courtesy photos
came to be an artist colony and what some of the locals thought about these outside artists. I feature some the works of Gustav Baumann and Frank Hohenberger.”
Eagleman will be taking time this winter to focus on creating more work, doing lots of art projects he has put off since starting the murals. He hopes to get some of his artwork into one of the local art galleries and is considering applying for an artist residency to further develop his craft. He has an art studio in town, where he paints and does different projects other than large scale murals.
“ I am staying here in Brown County and go back and forth between here and New York City, where my partner lives,” Eagleman said.“ We love to have both the country and city as sources of inspiration and feel like we have the best of both worlds: the excitement and vastness of the city and close sense of community and serenity of nature we have here in Brown County.” •
NATURE INSPIRES continued from 51
“ The rest is just on-the-job training,” he said.“ It’ s a big production and lots of moving parts, including materials and equipment, so you need to make sure you have a plan each day or it can be completely overwhelming. Especially if it’ s just you or a small crew. It has been a great lesson in getting everything in order before I start and taking the time to do it right.”
He said the project has forced him to get better at patience and organization, two things he’ s not particularly great at.
Eagleman counts himself lucky to have had fantastic art teachers in the community growing up, in particular Patty Rhoden Bartels, who helped shape his understanding of impressionist painting. This really sparked an interest and pushed him into starting to paint.
“ I love the rich history of art in our community,” he said.“ We were once a thriving art destination, and I like to think we still are, and will be in the future. For my mural in the Heritage Mall alleyway, I was very much influenced by our history. In fact that entire mural is a sort of depiction of how Brown County
52 Our Brown County • Jan./ Feb. 2024