A Collection of Stories

Art Collection - Landscape painting by Lyle Denney — Landscape painting by Lyle Denney

-advertisement-

An Art Collection Spotlight

“On a lark, my wife and I stopped by the Broad Ripple Hoosier Salon gallery in 2006, the weekend before an exhibition opening, and were invited to attend the show preview,” says Bill Wissel. “We bought a painting that ended up winning an award, and we were hooked. After that experience, I attended a paint-out in Brookville, Indiana, and bought my first plein air piece from Mary Ann Davis. It remains one of my favorite paintings to this day.

“Today, we buy work at gallery openings, plein air events, and competitions, but we especially enjoy buying directly from the artists themselves. If an artist works in multiple mediums, we like to buy pieces that reflect that range; for instance, we’ve purchased prints and etchings from artists primarily known for their paintings.

“Among the artists we collect are Mary Ann Davis, Carol Strock-Wasson, Lynn Dunbar, Donna Shortt, Charlene Brown, Beth Forst, Tricia Hillenberg, Chris Newlund, Jeff Klinker, Dan and Tom Woodson, Larry Rudolech, Ron Mack, Lyle Denney, Kyle Ragsdale, Alan Larkin, David Seward, Roy Boswell, and Wyatt LeGrand.

“We have a personal relationship with all the artists in our collection, many of whom I met during my tenure as president of the Indiana Plein Air Painters Association. One of my favorite sayings is ‘Artists are a better class of bum.’

“l took some art classes in high school, but consider myself a collector and a patron. My wife, on the other hand, majored in art in college. Her family also collected a little, and she told me some great stories about family excursions to buy artwork. In my own experience, I’ve come to think of collecting artwork as collecting stories. My biggest concern is that I don’t have enough wall space, so I have to rotate my stock.”