Summaries of all the parks with a photo of the scene that was painted were prepared in advance.

The twenty-five park paintings were displayed around the room with their summaries and brochures.

One last chance to wear my bicentennial state park shirt with all the parks checked off on the back while discussing my equipment and art supplies.

We also displayed all of the postcards that Arts in the Parks participants had gifted us over the years as well as examples of the watercolor field kits we used.

We got a kick out of all the painting participants who jumped right in to creating art.

The painting activity even expanded to other tables!

The painting table was always busy at our final Arts in the Parks event.

These are some of the paintings from 2018 and 2019.

Participants enjoyed seeing state parks that they’d visited before and discovering parks that were new to them.

It was fun to see artists of all ages in action. Even the very young can use those water brushes with the water in the handles.

These artists were deep into the creative process.

We end with the question that has traveled with me through every state park for four years. And now my spider friend and I leave that question for you. Why do YOU paint?

Paints in the Parks’ final event for 2019 took place on a beautiful Saturday in October at Mounds State Park near Anderson, Indiana. Known for its prehistoric earthworks and the Bronnenberg House built by one of the area’s first European settlers, the park also offers plenty of trails, beautiful views of the White River and an excellent Nature Center where our last painting activity and art show were offered in the spacious community room.

Twenty-five paintings either finished on site as plein air or touched up in the studio were on display along with a brief description of each state park, the date visited and a photo of the scene that was painted. A flyer from every park was also provided with maps of the trails. The art exhibit encompassed all four years of Indiana’s  Arts in the Parks grant projects beginning in 2016 to celebrate the state’s bicentennial anniversary and the state parks’ centennial anniversary.

Visitors were also encouraged to try out the water brushes and other watercolor supplies provided to create art in the park one more time. Sixty participants created their own artwork on small watercolor blocks to take home as souvenirs of their visit. It was great to see old friends and participants from previous park visits as well as new faces stop by to join the painting activity and check out the artwork.

All in all, we couldn’t have asked for a better finale to our four-year Arts in the Parks grant project and our quest to paint in all the marvelous state parks in Indiana. Paints in the Parks thanks the staff at Mounds and the entire Indiana Department of Natural Resources for their support over the years. This project was made possible by funding from the Indiana Arts Commission and the state of Indiana. And special thanks to all the new friends and artists we’ve met over the years. May all of you continue to create art in nature.

While this is the conclusion to our four-year project with the Indiana Arts in Parks program, Paints in the Parks will continue with our mission to creatively connect folks of all ages and experience to nature through art. We’ve recently moved and look forward to painting (and encouraging others) in the many parks and wildlife reserves in the rolling hills of southern Indiana, also home to a rich history in the traditions of arts, crafts and plein air painting.

We wish our readers a happy 2020 and hope that you will continue to follow us in our artistic adventures on this website and our Facebook page Paints in the Parks!