Indiana painter's river art project heading to state museum

AMBOY, Ind. (AP) - Avon Waters stood waist-deep in the middle of Wildcat Creek near Greentown, wearing full waders and a wide-brimmed hat. An easel stood in front of him, planted firmly in the riverbed, with a small canvas on it.

Waters quietly sketched the scene in front of him as he held up a pencil to measure the size and scale of the trees and other greenery before drawing them out.

Over the last year, the 66-year-old Miami County painter has found himself many times standing in the middle of a river, or near its banks, with an easel in front of him.

In fact, he's done just that at precisely 22 waterways all around Indiana, in every season, capturing the distinctive features that make each river beautiful and special.

And next year, those paintings will be on display at the Indiana State Museum and other art galleries as part of a project documenting the state's rivers, creeks and streams - and those who work to keep them clean.

Waters, a professional painter whose works have been on display in galleries all around the country, joined four other Hoosier artists last year to take on the project partly as a way to do something in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.

He said they just had a cookout when one of the painters suggested traveling around the state to capture river scenes, and then putting them all into a book and on display for people to enjoy.

'œWe said, '~Yeah, let's do something. Let's get something going,''ť Waters said.

So they did, spreading out across Indiana as traveling artists to find unique spots along the 35,600 miles of waterways traversing the state.

Waters said he quickly planned trips to southern and northern Indiana in the winter to sketch and get photos of waterways that he would take back to his studio to paint.

Through his wanderings, he discovered old, dilapidated railroads and bridges jutting across small creeks or historic mills standing beside tributaries. Tips from local residents led him to get access to streams and rivers in private woods and preserves.

In June, Waters and the other four artists gathered together to see what they'd all been up to and found they had captured scenes from 22 different rivers, including the Wabash, Ohio, White and Mississinewa. They'd also painted smaller waterways, such as Wildcat Creek, Tippecanoe River and McCormick's Creek.

But the painting isn't done yet. All five artists will keep heading out to even more rivers and streams until April, when they're calling it a wrap. After that, a curator will choose 20 paintings from each of them to create a 100-painting exhibition.

Waters, who has a studio and art gallery in Amboy, said the project started out with a simple artistic vision to paint waterways, but in the last year, it's evolved into something much larger that none of them expected.

As word got out about their undertaking, the project caught the attention of Keith Halper, the Indiana division president of the Izaak Walton League, one of America's oldest conservation groups. The organization says it's the only one that trains, equips and coordinates volunteers to do water quality monitors on a national scale.

Halper told Waters he thought the paintings would be a perfect way to draw people in to learn more about protecting Indiana's water resources. Waters agreed.

'œIt started out as a group of painters saying, '~Hey, let's paint some pictures and see if we can get some museums to show them,''ť Waters said. 'œIt ended with us saying '~Hey, we want to partner and get the word out about conservation.''ť

And that's just what they've been doing. In October, the painters all traveled to northwest Indiana, where they joined a group of Izaak Walton League chapters and local kids to help cleanup the Little Calumet River. They also spent some time painting the waterway.

'œNot only did they get to see the art being produced by painters on location, but they got to participate in and see how people clean up rivers by picking up trash and garbage,'ť Waters said about the kids at the event.

He said one of the main goals now is to attract younger people into conservation groups such as the Izaak Walton League or other local river groups that work to protect their waterways. He said art can be a great gateway to attract the next generation of leaders.

'œNone of these artists are getting any younger, and neither are the leaders of some of these conservation groups, so getting the youth involved is really a key effort when we go out and schedule talks,'ť Waters said.

Those talks have happened at libraries and other groups about the project and its conservation mission. Waters said he also plans to speak at art galleries in South Bend and Elkhart as well.

'œThe whole thing has become a way to communicate the message of conservation and the need to conserve and take care of our natural resources,'ť he said.

The book that will be published with the river paintings will also spread the message of preserving Indiana's natural resources. It is now set to contain essays from scientists and others educating people on waterway conservation efforts.

Waters said the Izaak Walton League has given the artists a matching grant to help cover the costs of the project and book, and their support has been critical in turning the paintings into a conduit for conservation.

Now, after spending a year wading in Indiana's rivers, Waters said, the whole project has given him a deep appreciation for the state's waterways. He said that feeling will stick with him for the rest of his life, both in his paintings and his efforts to promote preserving them.

'œI've always enjoyed painting trees and landscapes, but I think long after this project is done, I'll be hanging around rivers and lakes and waterways a lot more,'ť he said. 'œIt will become part of my everyday painting.'ť

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Source: Kokomo Tribune