The Watercolors of Jasper Artist Myra Schuetter
Watercolor artist Myra Schuetter grew up in Jasper in Dubois County deeply connected to that county’s German Catholic heritage.
“My parents – the Schillings – moved to Jasper in the 1940s, just after they were married. My late father worked for Jasper Table Company as a finisher, joining artisans who had made Jasper ‘the Wood Capital of the World.’ My husband’s great-grandfather arrived here in the 1840s.”
“My parents – the Schillings – moved to Jasper in the 1940s, just after they were married,” Schuetter said. “My late father worked for Jasper Table Company as a finisher, joining artisans who had made Jasper ‘the Wood Capital of the World.’ My husband’s great-grandfather arrived here in the 1840s.”
Schuetter’s paintings often reflect this German heritage and its traditions of handcrafted wares. Her splendid depictions of fine glassware, antique silver, handcrafted chocolates, a repertoire of elaborate cakes and textured fabrics are rooted in her encounters with displays of such items in Jasper’s downtown shops, the county’s craft markets and local weddings. “My father was also a photographer who photographed weddings all over Dubois County,” Schuetter said. “All of these sumptuous arrangements of delicacies and traditional crafted items settled in my memory.”
The multitude of objects in Schuetter’s paintings are depicted with decisive precision and striking color interactions. Her skill at representing glass, texture, metal and drapery is astonishing. But there is more than representation going on in her works. She transforms her still lifes into stories, usually with a bit of humor.
The multitude of objects in Schuetter’s paintings are depicted with decisive precision and striking color interactions. Her skill at representing glass, texture, metal and drapery is astonishing. But there is more than representation going on in her works. She transforms her still lifes into stories, usually with a bit of humor.
Her painting “Buying Indulgences” portrays three shelves of gourmet foods and drinks: fine wine, limoncello, plates of lobster, a bowl of truffles and imposing cakes.
“The cakes,” Schuetter said, “are the same as those that were for sale in Jasper’s former Mad Batter Bakery, an old-school wonderland of pastries.”
In the background of this painting, Schuetter has painted a precise copy – faded with time – of an 1825 painting by François Marius Granet titled “A Peasant Girl Buying Indulgences.”
“Granet’s painting refers to the practice of selling indulgences, a practice of the late medieval Catholic church wherein one could pay a sum of money for the forgiveness of sin,” Schuetter explained. “Martin Luther denounced the practice and started the Reformation.”
The painting sets up a pun, or wordplay, on the term “indulgence,” and is also educational to those unfamiliar with this aspect of late medieval German history.
A charming candy store on the square in downtown Jasper called Chocolate Bliss was the inspiration for Schuetter’s piece “The Chocolate Wars.” Tiny green army action figures populate this rich mouthwatering tableau. They stand atop of cakes and on a plate of truffles; one lies on the ground, with gun pointed, ready to defend a chocolate-covered wine bottle from would-be invaders.
A charming candy store on the square in downtown Jasper called Chocolate Bliss was the inspiration for Schuetter’s piece “The Chocolate Wars.” Tiny green army action figures populate this rich mouthwatering tableau. They stand atop of cakes and on a plate of truffles; one lies on the ground, with gun pointed, ready to defend a chocolate-covered wine bottle from would-be invaders.
“This painting addresses my addiction to chocolate,” Schuetter said.
The intense red of the backdrop and brocade tablecloth was achieved by adding layer after layer of transparent watercolor.
All of Schuetter’s paintings are large by any standards. Her largest works – 5’ x7’ – have been called “heroic” in scale.
All of Schuetter’s paintings are large by any standards. Her largest works – 5’ x7’ – have been called “heroic” in scale. This size, added to what Schuetter calls her “obsession” with getting every detail perfect, has meant that a single painting can take her up to a year. But the time spent on each of her paintings has paid off: Her works are part of permanent collections around the country, including the Indiana State Museum, and frequently featured in publications, including the French magazine L’Art de l’Aquarelle (The Art of Watercolor).
She has achieved all of this working in a small windowless studio in the basement of her and her husband Wayne’s home. For lighting, she uses old photography lamps inherited from her father.
“This setup suits me,” Schuetter said. “I need a light source that is constant and predictable. The sun is neither.”
She begins each piece by drawing the entire composition. “Drawing is the foundation of my work,” she said. “I started drawing as a child, spending many happy hours in a window seat drawing my head off.”
By the time Schuetter comes to add color, she noted, “I am just having fun.” The dynamic reflections of colored glass and metal is the subject matter of her painting “Marbles,” a still life featuring colored glass containers, metal pillars and marbles.
“Reflections on metal are bolder than those on glass. Highly polished metal reflects its surroundings, but compresses and distorts the images as the surface of the metal curves. Concave surfaces make the image smaller and thinner.”
– Myra Schuetter
“Reflections on metal are bolder than those on glass,” Schuetter said, pointing to all of the complexities in the painting. “Highly polished metal reflects its surroundings, but compresses and distorts the images as the surface of the metal curves. Concave surfaces make the image smaller and thinner.” The viewer can see this in the lower left corner of the painting where the wine bottle is reflected in the pillar.
Schuetter continued: “By contrast, light passes through glass, producing a shimmer, which I create with a white spot. I do not use white paint, though. All highlights are simply the paper itself with no paint.”
Schuetter’s most recent painting, “Are You in There?,” is a complex and intimate portrait of the artist’s mother who died shortly after the painting was begun. “She was living in a nursing home when the pandemic broke out,” Schuetter said. “My sisters and I had to visit her through the window, which was so tricky and unusual I titled the painting to call attention to the situation.”
After Schuetter’s mother, Lucille, died, the artist worked through some of her grief by finishing the portrait. “An elderly person in a nursing home is so much more than that – that person is the whole of their life,” Schuetter said. To portray her mother, Schuetter went through old family photographs and painted those she cherished most.
What is remarkable about the painting is that the artist has managed to play into a universal current to capture not only her mother, but the idea of a person through the different stages of life. She is not just a vulnerable old person during the pandemic, but a glamorous young woman, a child on her bicycle, a woman with a family and so much more.
It may be difficult for the viewer to keep in mind that these individual snapshots are paintings, not photographs.
“Painting my mother’s face and my parents’ memories created an emotional landscape – like some of the memory got caught in the paint – that was difficult for me to leave. ”
– Myra Schuetter
“Painting my mother’s face and my parents’ memories created an emotional landscape – like some of the memory got caught in the paint – that was difficult for me to leave,” Schuetter said. •
Story by Judy Cato
Photos by B. C. Baggett (all artwork) and Wayne Smith (photo of Myra and Painting)
.
silivingmag.com 