Recently, I had some family visit my studio/gallery here in Brown County, Nashville, Indiana, for several days. Whenever I have visitors, I get to “play tourist” and take advantage of the many activities and sites I might otherwise save for another day. The T.C. Steele State Historic Site is one of those local treasures I had not visited since the new Visitors Center was built in 2019.
As many of you know, T.C. Steele is one of Indiana’s most famous artists who discovered the hidden gem of Brown County in 1905. He started coming here to paint “en plein air” and built a house on 60 acres in 1907. As soon as the house was completed, he and his new bride, Selma Neubacher Steele, his second wife, moved in. They named the property “The House of the Singing Winds” for the melodic symphony of the wind on the hills through the house. There is also a book of the same title that is a fascinating read. Over time, they bought more land bringing the site total to 211 acres.
New Visitors Center
TC Steele Visitors Center, August, 2022.
From the Indiana State Museum website: “Theodore Clement “T.C.” Steele (1847-1926), noted Indiana artist and member of the Hoosier Group of Impressionist Painters, was inspired by the picturesque scenes that he encountered in Brown County. T.C. was at the forefront of the state’s art movement and remains one of Indiana’s most honored artists.”
T.C. and Selma Steele
T.C. and Selma Steele
Large Studio
T.C. Steele Large Studio, August, 2022.
You can see the new visitor’s center in the background behind the large studio.
Main House in 2010
I found this shocking photo of the main house from 2010! You can see that the house and gardens were clearly not in good condition.
T.C. Steele House in September, 2010
How Things Change
Here is how the main house looked on the day of my visit in August, 2022.
T.C. Steele Main House, August, 2022.
What a change!
T.C. Steele Main House, August, 2022.
I remember when I moved here in 1987, the house and property were in dismal condition. So much work has been done since then. The restored gardens, formal gardens, fish ponds, and buildings, in addition to the new Visitors Center, have elevated this historic treasure to new levels. Up until just recently, for security, there was always an on site custodian who lived in a portion of the main house. New security systems in place make an on site attendant no longer necessary and the main house has been mostly restored to the condition it was when the Steeles lived there.
T.C. Steele Main House, August, 2022.
Everything Intact
The wonderful, unique thing about this historic site is that Selma Steele left the entire property and all it’s contents to the state in 1946. Many historic sites have to search and hunt for period furnishings that were not original to the site. So, we are very fortunate to have all the original furnishings, props, and artwork that the Steeles’ lived with and used that fill the house, studio, and buildings. Even the palette that T.C. was using at the end was left intact, with the dried blotches of paint.
Restored Gardens
Workers and volunteers have worked hard over the years to restore the koi ponds and the formal gardens. Selma maintained extensive gardens for T.C. to use as subject matter in his paintings. Back when they lived in Brown County, there were no deer to contend with. Now, the gardens need to be enclosed in 8′ high deer fencing.
T.C. Steele Restored Koi Ponds
T.C. Steele Restored Formal Gardens
T.C. Steele Restored Formal Gardens
Oil Paintings
This wouldn’t be a blog about T.C. Steele without including a couple of his gorgeous paintings.
Valley Scene (Brown County), 1912. Oil on canvas. T.C. Steele.
I won’t even try to write a history about Steele. Tons of info out there. My family and I signed up for the 45 minute tour and it was marvelous. So informative! Our tour guide was knowledgeable and patient, answering questions and giving added details. In fact, our 45 minute tour turned out to be 1 1/2 hours long and the time flew by! Even living here and serving as an Artist in Residence (twice!), I learned new info.
Winter Sunlight was painted in 1912 and shown in the Memorial Exhibition for Theodore C. Steele 1847 – 1926 at the John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis (Corner Sixteenth and Pennsylvania Streets, site of the old Tinker homestead). Sponsored by the Art Association of Indianapolis, this exhibition was held during the month of December, 1926. Oil on canvas.
I am not a woodworker! Never claimed to be a woodworker. Never wanted to be a woodworker.
But, now I am a woodworker.
I wanted to make cradled panels and then add strip frames so I would be free to make large and not so large paintings in non-standard sizes. And narrow strip frames so the paintings can be hung together in a grouping without the frames dominating, visually.
I find myself comparing wood stains like red oak vs. dark walnut. And surveying lumber at Menards and Lowes. What width would work with the cradled panels? What type of wood glue would be best? Nails vs screws + wood filler and grades of sand paper. And lots of how-to youtube videos.
I even bought a miter saw and an electric hand sander at the Brown County Humane Society Barn Sale in August. Which, by the way, is an awesome sale! They have everything except clothes. Tools, housewares, kitchen wares, furniture, toys, mowers, lawn tools, holiday decor, bikes, books, boats, even cars. Last year the sale raised $56,000. This year it raised $75,000! Make a list and check it out next year.
Currently, when the weather is nice, my woodshop is the deck. At night, the tools and wood go back inside. I am debating about turning part of the barn into a woodshop. Just part of it because I plan on getting horses again someday.
Staining frame strips
So, in this picture of my so-called woodshop, you can see the wood staining process, the miter saw, my workbenches, and my first completed strip frame on a painting. The staining process really took a long time because each side of the wood needs 1-2 coats of stain + a coat of polyurethane. And each coat needs to dry for several hours in between.
Charlene at the 4th Street Art Festival
Here are the new strip frames on the tetraptych paintings at the 4th Street Art Festival.
“Autumn in Yellowwood State Forest” is the third, oil painting in a four season tetraptych. Each panel measures 48″ high x 24″ wide. So, all four paintings will make an 8′ wide x 4′ high installation. They are all done on cradled panels and will have strip frames.
So, this is the initial sketch on the pre-tinted panel for the autumn painting.
Autumn in Yellowwood, 48″ x 24″
Next, I paint in the dark values of the creek bank and rocks.
Autumn in Yellowwood, 48″ x 24″
Then I add the land surrounding the creek, using the paint to “carve out” the hillsides. At this point I start to paint in the creek using a mix of Ultramarine Blue and Titanium White plus a touch of Cadmium Red Medium and Light plus some Cerulean Blue.
Autumn in Yellowwood, 48″ x 24″
More of the creek is painted in using lighter values.
Autumn in Yellowwood, 48″ x 24″
A base of greens, oranges, reds, and rusts are added for the background forest.
A dark value is mixed using mostly Cadmium Red Medium and Ultramarine Blue to get the dark leaves silhouetted against the blue sky.
Lastly the sky is painted in using a mix of Cerulean Blue and Titanium White.
At this point, with the entire panel finally covered, I can step back and evaluate where to go from here.
Autumn in Yellowwood, 48″ x 24″
“Thinking time” is invaluable as the painting progresses. Sometimes ideas need to percolate before applying the paint to the support. Sometimes I feel guilty taking time to just study and think about where to go next with a painting.
At this stage, I start to add the branches and trees of the forest. The branches and trees really start to give the painting depth and shape to the hills.
Autumn in Yellowwood, 48″ x 24″
A layer of leaves is added. The changing leaves gradate from green to chartreuse to yellow, orange and red.
Multiple layers of leaves and trees and branches are added, working back and forth between the foreground, background, and sky.
It wouldn’t be summer without a trip to the Indiana State Fair.
Indiana State Fair Midway 2022
I rarely enter art competitions anymore. Lots of reasons I won’t go into but decided I wanted to enter art in the Indiana State Fair Professional Fine Arts Division. I love fairs. County fairs, state fairs, art fairs. And with the entry fee, one gets 6 free tickets to the State Fair worth $84 which far exceeds the cost of entry. Since I couldn’t use all of the tickets, I was able to share with friends, who were thrilled.
Free Stage
Entry to the State Fair includes access to the Free Stage with nightly concerts. Due to time restraints and other commitments, I could only go up once this year so planned to go the night of the Happy Together Tour with The Cowsills, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, The Association, The Turtles, and The Vogues. Fabulous show! So much fun. Hopefully, next year I can go up more than once and catch another concert or two.
The Cowsills, Indiana State Fair 2022
The Cowsills kicked off the evening with “The Rain, the Park, & Other Things”. They were the original “Partridge Family” that the TV show was based on. Susan Cowsill is now 63 and has attended the Indiana State Fair since she was eight years old! Isn’t that amazing? Packed house and everyone was in a fun and friendly mood.
First Place
Indiana State Fair First Place Award
During my visit to the state fair, I toured the art exhibits and was thrilled to learn I won First Place in the Computer Art category. Woo Hoo! Comes with a little money so it’s all good. The winning piece features one of my fiber art designs recreated using modules to make a whole new image. Using Adobe Photoshop, I used multiple layers to get the effect of radiating sacred geometry.
The head of the art division said entries were way up this year. Can’t remember the exact amount he said — maybe 30%? But there was a lot of fantastic art. Can’t wait for next year!
Next Up
Next up is the fourth and last painting in the tetraptych, Winter in Yellowwood State Forest. Hoping to have it done in time to take to my first show of the fall season, the Fourth Street Festival of the Arts and Crafts in Bloomington, Indiana, coming up Labor Day weekend. Then I will be heading back to Chicago to the Lakeview East Festival of the Arts. Visit my Events Page to see where else I will be exhibiting this fall.
That’s it for now! Thanks for following along! I love you!
This coming weekend, September 10-11, 2022, I will be at the Lakeview East Festival of the Arts in Chicago. The hours run 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. both days. I will be in Booth #68 on N. Broadway near Aldine. You can use 3138 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL in your GPS to find the festival.
One joy of doing art shows is being able to see the paintings on display and actually get to enjoy them. Between shows, they are often packed away where I don’t get to see them. Here is a picture of the new series, the four season 48″ h. x 24″ w. tetraptych, in my booth at the 4th Street Festival of the Arts last weekend. They took up the entire 10′ wide wall! Check out the blogs that explain how they were created.
Four Season Grouping at the 4th Street Festival of the Arts
That’s it for today. Lots to do to get ready for my next show. Lots of details and moving parts! I still need to find a hotel and parking! Not to mention taking care of the farm and animals.
