One paint stroke at a time

BLUFFTON — George Fischer's list of careers is probably longer than most. He started out in public relations, then went to law school, earning a degree at 50 and practicing law for 15 years. In retirement, Fischer and his wife, Lois, bought a motor home and traversed the country working at state and national parks. But by the time Fischer turned 80, traveling had lost its sheen. The couple landed in Florida, and Fischer decided he wanted to learn to paint. They now live at Maple Crest Senior Living Village in Bluffton, where Fischer, now 93, can usually be found painting in the facility's activity room which doubles as his art studio. The walls of the couple's apartment are lined with his bright, beautiful paintings of birds, flowers and portraits. Fischer has done most of them since they moved to the Bluffton to be closer to their daughter. He said the motivator to study art was his father, who developed Alzheimer's disease at the age of 90. He died four years later. "So his last four years were no fun at all," Fischer said. "I said, OK, I don't want to go that direction." The couple love going to museums and they're both familiar with art history. "So I figured I want to go back to art school and learn how to do this," he said. "I really enjoyed it, and apparently it was the right thing to do." Fischer found a teacher and a friend in Joanna Coke, who is an accomplished painter and instructor. "We still keep in touch, and we collaborate. I show her stuff that I'm working on, and she'll give me a hint here and there. But she never tells me what to do," he said. He took lessons for five years and has painted on canvas, cold pressed paper and wood using acrylics, watercolors and oils. Fischer said his very first assignment was to paint a pine tree. "They gave us a black and white example," he recalled. "So I made it New Mexico, and that's me with a backpack on. Up to the horizon line might be five miles away. And my teacher who gave me the assignment said, you know what, you ought to frame that one, so I did." The painting now hangs in the couple's living room. Canvas is easy to work with, he said. "But I find paper, the brushstrokes go on smoother. And of course with watercolor, you do wet on wet. Just to get it on a frame, it has to be soaking wet. You just can't bend it over the frame. It just won't work," he said. When painting on cold pressed paper, he picks one area, wets it with water then applies paint. "And you can watch it run, and you watch it creep across the paper. And that creates some really interesting effects," he said. Cold pressed paper, which means is has a slightly bumpy, textured surface, is also archival, said Fischer. "It will last a long, long time," he said. He choose paper for a painting of a bird that hangs in the couple's home. Fischer used watercolors for the background. The bird itself is painted with acrylics. "It makes the bird stand out," he said. "My teacher told me, if you can see it from 30 feet away, you've got a winner. So you want that contrast." Fischer said flowers are probably the subject he's best at painting. The couple's bedroom is filled with paintings featuring a chrysanthemum, orchid, queen's lace, a lily, tulip and magnolia blossom. "I wanted to try different things so I never adopted a style," he said. "But the most popular subject I have done are flowers, and I have done some portraits." He painted a self-portrait in front of a scene in Paris. There's also a picture of Lois. A painting that features theoretical physicist Albert Einstein won a blue ribbon at a show, he said. Fischer attaches a certificate to the back of each painting that tells the name of the work, dimensions, medium and a bit about the subject matter. He has sold some of his works. "You become emotionally attached to what you're working on," he said. "The piece seems to take on a life of its own, and you become attached to it." That attachment disappears after he finishes a piece. "So you feel more like selling," Fischer said. He works on one painting at a time, although he likes to know what's next. "Sometimes I'll even start a piece. I like to have a backlog of two to three things I want to get done so I'm always looking for things to paint. And I'm sure there is something I wish I could do, but I don't know what it is yet," he said. His next painting will feature an amaryllis, a flower that sat in the lobby during the holidays. "I took a picture of it. Then I do a value study, a black and white version that shows where the darkest darks and the lightest lights are going to go," he said. Fischer plans to add some texture to give it a 3D appearance. His most recent work — number 400 — now hangs above the fireplace in Maple Crest's living room. He calls it "Moon Over Riley Creek." "The inspiration for this came from a guy named Ivan Marchuk," he said. "He's a Ukrainian painter. He lives in Ukraine. He's still alive. He's 90 years old, and he lived through the Soviet era." Marchuk created a technique that uses small brush strokes called pliontanism. In this method, thin intertwined lines merge into an image. "Ukraine is very popular around these parts because of the Mennonite history because the Mennonites went to Ukraine for a number of years. And then they left Ukraine and came over here," said Fischer. He said Marchuk's "Moon over the Dnipro" caught his attention and led to his own version of a moonlit sky. And because Northwest Ohio is an agricultural area, Fischer included a Case one-horse plow to represent this part of Ohio. Lois, who is 96, has become Fischer's art director, he said. The couple will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in November. "We like to be around color. We like to be surrounded by color. We both like that," he said. "And if Lois doesn't like it, it will never get on a wall. If she likes it, she tells me, and especially if she doesn't like it, she tells me."