'Brush Work' exhibit features local landscapes

The diving valleys and cloud touching treetops found in Southern Indiana are provide a beautiful landscape for those who live here.

They also offered inspiration for “Brush Work.”

This collection of paintings by Mark Burkett and Jeanne McLeish features outdoor scenes, including Indiana’s natural wonders. The exhibit will be displayed now until Oct. 30 in the Upper Loft Gallery at the Brown County Art Guild in Nashville, Ind.
The collection of about 40 paintings by McLeish and her husband, Burkett, features mostly landscapes.

“We’re both drawn to nature,” she said.

Evan Knox, who works at the Guild, said the collection includes watercolors, oils and a few woodblock printings by Burkett.

“It’s a lovely show,” Knox said. “A beautiful collection of paintings.”

“Brush Work” includes artwork that has been created in the last few years in several scenic locations, including Indiana Dunes National Lake Shore Park and Monhegan Island.

The island, which is off the coast of Maine, was once visited by Capt. John Smith.
“Artists have been going there for 200 years,” McLeish said. “There is so much scenery.”

The two artists have also included artwork featuring some locations around their home, such as the Whitewater River, the White River and areas of Morgan County.
“They are just luminous, glowing, light-filled paintings,” said Lynn Weddle, the Guild’s assistant director.

In addition to the “Brush Work” collection, the works of 50 living Indiana artists are displayed at the Guild. The Brown County Art Guild was founded in 1954 by Marie Goth and several other prominent artists, whose works are also displayed at the guild in the permanent collection, according to the guild’s website.

Weddle said the Guild’s main mission is to promote art in Brown County. The Guild offers tours, sets up workshops and educates people about the history of art in the region.

College students with a particular interest in art history would enjoy the exhibit, McLeish said.

“We have people from all walks of life,” Weddle said. “Ittie-bitties to elderly people and everyone in between.”