WAUPUN — The Waupun Fine Arts committee held their second artist reception Thursday evening, this time for Fox Lake painter Arthur Thurmer.
Every few months the Fine Arts group swaps out artists at their gallery hosted at the Waupun Public Library, with this month’s artist being Arthur Thurmer—”Art” for short.
Thurmer began painting after he retired twelve years ago, after taking a short painting class with his wife he took interest in the hobby and began spending most of his free time painting.
“It sparked a curiosity in me for painting and then the pandemic hit of course, and so, I just started going nuts,” Thurmer said. “I got to the point where my wife said it’s time you have to take these someplace because I was taking up the entire house.”
“I opened up a gallery in Fox Lake at 300 West State Street and I have them all on display there,” he said. “I also have some paintings over at the Dodge County Center for the Arts, and then they asked me to do this one as well. So I’ve got paintings in three different spots and I’ve still got paintings right.”
His paintings cover a wide variety of subjects, primarily impressionist pieces that hold a lot of symbolism that tells a hidden story.
One piece was a personal history, incorporating elements of Thurmer’s childhood. Another piece was of an underground train station with a train that looked to have sharp teeth. Two matching pieces that were particularly impressive were two boats on the water with the sun and moon behind their sails, respectively.
Many other pieces were also on display of various styles, with each piece having a striking amount of color.
As for why he paints—it’s a great creative outlet.
“I can’t think of a place I’d rather be than in front of a canvas, creating something and sometimes you know the ideas are fresh out of my brain,” he said. “Sometimes it’s something that I’ve seen—it might be a photograph that I took, it might be driving along the road and seeing an old barn somewhere and saying ‘I could paint that.’”
The reception was attended by over 30 people, including many friends and family of the artist. One piece—a painting of a barn and wheat field—was also raffled off for attendees who put their names in a hat.
Thurmer’s works will be on display in the upstairs fiction area of the library through June 19.
Previously, paintings by Beaver Dam painter Frank Mittelstadt were on display at the library as the first set displayed in four years, with a reception held back in March.
