Local artists give color to once-blank walls

By Brenna Kelly

“See, that’s what the walls looked like before — blank.”

In front of the six paintings hanging outside the Taggart Student Center ballroom, Bernice McCowin flips through the photos from 2006, which show the blank white walls. She was — and still is — the alumni representative for the TSC policy board, and the group told her they were concerned about the empty walls.

“They asked me if I would do something about it, and I did,” McCowin said.

McCowin graduated from Utah State University with a bachelor’s degree in education in 1949 — “when all the fellows came home” from WWII.

“It was an exciting time to be at school,” McCowin said. “So I’ve been around for a long time.”

She returned to USU in the 1990s, when she was in her 60s, for her master’s degree. The school awarded her an honorary doctorate in 2005, as well. Since then, she has served on several committees at the university. Beautifying the walls outside the TSC ballroom was one of many projects she has taken on.

A hand-colored Giclée print of Larry Winborg’s painting “Homecoming” hangs outside the ballroom. All the pieces are Giclée prints — meaning they were created with a high-quality inkjet printer — but Winborg added paint to “Homecoming” after it was printed.

“It gives it texture and enhances the color, which I like,” Winborg said. “It’s an extra expense, but well worth it.”

Winborg earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees at Utah State in 1966. He said he had a wonderful experience at the university.

“I believe artists are born, not made,” he said. “But they need to develop and work on their talents.”

That’s what Winborg did at USU. He said through his formal education and career, he’s always believed “everyone can teach you something.” He also developed after graduation, but he has used every skill he learned at USU. Winborg started a studio and gallery in the valley more than 15 years ago, he said, but art has been a lifelong affair for him.

“I wanted to do it since kindergarten,” he said, “and it’s all I’ve done in 50 years.”

“Homecoming” depicts a fall scene on campus — spots of red, green, orange and gold cover twisting trees on a yellowing Old Main Hill. It’s morning, and some light breaks through thick gray clouds — it could be the brief moment when the sun graces an otherwise rainy day.

“I captured the feeling that I have when I’m on Old Main Hill in the fall, with the leaves and the colors — that’s what I feel like when I go up Old Main Hill,” Winborg said.

Winborg’s son, Jeremy Winborg, also has a painting featured outside the ballroom. “Entering Our Cache Valley Home” depicts pioneers as they first enter the valley on Sept. 15, 1856. It is captioned, “When we got to the mouth of the Canyon, we stopped to look at the beautiful Valley before us.” Jeremy Winborg also hand-colored his Giclée print. The Winborgs have contributed many masterpieces to private and corporate collections, and their art — which is inspired by Cache Valley scenery — can be found throughout the community.

The four other paintings also come from artists with connections to Utah State or Cache Valley. Most of them either studied at or taught at the university.

Colleen Howe lives in Cache Valley, and a print of her painting “Poplars in Fall” hangs next to Jerry Fuhriman’s Giclée print, “August Travelers.” Furhiman is a graduate and professor emeritus at Utah State University. His wife, Sue, framed the paintings.

“She was tremendously helpful in getting these done, beautifully framed,” McCowin said. Sue Fuhriman still runs a framing shop in Logan.

“And then, of course, Harrison Groutage,” she continued, gesturing to his piece, “Winter in Logan.” He was the art department chair for seven of the 34 years he taught in Logan. Groutage passed away in February of 2013.

“Anyone who has one of Harrison Groutage’s paintings is thrilled to have it,” McCowin said.

“Winter in Logan” — one of his better-known paintings, McCowin said — shows the side of a hill coming out of Logan Canyon, with Old Main and the Logan temple in the distance.

Kent Wallis’s piece, “Exquisite Flowers,” hangs at the top of the stairs leading up to the second floor of the TSC. Wallis earned his master’s degree at USU and lives in the valley.

“He often does lovely pictures with colorful flowers, and so we thought this would be perfect here,” McCowin said. “When people come up the steps, it’s the first thing they see, is this lovely painting.”

In 2006 alone, McCowin spearheaded four projects for updating the TSC artwork, all of which still remain.

“There are still other artists. Maybe someday we’ll include a few more,” she said.

Associate vice president for student services Eric Olsen — who also sits on the TSC policy board — agrees that Cache Valley has many quality artists.

“It was Bernice’s suggestion to go with the local artists, which I was supportive of… Really, it wasn’t a difficult choice,” Olsen said. “She just sort of ran with the project.”

McCowin said she enjoyed it all.

“This was a nice project to get these up — give people something to look at while they’re waiting in line,” she said.

— brennakelly818@gmail.com
@bckelly8