At 101, artist Walter Chapman's mind is as clear as the water–based pigments he has expertly stroked on paper over his 70–plus year career.
Plus?
"I still paint a little," said an affable Chapman last month, seated in his studio, a walk-ing album of a life lived capturing moments and places for good with paint on paper. There's an oil portrait of the late Lew Klewer, a famed naturalist and writer–and Chapman's good friend. Tall walls are lined with awards, certificates, mayoral proclamations, and, yes, a few choice paintings of his own.
Paintings from WWII
Atop a bookshelf is a large volume from World War II filled with Sergeant Chapman's drawings, paintings, and maps from the Battle of the Bulge. He won a Bronze Star for his bravery capturing the harsh realities of war with pen and paper.
Remembering everything in this voluminous body of work is daunting. After all, Chapman painted daily for at least five decades. Yet many individual paintings are as fresh in his mind as if they had just left his easel.
A selection of several dozen will be on display. in “Walter Chapman: People, Places and Things,” an exhibit selected by Robin Ballmer of Perrysburg’s Main ART-ery, with help from Chapman and his devoted wife, Jean. The paintings provide windows into a career that filled the artist's life with wonderful characters, memorable scenery, and exotic travel.
"I got into watercolor because of traveling," said Chapman. "You can't take oils outside the studio very well." There's a view of the Taj Mahal, and a sinuous portrait of an Indian dancer, both from the month-long trip to India Walter and Jean took decades ago. Different views of Gloucester, MA, offer insights into Chapman's deep feelings for the seacoast town. There are scenes from Venice, New Orleans—a vividly -hued depiction of a jazz band on a French Quarter street— and a marketplace in Oaxaca, Mexico.
What is inescapable in all the works is the apparent ease with which the artist frames a scene, identifying elements that draw the eye into the painting and lead it via color and line around the entire work. There is nothing mannered or stylistic about these paintings—they are expertly conceived and marvelously executed. Whether in oil or watercolor, the technique is all but invisible.
There are portraits, including one of a Korean girl, which is idiosyncratic for its minimalism and strong color; a loving depiction of Jean, and a captivating self-portrait of the artist at the easel. Toledo's green spaces are represented with landscapes, and a historic accent is added in a collection of WWII cartoons published in Stars and Stripes, the U.S. military's own newspaper.
Senior Tile Club member
Chapman, the oldest member of the Tile Club—a century–old downtown male painting enclave—loved to gather with fellow artists for plein -air sessions in beautiful spots, including the Maumee River’s banks.
“It’s like an homage to the old guard,” Ballmer said of the exhibit. “I wish we had more space.” Still, the hallways help the eye focus on one painting at a time and the lighting is adequate, parking is free, and the Muni building is cool and calm. All told, it's a pleasant respite from the Black Swamp summer and a chance to touch base with a man who may have painted more pictures of these environs than any other single artist.
Runs through Saturday, August 16. 8am-4:30pm weekdays. Perrysburg Municipal Building, 201 W. Indiana Ave. Some of the works are for sale.
