Paint the Towns in Fall Color

Paint the Towns in Fall Color

Event Sponsors:

Sargento

Sargento

Barb & Dan Garton

Bank First

Paul and Kathy Sartori

Van Horn Auto

Wisconsin Arts Board

Cow Country Radio

Pleasant View Realty

Friday, Oct. 15

Paint the Towns in Fall Color

Reception & Judge’s Comments

6-9pm

Art, All Ages

The Best of Show Award was presented to Todd Schable for his painting NIGHT SHIFTS. Judge Neilsen comments were: “There is an “OCTOBERNESS” about this painting that makes me feel that the artist has captured a MOOD as well as a PLACE. The mood is totally AUTUMNAL…an autumn night wherein darkness is both a symbol of rest and fear…painting an autumn night wherein color is dampened by darkness or eerily transformed by artificial light takes both technical mastery and poetic nuance…and this painting surely reveals both. And this is NOT to say this is a bleak image…it’s mature (as autumn is the most mature of all seasons) it’s mysterious in both a physical and metaphysical way (physical insomuch as one easily recognizes this as a specific building and metaphysical in that is refers to IDEAS of night and passage and journey and age and mystery)and it’s HOPEFUL as there’s a RADIANT patch of light on the right side, along the pathway, that’s as utilitarian as it is a luminous metaphor for safety and a watchful eye in the world. In the spirit of the plein air aesthetic, that one can find BEAUTY all round us, even in the darkness, well, that’s an apt metaphor for both the diminishing “light of day” in October and how even during an international pandemic, we can rely on beauty to hearten our belief in better, more beautiful days to come. This is, in my mind and heart, a very, very beautiful work of art.”

Paint the Towns is sponsored by Dan & Barb Garton, Sargento, Bank First, Paul & Kathy Sartori, and Van Horn Auto and Pleasant View Realty. At the reception, cash prizes in the amount of $3000 were awarded. Best of Show Award-$1000; 2nd Place-$750; Third Place-$350; along with a number of other cash and merit awards. New this year, the paintings created at Paint the Towns in Fall Color will be on display in the main gallery and this year’s award winners will be invited to participate in a special month-long exhibition in April 2022. All proceeds of this event benefit the Plymouth Arts Center, a charitable 501c3 non-profit organization. For more information please call 920.892.8409 or visit the PAC website: www.PlymouthArts.Org

Photo Gallery
Best of Show: Todd Schabel, NIGHT SHIFTS
Best of Fall Colors Award: Lori Beringer, FAMILY TIES. I feel the artist described a field of grain that had once been brilliantly golden but has now mellowed to a faded, burlappy-oatmeal color; almost a non-color or the color of exhaustion, this PASSAGE of “exhausted color” sums up a less popular but no less REAL palette of AUTUMN and it both surprised and edified me to see it. I actually had a little argument in my head as I pondered whether I could acknowledge this particular color as truly describing autumn’s TYPICAL colors, but the more I thought about the RANGE of autumn’s colors, this burlappy-oatmeal color certainly exists in the grain fields of Wisconsin in October.
Best of Historic Town Award: Troy Tatlock, SUNDOWN DITCHES. What a singularly unique style of pushing paint…this, friends, is like a wonderfully DISTINCT ACCENT you might hear as you travel across the country; you know what people are saying but you’ve not quite heard it like that before…in this case, I recognize the environment the artist is describing (so I can identify the objects and space) but I’ve never seen it described quite like this before, which makes me appreciate these train tracks in a way I’ve never imagined before. This is the power of ART, the ordinary becomes extraordinary and compels us to reappreciate that which we, heretofore, thought we knew so very well.
Merit Award: Stephen Wysocki, SPACE BETWEEN The space between the two train cars acts a FRAME for the little landscape it presents to the viewer the compositional strategy of this painting is just brilliant. And whereas I know the artist was, in fact, painting actual train cars, I felt these could have been toys, too, which I think is the splendid alchemy and magic of painting, real things can be transformed to other real things.
Merit Award: Peggy Hope, TRAINING DAY. I zeroed in on the flawless execution of the train tracks. I can “sense” the hardness of these tracks and there’s no question in my mind that they’re metal, they reminded me of similar tracks I walked along as a boy. Again, this is wonderfully nostalgic and the hip-hop text on the train car updates my boyhood memory to the “here-and-now.” The passage of sky at the top of the painting is a brilliant foil to the darkness of the track at the bottom of the painting.
Best of Road America Award: Linda Boehlke, Roaring Road America. I’m more than a little naïve about auto racing, but this painting finely captures a sense of speed by its’ linear, hard-edge articulation of the road. Makes a guy want to exceed the speed limit a little bit tonight…
3rd Place Award: Naomi Tiry Salgado, HARTMAN’S BAKERY. This painting inspired me to leave the Arts Center and find the original location because the color of this painting looked (to me eye) to be the color a homemade “sugar-cookies” or a loaf of freshly baked bread with a golden crust, I had to see for myself what this bakery looks like. The artist actually made the building MORE DELICIOUS than it might appear upon first view and, therein, captured the ESSENSE and FEELING of the space in the most poetic and emotional way (exactly what a traditional plein-air painting seeks to do; it expresses a belief in the goodness of humanity and appeals to the senses). For anyone who has ever been to this bakery, this painting will inspire you to bring home a box of cookies from this very bakery.
2nd Place Award: Michael Strum, YESTERDAY’S TRAIN DEPOT. This is an exceptionally sophisticated “visual treatise” on FINE, SILVERY SILENCE, sky, water and metal are beautifully considered as “distinct patinas of silver” without it ever looking like a MONOCHROME painting…what sensitivity and what finesse! This also strikes me as a “meditation” on the passage of time, rusted, weathered silvery-tin or metal walls are juxtaposed with freshly fallen rain that’s just puddled by the tracks, it’s both the PAST and the PRESENT at once. And this is so splendidly QUIET, it’s a visual poem that’s as melancholic as it noble.
Merit Award: Maximiano Janairo, FOGGY NOTION. I found the two trees on the left to be so artfully “veiled” that they act as a “painting within the painting,” I’ve seen such veiled trees on foggy mornings and this felt wonderfully nostalgic to me. I also admire how the artist constructed the edge of the earth as it becomes the wall of the stream bed, this was beautifully observed.
Sunshine Award: Hector Acuna, GOLD RUSH. What a curious category: the rendering of “sunshine”, which, to me, meant finding a SOPRANO YELLOW. I totally made up that color (soprano yellow) but just like the lyric soprano is a warm voice with a bright, full timbre, I was on the lookout for a warm yellow with a bright, full character, and I found it exquisitely rendered in this boldly painted landscape. This is a good example of SYNESTHESIA: I’m HEARING the color yellow, and I like how it sounds in this painting!
Merit Award: Dan Rizzi, PLYMOUTH PRIDE I’ve never before been to Plymouth so everything I saw driving through town was literally BRAND NEW (and fascinating) to me…and as I was driving down Mill street toward the Art Center I missed my turn because I was so intrigued by the archway beyond the intersection; who doesn’t want to pass under the expanse of an archway, particularly one that says CHEESE CAPITAL? The colors of this vividly rendered painting totally MATCHED my JOY at first seeing this local landmark.

Upcoming Events

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3rd Wed of the month beginning Feb. 18

Two Albums Two Cocktails

Unwind at the Plymouth Arts Center

4-6 PM

Community Event, Adults

The Plymouth Arts Center invites the community to slow down and savor the moment with a brand-new monthly event, Two Albums, Two Cocktails, launching on Wednesday, February 18, from 4 to 6pm and continuing on the third Wednesday of every month. This unique listening experience pairs two iconic, classic albums with two expertly crafted cocktails, creating the perfect midweek escape. Guests are encouraged to simply sit back, relax, and enjoy the music as it was meant to be heard—without interruptions.

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Sargento

March 6-May 8, 2026

50 YEARS of Film Photography

by William Lemke

Opening Reception Mar. 6th 5-7pm

Art, All Ages

As a photographic artist, my work is a sincere reflection of my encounters with the world, preserving fleeting moments in time through the lens of my camera. Each photograph is a narrative, a mood, and an emotion encapsulated within the frame, whether I am capturing the serenity of a landscape, the intricate beauty of a plant, the architectural grace of a structure, or the essence of a person. While my focus leans toward nature, I often find that the true spirit of a moment is enriched by the presence of people, making them indispensable collaborators in my artistic journey.

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Mar. 7 & 14

Mill Street Live

Second Auditions

Music, Youth

We are still seeking a few more performers to audition for this year’s cast of Mill Street Live. Consider trying out for this exciting and fun show and a wonderful experience! Join in the fun!

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Thank you to our Season Sponsors

Sartori
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Wisconsin Arts Board

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