents and created a 1/12th scale model of the Denzel Carousel, Logansport, IN then spent many hours whoing the model and promoting the original. 

In 2010 his first book, a compilation of true stories and illustrations: Where Have You Been? Nowhere What Have You Been Doing? Nothing, was published. A second book will be available in the near future.

After 25 years of Kewanna living, Don and his wife built a small home in the country southwest of Kewanna.

Terry Pulley / artbytpulley@frontier.com / www.tpulley.com

Gods gift to me is creativity, what I do with the creativity is my gift to God. I am a painter of landscapes and still-lifes, which are derived both from my imagination and surrounding scenes. Color, rhythmic patterns, light and shade fill my canvases. My style of painting combines impressionism, expressionism, and a pinch of fauvism. I am more interested in conveying an impressionistic view of a subject than an exact rendering. Acrylic paints are my medium of choice. I find they fit well with my rapid execution and I favor thier bold and vibrant colors. No matter which style I am employing a painting is not complete until I have captured the soul of the subject. That is what being an artist is about. It is my greatest reward when the public can sense the soul of my work.

 Mike Yazel / myazelart@gmail.com  / http://mikeyazel.blogspot.com  / www.theironram.com

I am an artist working in several mediums in north central Indiana. I enjoy painting in Water Color and Oil in the studio and outside Plein Air whenever I can and the weather permits. I feel painting from life gives me a much broader understanding of color and light which I try to bring into my work. While I enjoy capturing the landscape with paint I also work in several other mediums including glass and wood. I am a long time wood carver and have recently returned to a medium I was introduced to many years ago at Herron School of Art, glass! This is a very addictive medium with a beauty yet to be rivaled by any other material. It is worked hot and like Water Color you are never quite sure just how the finished piece will come out. I enjoy mediums with a level of uncertainty as they keep you exploring the art.

Gail Karas / petegail@rtcol.com / 574.835.2992

Making a difference in Fulton County is my way of living. My passion is working for the public.  I have been with Fulton County 911 Communications since 1999 and currently The 911 Director. You can see a mural completed and donated by myself and Julia Sutton on the intake door to the jail. In 2004, I opened Artistic Impressions, an Art, Floral and Unique Gift Shop, in Downtown Rochester, trying to bring out the local artists. With the Recession, I was forced to move my shop home. To keep art alive, myself and four other artists started The Holiday Art Tour. When one door closes another opens. Since the opening of the tour my artwork and talents have grown. I take on commission work, paint on canvas and paper, provide limited giclee prints, cards and much more. I try to keep a wide variety of media's on my pallet. I have donated to The Tri Kappa chair auction every year and participate in surrounding art competitions. I have won a spot in the 2009 Ford Meter Box calendar and competed and won in the Honeywell Center Nine County Art Show and The Heartland Art Show.

 Nick Brown / www.kopaceticphotography.zenfolio.com

Nick Brown is a photographer with an evident fascination with the outdoors. By using different angles and the ever changing light provided by the setting itself, he tries to capture his subjects as they naturally present themselves. For more examples of his work visit kopaceticphotography.zenfolio.com. 

 Mercedes Brugh / Frozen Music / 574.739.2125 / Mercedes@FrozenMusic.net / www.frozenmusic.net

Mercedes Brugh is a printmaker in glass. Her detailed drawings, done in Computer Aided Drawing, take many hours to complete. Look for her tiny "MB" hallmark hidden in the drawing, sort of a "where's Waldo?" thing. When she is happy with the drawing, she laser-etches it into any number of pieces of glass, which she stacks with other glasses like a sandwich and then fuses them together at 1450 F. The result is intricate designs and glorious colors in bracelets, bowls, nail files, wine stoppers, purse hangers, and other jewelry.

 Gretchen Coplen / 574.382.2777

I paint landscapes and still life in oil. The subject matter of my paintings are derived from nature and objects as they appear in my everyday life or from picturesque scenes I observe while driving down country roads near my home.

Jim Eikenberry / 574.223.4742 / 3394 N. Old US 31 / Rochester, IN 46975

Jim is a graduate of the Fort Wayne Art Institute and has been a resident of Fulton County for 50 years. He considers his work now to be a surreal impressionism. He has a passion for color, and works in acrylic and mixed media (graphite, pastels, ink and markers) Vibrant colors and stunning images combine to make Jim’s art unique. He has also sold many of his limited edition, signed and numbered wild life prints all over Indiana and the Midwest over the years. Jim does commissioned work, besides all his own matting and framing.

Lindsey Kozubik / kozubikl@lcsc.k12.in.us

Lindsey Kozubik studies balance between the light and dark characteristics in her subjects. Working primarily with oil paint, she captures still-life, portraits, and landscapes.  Lindsey teaches elementary art in Logansport.  

 Lisa Zeyen /  zeyen.lisa@gmail.com

Lisa Zeyen is a lifelong resident of Fulton County. Her love affair with art began in early childhood with the encouragement of an artistic father. Best known for her creations in watercolor, Lisa works in a variety of other mediums and has won numerous awards for her floral, landscape, and wildlife paintings. Lisa has attended workshops with Lynn Diamente, Bill Inman, Henry Bell, and many other accomplished Hoosier artists. After many years instructing art in a private, as well as workshop setting, Lisa is now completing her Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education with the hope of teaching Art at the high school level.

 Garland Taylor / www.garlandmartintaylor.com / garland@garlandmartintaylor.com

Garland M. Taylor received his BA and his MA in Visual & Critical Studies from the School of The Art Institute of Chicago. He minored in sculpture and studied under Preston Jackson in Chicago and Virginio Ferrari in Verona, Italy. Garland’s art explores themes such as the reality of death, the notion of mourning, and the concept of masculinity. He’s gets his message across with installations that employ a variety of mediums such as baseball windings, steel, photomontage, collage, sound, found objects, prose, and video loops. For his current body of sculptural work the artist employs tiny pieces of steel discards from railroad maintenance crews, the construction trades, and the manufacturing industry to make sinuous welded forms that strike a balance between skill and spontaneity. These vibrant new works deal with improving that which has fallen into decline.