Dulcimers and landscape oils rich in color, the talents of Dale Evans on display at Lincoln Art Institute

[March 15, 2018]   LINCOLN - The Lincoln Art Institute and Logan County Arts welcomed multi-talented Bloomington artist Dale Evans to town for a one man show Thursday evening. The walls of the Lincoln Art Institute were hung with Dale’s landscape paintings while the air was filled with gentle sounds as he played the hammered dulcimer that he built.

Dale Evans is a renaissance artist. He specializes in landscapes and uses many media to create his images whether it is oil, acrylic, or water colors. He also is a skilled wood worker and has crafted many hammered dulcimers. In additions, he plays these beautiful instruments of gleaming wood. His art classes in Bloomington and Lincoln are much in demand.

One of his inspirations is the Group of Seven, a Canadian group from the early 20th century that painted mainly wilderness scenes. “The time before and after World War I is my favorite time for art. The war changed everything, as they always do, especially art”, he said.

Another of his inspirations is central Illinois. He remembers car trips as a child with his parents around the area, the fields, forests and lakes and the colors they all radiated, the crazy diversity of the area. These images have stayed with him, and are apparent in his art.

When he sets up his easel outdoors, many of the aspects of the scene he wants to paint are not within his control, such as light. “I paint outside early and late in the day when the best colors come out”, he said. It’s a fun exercise to look at his landscapes and try to guess what time of day it was when they were done.

The featured art of Dale Evans will be on display at the Lincoln Art Institute until early April. Contact Moses Pinkerton at 217-651-8355 for a private showing. The art and information is also available on the LAI Face Book page thanks to Millikin University marketing student Peyton Burton for her expertise in web and social media marketing, her major.

[Curtis Fox]