Woman's art being reproduced to benefit Vermilion landmarks

DANVILLE – When Amy and Stephen Chrisman moved to Danville 16 years ago from Vermont, they returned to live in the house his great-great-grandfather built in the 1860s surrounded by pasture off North Bowman Avenue.

"It was going to be temporary at the time. We moved into the abandoned farmhouse that had animals for residents," Chrisman said with a laugh.

Today, the house is cozy, filled with antiques and artwork that she and her husband have done over the years. Chrisman was seeing clients as a certified massage therapist and caring for their autistic son, Aidan, when she began experiencing continuous pain and muscle weakness from fibromyalgia.

"I had to cut back on my clients," she said. "So I considered what else I could do with my skills and work around Aidan's needs."

When she contemplated her interests, her love of painting, historic preservation and the Danville area brought into focus a possible project: painting Vermilion County landmarks. She would eventually like to do a series of 12 watercolor paintings. Profits from the sale of prints made from the paintings will go to the group associated with each landmark and the artist.

"I've been here a while, but not as long as a lot of people, and I wanted everyone to see the positives that are here the way that I do," Chrisman said. "It's sad to see the negative attitude and low morale and wondered if there was something I could to change that."

The next question the artist asked herself was, "Can I do this?" Her preference for subject matter had been much more "loose and wild" – abstract painting. This project would mean tackling realism.

"When you paint abstracts, you do what the paint and paper tells you to do, but with a building portrait, you want the building to look its best, just as a person would."

She began with the Lamon House in Lincoln Park.

Portraying the little white house in the park is not as easy as it might seem. White paint is not used. The paper is the white and all other colors frame and enhance the white portions.

Next came the Masonic Temple, because she discovered the building's exterior intricacies and had not painted bricks before.

"Its ornate look made me curious, so I checked the Internet for other Masonic lodges. There is nothing like the Danville building out there," she said.

To fulfill the other goals of historic preservation and getting more people to appreciate the landmarks, Chrisman enlisted the Vermilion County Museum Society and the Masonic Lodge.

Jon Cole, executive director of the lodge, listened to what Chrisman had to say and plans to do a mailing to members of the Valley of Danville as well as promote the prints at its fall reunion, which should draw 250 to 300 people in late October.

"She picked up detail that even I had missed," Cole said. "And I've worked here 4 1/2 years but been a member for 14."

Chrisman cut her teeth on a couple of projects for Danville attorney Charles Hall: portraits of his renovated office, a one-time residence at 1018 N. Vermilion St., and of his personal residence.

"Her ideas should be a windfall for the organizations taking orders for her prints," Hall said. "Her ideas are commendable. It should be a win-win situation that someone so talented gets to do what she loves and help the community at the same time."

Hall now uses the image on his business cards and Web site.

"I always get comments on my cards," Hall said. "I'm tickled. People want to know who did the artwork, and I hope they will use her too."

Soon after completing the Lamon House and Masonic Temple artwork, Chrisman was approached to do the Kathryn Randolph Theater, a former church at 601 N. Vermilion.

She had to figure out a way to benefit the organizations, cover her expenses and make a little money too.

Chrisman knew the process she wanted to use to have prints made from the original painting, but no one in Vermilion County does giclee (pronounced zshee-clay), which in French means fine spray, she said.

Then she found Lance Dixon and his company, Dixon Graphics of Champaign, which uses the process to digitally reproduce original works of art.

"If I was going to do this as a project that would be the quality that collectors would want, I needed something (that was) high-quality, but was affordable for me and the people it was intended for," Chrisman said.

Since the giclee method is expensive, her remedy was for the organizations to take advance orders and receive a portion of the price as a fundraiser.

"That way they get a cut, I get a cut and the printer gets the largest cut," Chrisman joked.

The deadline to order the Lamon House and Kathryn Randolph Theater is Sept. 15. Oct. 31 is the dadline for the Masonic Temple painting.

Buyers receive the giclee print in an acid-free clear sleeve on an acid-free foam core backing for protection – and ready for framing. Chrisman signs and numbers the print and includes an embossed certificate of authenticity. She also includes a coupon for a discount on professional framing by Images or Resh Frame Shop, both in Danville.

"It's so amazing," Chrisman said. "All our personal situations have caused me to do what I've always wanted to do."

Chrisman's latest projects include a Renaissance Danville house at the southeast corner of Seminary and Franklin streets (to be used as a marketing tool and not part of the series) and the next in the series, Danville Stadium.

Chrisman recently completed step one – photographing the stadium from every angle, including the ground, a ladder and even an airplane as well at sunrise, midday and sunset. This project is expected to be avail- able for Christmas gift-giving.

Chrisman's policy of having no people, cars, power lines, light poles or traffic signs pictured may be challenged with the stadium. She's still working on that concept.

"I want the pieces to be timeless, and that's especially why no cars," Chrisman said. "I really want to create something people will have an emotional attachment to. These prints are what I'll leave behind when I'm gone. I hope they are my legacy to the history of the area."

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