Ron Mack: A life in plein air

Ron Mack’s work will be featured at the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center from August 1 through October as a solo exhibition, ‘Over 50 Paintings: Through the Years.’ More information at the end of the story

Soon after getting married, Dottie Mack (Durcholz) wanted a piece of art for the wall in the home she and her husband, Ron, had just moved into.

Ron worked as a design coordinator in engineering for Eli Lilly & Company at the time, and he had been dabbling in art for most of his life.

“I kind of threatened him,” Dottie said. “I knew he had some ability; I didn’t know how much. So, I told him if he didn’t paint something, I’m going to start buying them.”

Then, she followed through with the threat.

Dottie brought the painting home, and Ron, seeing his wife’s determination, conceded. “He said, ‘All right, take that back. I’ll paint you a painting,'” she said.

For his part, Ron decided to head to Ogle Lake in Brown County to paint some scenery. It was his first step into plein air, or outdoor, painting, though it didn’t necessarily go well.

“Well, I didn’t know beans about painting on location,” Ron laughed. “My whole thought was that I would just go outside and paint rather than sit here and paint from a picture.”

So he did and learned that while you are sitting there painting the beautiful scenery, that scenery changes as the day progresses.

“I was sitting there making pretty good progress as I looked across Ogle Lake at some pine trees,” Ron remembers. “I’d paint a tree and a shadow and a tree … and then I saw after an hour or so that something didn’t look right.”

It dawned on him that the sun was moving, which meant the shadows were also moving.

Dottie had some strong feelings about that painting when he got home. “I said, ‘Oh honey, I thought you were better than that,'” she laughed.

Ron decided he needed to get some lessons if his foray into plein air painting were to continue, and he wanted to see his art on the walls of their home.

The interest in art began in Ron’s childhood. His mother, Mary, passed away when he and his brother, Jim, were young. Their newly single dad, Carl, would send his sons to the John Herron Art Institute to help keep them busy.

Carl would give his sons money for the bus, but the pair discovered a White Castle between them and the Art Institute. They decided to walk.

“We’d save a dime and be able to get another hamburger,” Ron said. “We just loved those hamburgers.”

He and his brother had talent—Ron attributes it to his mom, a talented musician. Their artistic talent transferred into their careers. He at Elli Lilly as a designer and his brother, working in architecture creating renderings for clients.

Ron even continued painting after that “god awful” piece he created at Ogle Lake.

Elli Lilly had a wall for artists to display their work and Ron submitted a still life of a silver teapot he had painted. Several people asked if they could purchase it. He didn’t sell it, but subsequently, it was accepted into a juried art competition, which led to him entering other contests with his work.

He also continued studying and refining his plein air technique. A few years into their marriage, Ron, Dottie and their young son, Steven, headed to Connecticut to attend a workshop under acclaimed plein air artist Foster Cadell.

“I learned more in those two weeks than anything else I’ve ever done,” Ron said, adding he had a hard time sleeping each day after the classes because his mind was filled with ideas of what he wanted to paint.

His work continued to develop, and his love for plein air grew.

“It makes a difference if you are out there,” Ron said. “I don’t know how to explain it. There is wind, breeze, sometimes you get snowed on or rained on.”

The moment guides his paintings, which feature bright colors, accentuated lines, and contrast that add depth and guide the viewer’s eyes through the scene. Sometimes, he adds unexpected elements that draw interest, like a jet with its long contrail traversing the sky.

He is renowned for the coloring of the skies in his paintings and has been asked to teach others his technique. Ron never imagined he’d become someone that would teach his art.

In 1998, the Indiana Plein Air Painters Association approached him to be one of the five artists commissioned to paint Indiana’s 92 counties. The project was done to celebrate the upcoming millennium, and the plan was to publish “Painting Indiana” in 2000.

Each artist randomly drew county names from a hat and had a year to complete their work. Ron submitted paintings from 19 counties, attempting to capture something unique about each one.

“I went out by myself at first,” he said.

One time he returned and told Dottie he couldn’t find anything to paint in the county he had just visited. She decided to start accompanying him on these trips to ensure he saw something from then on.

The paintings used for the book were sold to raise funds for the Indiana Plein Air Painters Association. According to Dottie, the sale brought in more than $450,000.

A career of wandering around Indiana to find something to paint has led to a deeper appreciation for the state’s beauty and a better understanding of the disparity of poverty and wealth between different areas.

It’s also led to interesting interactions like being stopped by police officers after suspiciously driving past an ideal farmhouse setting several times. Or property owners mistakenly thinking Ron wanted to paint their homes when he would ask to paint on their property. Or being offered piña coladas by a friendly homeowner. “It looked awfully good, so I drank it,” he laughed.

Through the years, these experiences have expanded from Indiana to include other parts of the country and even other parts of the world. Ron has painted in France, which he considers one of the most picturesque places he’s ever painted, and in Italy, which he considers one of the best places to eat while he’s painted.

His work has won awards and has been featured in other books and magazines. And he’s sold many, many pieces.

About a year ago, the couple decided to move to Dubois County. Dottie grew up near Ireland with her 10 brothers and sisters. The new duplexes at Legacy Living were attractive but Ron still wanted a studio for his work so they are leasing two units in the complex. One to live in and one to paint in. The extra garage is his workshop for framing his pieces.

When they moved in, they brought more than 800 paintings with them. Many are framed but most are canvases stacked on shelves or in containers to be pulled out every once in a while for a memory of a past trip or moment captured with oil paint, turpentine and brushes out in the world.

Nearing 90 now, Ron still loves to paint in his studio, though he doesn’t get out in the open air as much as he would like to anymore. In those moments of creation, he finds bliss. “It’s relaxing and healing,” he said. “I can have a headache or a stomach ache, and I can start painting, and after a while, that will all go away.”

Ron’s work is on display at the Thyen Clark Cultural Center in August, and he will be giving a gallery talk Thursday evening (tonight) for the First Thursday Reception from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. It is a free event and open to the public.

The show is somewhat of a walk through Ron’s more than 50 years of painting, featuring work from different times in the couple’s lives.

In combination with Ron’s exhibit at the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center, he will be painting live in his gallery among his artwork on Saturday, August 3 and September 14 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This is a wonderful opportunity for the public to watch a professional artist in action and ask questions about his techniques or process.