Dave Broerman enjoys painting many scenes around Lake Wawasee during the seasons. He will lead a three-day Chautauqua-Wawasee plein air painting landscape workshop at Oakwood May 29-31. Photo provided by Dave Broerman.

By Mary Hursh
Guest Columnist

SYRACUSE — David Broerman, a teacher and “en plein air” artist, does not have an actual studio in his house in Fort Wayne nor in his home on Papakeechie Lake. “The outdoors is my studio!” he said.

“En plein air” or plein air, is the French 19th century style of painting outdoor, emphasizing tonal qualities of the seasons, color, loose brushwork and soft forms.

In our area, Broerman enjoys painting all around the lakes but especially near Griffith’s Wawasee Marina, Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation, Runaway Bay, Tri-County Fish and Wildlife Area and Between-the-Lakes. “I like painting pictures of historical structures as well. I also do commissioned paintings.”

Broerman is the founder and president of the Northern Indiana Plein Air Artists Association, a 501(c)3 charitable nonprofit. This summer, he is organizing events for artists at Pokagon, Eagle Marsh, Auburn and Fort Wayne.

He and fellow plein air artist David Seward are scheduled to lead the three-day Chautauqua-Wawasee Plein Air Painting Landscape Workshop centered at the Oakwood Resort May 29-31.

Broerman has been teaching science in southeast Fort Wayne for the past 30 years. Since 2012, he has been a general science teacher at Paul Harding Middle School. “I teach how science works, the scientific method, physics and motion.”

Over the past four years, Broerman and his students and trail club have been transforming 20 acres of Harding’s property into a prairie habitat by clearing trees to make trails and a nature preserve. “I sold a few of my paintings to buy 125 tons of gravel for the trails. We use these areas as an outdoor classroom for science lessons and as a site for landscape painting after school.”

Broerman won a Lilly Endowment grant in 2011, enabling him to tour battlefields of the Civil War and create a painting at each of his 15 stops. He also took oil and watercolor classes from Fort Wayne artist Gwen Gutwein who introduced him to plein air workshops in the city

He won a second Lilly grant in 2019 to travel to Germany to learn about his ancestors as well as take lessons in landscape painting from Mary Ann Davis, an Indiana plein air artist and graphic designer. “This was the game changing time for my art as it enabled me to bring more color to my landscapes.

In 2018, Broerman won a $2,000 grant from the Indiana Arts Commission allowing him to travel, paint, and take lessons across Indiana to develop his plein air skills. From grant funds, he purchased materials to hold three, eight-week, one-day plein air sessions for students in an after-school club at Paul Harding Middle School.

He keeps his fellow artists up to date with a newsletter he sends out for the Northern Indiana Plein Air Artists Association.

“I have a portable lightweight plein air easel. My thinner is in a hanging pail and I carry a few rags with me for wiping off the brushes. I like to paint off the back of my truck.”