PleinAir Magazine – August 2019

70 August-September 2019 / http://www.outdoorpainter.com

collector profiles

“Ona lark,mywifeandI stoppedbythe
BroadRippleHoosierSalongalleryin2006,
theweekendbeforeanexhibitionopening,and
wereinvitedtoattendtheshowpreview,”says
BillWissel.“Weboughta paintingthatended
upwinninganaward,andwewerehooked.
Afterthatexperience,I attendeda paint-outin
Brookville,Indiana,andboughtmyfirstplein
airpiecefromMaryAnnDavis.It remainsone
ofmyfavoritepaintingstothisday.
“Today,webuyworkat galleryopen-
ings,pleinairevents,andcompetitions,butwe
especiallyenjoybuyingdirectlyfromtheartists
themselves.If anartistworksinmultiplemedi-
ums,weliketobuypiecesthatreflectthatrange;
forinstance,we’vepurchasedprintsandetchings
fromartistsprimarilyknownfortheirpaintings.
“AmongtheartistswecollectareMary
Ann Davis, Carol Strock-Wasson, Lynn Dunbar,

DonnaShortt,CharleneBrown,BethForst,Tricia

Hillenberg,ChrisNewlund,JeffKlinker,Dan

andTomWoodson,LarryRudolech,RonMack,

LyleDenney,KyleRagsdale,AlanLarkin,David

Seward,RoyBoswell,andWyattLeGrand.

“Wehavea personalrelationshipwithall

theartistsinourcollection,manyof whomI

metduringmytenureas presidentof theIndiana

PleinAirPaintersAssociation.Oneof myfa-

voritesayingsis ‘Artistsarea betterclassof bum.’

“l tooksomeartclassesinhighschool,

butconsidermyselfa collectoranda patron.

Mywife,ontheotherhand,majoredinartin

college.Herfamilyalsocollecteda little,andshe

toldmesomegreatstoriesaboutfamilyexcur-

sionstobuyartwork.Inmyownexperience,I’ve

cometothinkof collectingartworkas collecting

stories.Mybiggestconcernis thatI don’thave

enough wall space, so I have to rotate my stock.”

BILLANDMELANIEWISSEL

A COLLECTION OF STORIES

By Kyle Ragsdale

By Lyle Denney