Jeffrey Baumgartner - Chicago Actor and Artist
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"I'm painting an idea not an ideal. Basically I'm trying to paint a structured painting full of controlled, and therefore potent, emotion." - Euan Uglow  

6/28/2012

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Picture
Barn in Brown County, IN - I could easily do a whole series of paintings (photo)

Diann arrived on the Megabus from Chicago and I picked her up downtown Indianapolis. In Nashville, nothing else open, we had a pizza and beers at the brewery and off to the campsite.  Temps drop to a comfortable 60's overnight. Early brunch at the Lodge for salad bar and an exploration of Nashville. We start at Brown County Art Gallery and view representative works from myriad Hoosier artists. It is very impressive a collection!

On recommendation from the gallery director, we head to Brown County Art Guild and are impressed again, most especially by the works from the permanent collection including Marie Goth and V.J. Cariani. Stunning. We spent little over an hour there, I imagine. More look-about and we check in at our B&B just outside of Nashville. After settling in, we discuss zipping in to Story, IN, a mere ten minutes away. But we don't want to short-change our time there so dinner at The Artists' Colony in downtown Nashville, pick up wine and champagne  and chocolate and choose a video cassette (yes, I wrote "video cassette") from the B&B library collection and we settle in. The movie is "The Paper", fun, and I am in the whirlpool with champagne. From the camping, my lower back had begun to ache and this is just the medicine for it. 

Tomorrow breakfast included at 9am, prepared by our proprietress, Billy Jean, and a trip to Story where I intend to paint in front of the infamous and fabled Story Inn - it is said to be haunted by the "Blue Lady." Then to join them at their lake house, friends of mine from way back - Mark Gabrek and his wife Lori, have generously invited us to stay with them Friday and Saturday evenings. I will participate in a Paint Out in Greenfield, IN, all day on Saturday, so as to arrive back at the lake near 5pm. 

Mark and I grew up together in Fort Wayne and were able to visit last June when I was in Zionsville for a plein air workshop.  After we shared a whole lot of stories, I began to discover one thing: all the times that I got in trouble or had a crazy time of it, Mark seemed to be there. Wrecked my Dad's van sneaking into the exit of a Ft Wayne drive-in theater after midnight in our college years - Mark was there; high school, trip to Florida, a flash flood and the car of our mutual friend, Joe Braun, goes floating away while we were driving - four guys jump out and and push it as 'twere a boat, back to terra firma; Mark was bassist and flutist for our first garage band in which I sang; we went to Notre Dame and played in the Commons our only four songs, one of which was Jethro Tull's "Freebird," I think we played it four times. "Suite Madam Blue" on tour with the high school show choir and performing in New Orleans' French Quarter in 1978 where Mark and I stumble onto the arrival of the band members of Styx, having an interview on the steps in the Quarter. I have pictures of Dennis DeYoung waving to me.

Uh huh, a recurring theme - Mark was seemingly always there; ergo, Mark Gabrek, this fairly quiet, unassuming gentle man, I believe, was the cause for any trouble in which I found myself. At least that is the story I shall continue to tell my mother. And she will believe me; unless Mark gets to her first. Bastard.
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    Jeffrey Baumgartner

    A professional actor for over twenty-five years, Jeffrey is an accomplished oil painter based in Chicago.  In 2008, he established  JB ArtWorks studio gallery. 

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