The Solarbron Art Collection began with the vision of its founders, Sol and Arlene Bronstein, noted art collectors who lived in Evansville, IN. The Bronsteins envisioned a beautiful retirement community: one which would provide a distinctive home for many who no longer wished to keep up their own houses but wanted to retire to live among people of like cultural interests. When Solarbron Pointe became an actuality in the rolling country of Evansville's West Side, near the growing University of Southern Indiana, its art collection was started with pieces from the Bronstein's own collection.

A few selected works from known Evansville area artists were added in 1985-88 to hang in the common spaces of the new building. The Solarbron Board of Trustees appointed an Art Committee in 1989, to extend the collection already in place. The expressed commission of this committee was to acquire original works from artists living in Evansville and the Tri-State area - roughly including the 100 mile area surrounding Evansville. The collection could also include work from well known area artists who were deceased, if representative work could be obtained. The current collection, a work in progress, comprises some 240-plus original works in many different media - from oil to watercolor, hand-pulled prints, sculpture, ceramic, weaving, collage, photography, dyes on silk, batik, acrylic, resin, colored pencil, and ink - a very wide range indeed. The Committee hangs and maintains the collection, in addition to being responsible for finding new additions each year. Works now hang in every corridor of Solarbron Pointe Retirement Living, and The Terrace at Solarbron Licensed Assisted Living building also has its own display of original art.

Solarbron Art Committee Members and bios:

Ellinor Goldman is a native of Southern Indiana where she was born on a farm. The natural beauty of the hills, creeks, old barns, country churches and farm scenes has provided the subject matter for many of her paintings. She is considered a realist painter.

Her talent lay dormant surfacing only as dreams until 1969 when she enrolled in a water color class at Evansville Museum. Since then, she has participated in numerous juried exhibits including the Mid-States Art Exhibition and the Evansville Museum Invitational Show. In 1987 she was among the first selected to hang her work in the invitational exhibit “Evansville on Paper” at the Evansville Museum of Arts and Sciences. Her paintings may be found in many homes and offices throughout the Mid-West.

Ellinor served as director of the Evansville Artists Guild for several years and continued in various offices for years to come. She also chaired the Garvin Park Art Fair sponsored by the Guild.

She now serves as the senior member of the Art Committee that selects the art work for The Communities of Solarbron.

Joanne Scott Massey, an Evansville Indiana native, graduated from the University of Southern Indiana in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Fine Art. She is a member of the Arts Council of S.W. Indiana, the Ohio Valley Art League and the Kentucky Watercolor Society. As a member of Solarbron Retirement Community acquisition committee, she selects artwork for Solarbron’s extensive private collection along with the other four committee members.

Joanne enjoys working in watercolor, acrylic and oils. Her inspiration comes from many different subjects, wherever she finds beauty. Flowers and landscapes are favorite subjects. She regularly exhibits work in juried exhibitions where she has won numerous awards. Her paintings are in public and private collections both nationally and in Europe.

www.joannemasseyfineart.com

Douglass Korb was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and has lived in Evansville, Indiana, most of her adult life. While in Alabama, Douglass studied art and piano, later completing her education with honors at Evansville College. Though her early interests were in the field of music, her interest in art became dominant in her adult years.

Douglass studied with Jerry Baum and Dean Davis, as well as attending numerous artists’ workshops. Her style is her own, dictated by both subject and mood. She was a long time member of the Evansville Artists Guild, and has participated in many juried shows, winning “Best of Show” several times, as well as the Grumbacher Medal for watercolor. She has exhibited in the Evansville Museum Mid-States Art Exhibit, and her work is in private and corporate collections in the Midwest and South.

Her work is primarily in watercolor and ink, but also includes prismacolor pencils and collage. Her subjects are drawn from her intense interest in flowers, birds, landscape, and English Literature, together with a healthy dose of imagination and fantasy. “I paint what excites and intrigues my imagination – each painting leads to another, - there is never an uninteresting moment when I am working.”

Diane Ubelhor-Wunderlich is a native Mid-Westerner living in Newburgh, Indiana for most of her life. Born in Michigan and well traveled with her family, Diane became focused on watercolor while attending the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Illinois. She became interested in painting wildlife after attending a workshop in Bozeman, Montana with renowned wildlife artist, Robert Bateman.

“Combining my love of art and my love of animals has made my work even more fulfilling. Whether I am in the field taking reference photos or in the studio painting, I truly enjoy what I do.”

Wunderlich has received many awards both locally and nationally. Her work is displayed in many galleries, homes and businesses all over the USA and abroad. She is also a member of several art groups. She is a board member of the Brown County Art Guild in Nashville, Indiana, the Kentucky Watercolor Society, OVAL, and the Hoosier Salon.

Diane has also been featured in several national journals and magazines for her paintings of animals including The Pointing Dog Journal and Sporting Classics. She was chosen as a finalist in the Animal Arts Division with Artist’s Magazine. “I truly enjoy what I do and hope I convey that appreciation of my subjects to the viewer.” As a German philosopher once said, “An artist chooses his subject…..that is the way he praises.”

www.wunderlichstudio.com

Janice Rae Greene attended the Louisville School of Art, received her BFA and MAA from the University of Evansville, and has been employed at the Evansville Vanderburgh County Public Library since 1972 as Graphic Design Supervisor and has taught Figure Drawing and Printmaking at the University of Evansville. Ms. Greene is Past-President of the Artist Collaborative and the American Association of University Women, Evansville Branch.

Ms. Greene’s art includes prints, drawings, mixed media, and artist made books, exhibiting in numerous competitive, invitational and group shows such as New York City, Seattle, New Hampshire, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Australia and New Zealand. She has received many awards and recognition for her work. These include the Jo Ritz Memorial Award in the Mid States Craft Exhibition, Evansville Artist Guild Brian Daves Award, Best of Show in the 94 Artist Collaborative Exhibition, Best Art Display for “Business Arts Month”, Purchase Awards in the Celebrating the Arts...Center, 72nd Hoosier Salon Exhibition, Working Together Exhibition and Wabash Valley Exhibition.

Ms. Greene was the recipient of the 2007 Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana “Artist of the Year” Award. In 1983, along with four other artist, she was the recipient of an Indiana Arts Commission Grant for the “Handmade Book Project”.

The images she creates are related to landscape and nature: representational or abstract. Her surroundings are a constant influence: nature, the city and rural landscape as well. She is particularly interested in textures, layers, reflective surfaces and their relationship with each other. Many times she combines printmaking with other materials, resulting in a mixed media work of art. Her most recent works consist of watercolor, ceramic and handmade paper.

Ms. Greene is represented in private and corporate collections such as the University of Evansville, Bristol Myers-Squibb, Old National Bank, Solarbron Pointe, Deaconess Hospital, United Methodist, Yale-South Haven, Stagg Safety Equipment, Visiting Nurses Hospice Center all of Evansville, IN, Swope Museum, Terre Haute, IN, Henderson Fine Arts Center, Henderson, KY.

Janice is represented by The Evansville Museum Shop, Evansville, IN, New Harmony Gallery of Contemporary Art, New Harmony, IN, Riverwind Gallery, Newburgh, IN, Image I, Henderson, KY

In 2006, The Communities of Solarbron were awarded “The Art Advocate of the Year” by the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana for its dedication and active position in preserving the arts.

*Heading photo is a painting entitled “Overlook At Solarbron Pointe” by Diane Ubelhor Wunderlich ©2004 www.wunderlichstudio.com