By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH
Indiana Correspondent

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A childhood connection to her family’s barn has evolved into a passion and major undertaking for a Fort Wayne artist.

Gwen Gutwein is attempting to do paintings of at least two historic barns in each of Indiana’s 92 counties. The first 50 are done, and will be featured in exhibits across the state.

“The idea is for people to see this treasure that we all have,” she said. “They can read their incredible histories and look at the paintings. Hopefully this will make people think these are wonderful, and shouldn’t be torn down.

“Historic barns are getting just so few and far between. As they become more rare, the ones that are left become more valuable. I hope this is a way for people to see they can be taken care of and utilized in the 21st century. I hope to bring all of that together with this project.”

Gutwein has a degree in art from Indiana University. She developed the project herself and along the way, has learned a few lessons about the business side of art.

“There’s been a lot of trial and error, like learning to keep the records straight,” she said. “I get written permission from each barn owner before I paint, and I also get a history, statistics on the barns, I GPS them and I measure and photograph them. I can’t tell you how many barns I’ve been in, and no two are the same.”
Gutwein, who is related to the popcorn-making family of the same name, grew up on a farm in western Indiana. The family’s barn was a playground for her and her siblings.

“We’d play for hours in our barn. We’d play cowboys and Indians and we’d make tunnels in the hay. We’d unbale the straw and slide down,” she recalled. When she was 12, the barn burned down, leaving ashes and memories.

“I have this fondness for barns,” she said. “I also look at them with an artistic eye. They’re such a wonderful combination of age, diversity, creativity and craftsmanship. They’re just so beautiful.”
Gutwein started on the first group of 50 barns in the spring of 2005, and finished those earlier this year. She’s now working on the second group of 50. She received a small grant from the Indiana Arts Commission last year.

She has printed a 2010 calendar featuring 13 of her barn paintings, and hopes to see a book published for the first 50. A national barn calendar is a possibility in the future. She also produces greeting cards and sells prints of her paintings.

It isn’t always easy to find historic barns that will make good subjects for a painting, Gutwein said.

“Sometimes an extension agent or historical society will know of one, but sometimes, I just end up driving country roads to see what I can find. Once I see one I like, I contact the owners to get permission and to find out about the barn’s history. Sometimes it takes a while to track down the owners.”

Gutwein said she likes to do her paintings on-site, and may spend five or six hours, or more, at a site depending on the barn.

“I like to spend lots of time with my subject, and that’s so important to capturing the real essence of a barn. I like capturing them on location because you can see how the light plays. It bounces. It’s reflective,” she explained.

Her on-site visits aren’t without incident. She laughingly told the story of twice sliding down a hill while painting before she gave up for the day.

“Another time, I was set up in a cow pasture,” she noted. “There were some black Angus out there that were hand fed and used to people. Next thing I knew they were coming closer. Then my easel started to move because one of them was wiggling it.”

Gutwein’s paintings allow those who view them to feel more connected to their communities and to agriculture, said Megan Mirro, community outreach specialist with the Fort Wayne Museum of Art. The museum is helping coordinate and schedule the exhibits.

“I think twice when I pass a barn now. I think about the architecture and the history. The paintings make you more aware of the background,” Mirro said. “Indiana is known for landscape paintings, and it’s interesting that she’s chosen this aspect of our landscape to focus on and to highlight.”

The barn paintings may draw people who wouldn’t normally go to an art gallery, Mirro said.

“This exhibit can teach people a lot about their area,” she said. “Because she’s doing paintings from each county, everyone can feel connected to it in some way.”

The oldest barn Gutwein has painted was built in 1820 in Posey County. One of the most unique is in Washington County, where an original log barn remains standing inside a traditional barn that was built around it.

Her favorite is a stone barn in Jefferson County that was built in the 1820s or 1830s. “It’s the first stone one I’ve done,” she said. “It’s got beautiful hand-hewn chestnut beams. It has a wagon lift and an extensive pulley system.”

While occasionally an owner hasn’t given permission for her to paint a barn, Gutwein said most of her experiences have been positive.
“I’ve met the most wonderful people who have been friendly, helpful and kind, and who have been very willing to share the stories of their barns. I’ve made friends with barn owners, that I still keep,” she said.”

Most feedback has also been good: “People are very excited about the project. They say it’s so cool that I’m doing this. They’re positive and exuberant.

“I feel like the engine on a train with a bunch of cars. The momentum is picking up and now the cars are pushing me, carrying me forward. That’s very exciting.”

For more information on the “Barns of Indiana” project or to suggest a barn for Gutwein to consider, visit her website at www.gwengutwein.com

The paintings will be exhibited at the Garrett Museum of Art until Nov. 1. They will be at the Monroe County History Center in Bloomington, and in other sites around there, from Nov. 4 until the end of the year. More exhibits are planned for next year.