Cincinnati-based painter Robert Kroeger has made several trips to Northern Portage County to document local agricultural buildings with oil paint. That’s because Kroeger is on a mission to create impasto oil paintings of historic barns before the structures succumb to time. In the course of his visits with barn owners, he finds out more about how they were used and the people who built them. The stories and his paintings have been recorded in two books by Kroeger – Historic Barns of Ohio and his newest endeavor, Round Barns of America.
Since he began this mission in the early 2000s, Kroeger has made it a habit to offer local historical societies with paintings to provide at auction. These auctions enable the worthy organizations to raise funds to further their preservation efforts. This Saturday, October 7th, Dr. Kroeger will return to Mantua for a special event.
The doors will open at 7 am, when vendor shopping begins. Vendors include Gooddell Family Farm, Good Earth Roasters, Lulu Tru Salon & Spa, Maple Dell Farms, and Monroe’s Orchard. At 8 am, Dr. Kroeger will begin a live painting demo, where visitors can watch as he creates a painting using oil paint and an impasto palette knife. Dr. Kroeger will also host a barn talk at 11:30 am.
At 2 pm, the art auction takes place, giving those in attendance the opportunity to bid on several of Kroeger’s pieces. The auction will be conducted by Crist Miller Auctioneers. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Mantua, Shalersville, Freedom, and Portage County Historical Societies. This event takes place at Restoration 44 in Mantua (10675 Main Street).
