Brushes With Nature

Her artistic sisters have had their own brushes with nature while painting outdoors. Heidi Malott watched horses try to chew on her easel and nose around in her knapsack, tempted by the smell of an apple. And once, April Knox was suddenly surrounded by a bunch of curious cows in a field, not that that deterred her: “I like being out in the elements,” Knox says.

Nosy livestock are just one potential challenge of plein air painting, or “in the open air.”

So are busy bees, brisk winds and winter temperatures that can turn oil paint into a thick, sticky mess, which can be like “painting with gum,” Bojrab says.

But oh, the light: pure, clear, bright. It’s perfect for creating deep shadows in places, which is why Bojrab typically paints in the morning.

“It’s more dramatic,” she says.

Malott agrees.

“The more sunlight, the better. It makes it for an easier job; there’s more of a contrast, the colors are so vibrant,” she says.

Yet it can be a bit daunting, especially for those new to painting outside, because the light can change very fast, Malott adds. It keeps a painter on her toes, but that also means she doesn’t overwork something.

“You don’t get stale,” she says.

The three of them, plus Rebecca Justice-Schaab, meet weekly to paint outdoors together in various places around the region. And they all sell their work at Castle Gallery, 1202 W. Wayne St.

On this day, three of them have gathered at Johnny Appleseed Park for the first time. (Malott is pregnant and just moved into a new house, so she stays home.)

They’ve set up their easels at a spot next to the St. Joseph River facing the dam, enjoying a steady breeze that provides some relief on this hot, humid day.

All start by either making a quick thumbnail sketch in a notebook or snapping a photo to help them remember the details later, if they need to finish the piece at home.

And two hours in, they figure they’re about two-thirds finished.

Justice-Schaab’s painting shows more of the water than the others, from the churning white at the spill point to the calmer flow of the river, which has a greenish cast today.

Now she’s working on the building, trying not to sharpen the edges too much. She decides to show the long arched windows as a soft hint, rather than clearly defined.

“I’m very ‘Impressionistic.’ … I don’t want to get hard on the details,” she says.

She usually tackles the foreground last by using thicker paint and more abstract strokes that she brushes on at the end.

“It always seems to work,” she says, with the experience of a painter of 40 years.

To the left of Justice-Schaab, Knox has created a view of the dam that shows more golden tones than the others, plus more of the trees and walkway on one side.

She has been painting landscapes for three years.

“I’ve always been interested in art but wasn’t ready to learn until then,” she says. “I’m very blessed. I definitely know this is what I’m supposed to do.”

At the back of the trio, Bojrab is surveying her work. She adds a dab of white to the wooden walkway on the building’s left.

She started painting seriously again about five years ago, after raising a family. Now she makes time for it every day.

“When I paint, I’m truly living in the moment,” she says.

That’s something Malott can understand, especially when it comes to painting outdoors.

“There’s just nothing else like it, once you’re out there, you kind of get addicted to it.”

While the group has visited a variety of beautiful and colorful spots – the West Central neighborhood, the campuses of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne and University of Saint Francis, Amish country, even the zoo – Malott’s favorite is the beach in Florida.

“The sand blows right up onto the easel and gets into the paint, that makes it more authentic. You just go with the flow,” she says.

And watch the tide, for the moment when you might have to “grab everything and run.”

But wherever they paint, there’s always one thing they try not to forget, Malott adds.

“Remember bug spray.”

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