Paint Bloomington Celebrates Five Years with a Day of Creating Art

Actually, you can draw a straight line. Not that it matters.

Your friends at Paint Bloomington want you to reject that cliché and all your other excuses for not trying and join them Saturday, October 3, at Bryan Park for a day of making art of all kinds.

“Everyone has a creative spirit,” says Babette Ballinger, founding director of the event. “It’s the job of Paint Bloomington to bring that out of you.” 

That certainly worked for Natisha Lavender, a staff member at Indiana University’s Lilly Library, who found a shady spot under a tree with her Italian greyhound, Persephone, to draw with ink and watercolor.

“I thought that if I came out where other people are doing art, that I would do some art, because at home I tend to get distracted and not follow through,” she said. “I draw a lot of sketches, and I never actually color them in.”

Designed for all ages, Paint Bloomington has grown steadily in its range of activities and number of participants since launching in 2022. Last fall, hundreds of participants including area artists, IU art students, and children with parents and grandparents painted landscapes and portraits, learned about urban sketching, designed tarot cards, and made masks and nature wands. 

They expressed their creativity in watercolor, acrylic, pastels, alcohol inks, and gel printing with all materials provided. Some fanned out across the park and beyond to create on their own. Many watched experienced artists demonstrate their methods or attended structured classes. Those who wished had their canvases or multimedia paper stamped before beginning and entered their finished artwork for judging and prizes.  

This year more of the same awaits you — no straight lines required.

Ballinger draws on background

Ballinger’s professional and personal background prepared her to launch Paint Bloomington. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, she graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and set off to New York City for a career in the fashion industry. After an interlude in Los Angeles, she returned to New York and established her own knitwear manufacturing company. For more than 25 years, she partnered with major brands and distributors, succeeding in a male dominated industry.

With her late husband, Raymond Ballinger, she built and ran the Rhinebeck summer theater. She was a founding member of Green Yorktown and Yorktown Smart Growth in Yorktown, New York, and an activist in the Northern Westchester Architectural Preservation Group. 

After retiring in 2012, she brought her dedication to public service with her when she moved to Bloomington in 2015. She was a member of the Bloomington Art Commission and was an active participant and former chair of Bloomington SCORE, which mentors small-business owners. 

Ballinger is also a practicing artist who paints western landscapes in oil in her studio and area landscapes on location. She’s a member of the Bloomington Watercolor Society, the Indiana Plein Air Painters Association, and a founding member of Upland Plein Air, an area group of landscape painters.

First Saturday of October

Paint Bloomington has one constant. It always occurs the first Saturday of October at the Bryan Park shelter on South Woodlawn Avenue. Beyond that, Ballinger says, the events evolve, the number of participants steadily increases, and the vibe changes depending on who sees the announcements and decides to come.

One example of that evolution is a mural project started by Kitty Garlock, a local watercolor artist and former teacher at Tri-North Middle School. In 2024, she set up a 4-by-8-foot piece of brown insulation board, and invited participants to collectively paint a mural with acrylics. In 2025, she enlarged it to two 4-by-8-foot pieces of plywood, arranged them in a shallow V shape, painted them white, and added several lines to break the large space into more accessible sizes.

“When the activities start, people are reluctant to be the first to put paint to such a massive space,” Garlock said. “So, I have to invite people in like a circus barker. But once one person braves it, it snowballs and by the end of the day I am worn out just trying to keep clean water available for enthusiastic painters of all ages and skills.” 

When more than 40 people collaborate on a painting, the aesthetics are uncertain. Last year some children painted a large black blob at the lower right that was calling attention to itself. A woman came to the rescue by turning the blob into a crow, harmonizing it with the rest of the picture.

“It is so exciting to see what evolves!” Garlock said.  

Gel printing proves popular

For the second year in a row, gel printing proved a popular activity. Around a crowded picnic table, participants ranging from 4- and 5-year-olds to middle-aged adults explored this malleable medium. 

“I’d never heard of it,” said Erik Jacobson, who teaches mathematics education at IU. “It’s kind of a brand new way of doing art for me,” he continued. “So, I thought I would try one, and lo and behold, I rolled out ten of ’em.” 

Unlike etching, engraving, and lithography, with gel printing you get only one impression, explained Ballinger’s son, Jason Ballinger, who ran the station with his wife, Rosalie.

“The wonderful thing about this artform is that there are numerous materials that can be used, from acrylic paint, acrylic and alcohol inks, watercolors, pastels, acrylic markers, and even alcohol markers,” he said. These are applied to a silicone-like plate, paper is laid over the plate, and pressure is applied to make the impression. 

“For some, gel printing is a tad intimidating,” Ballinger, a local architect, said. “Our goal at Paint Bloomington is to introduce the artform and to enlighten people as to the amazing flexibility it has — how much fun and how addictive it is,” he said.  

Ballinger considers himself addicted. “To quote Forrest Gump, gel printing is like a box of chocolates,” he said. “You never know what you’re gonna get.”

Painting a tree

One of the many children having fun with art was 7-year-old Charlie, who enthusiastically described his process of painting a tree. “I had to mix red and green and a little bit of yellow to get the brown,” he said, adding he got some help from his father.

“I made big branches, but they got smaller the higher it got. And then I did green for the grass and blue, and then I did some white on top of the blue for the clouds,” he said. “All I did was, like, swirl my paint brush around in circles to make the clouds and that was basically it.”

Charlie said he wants to return to Paint Bloomington this year. “I felt good,” he said. “It was fun.” 

Babette Ballinger is eager to credit the many people and organizations that have kept Paint Bloomington growing during its first five years. First are the 30 or so volunteers who teach and work behind the scenes to keep the day running smoothly. Several local arts organizations including Arts Alliance, the Bloomington Watercolor Society, Upland Plein Air, and the Bloomington Portrait Group sponsor sessions and provide materials. Paint Bloomington has also received two grants from the Bloomington Arts Council, two from Psi Iota Xi, plus support from the Bloomington Thrift Shop, the city’s parks and arts departments, and numerous individuals.

Drawing that straight line

Oh, about that straight line, here’s the secret: Instead of holding your pencil like you are writing, grab it between your thumb and index finger like a conductor holds her baton. Stand up and extend your arm at full length. Relax. Roll your neck and shoulders. Lock your elbow. Then practice swinging your arm widely from left to right and back to left. Close your eyes and imagine your pencil describing a straight line. When you’re ready, open your eyes and swing your arm letting your pencil lightly touch down on the paper then lifting it off. 

Doesn’t that feel good? Now, no more excuses about straight lines and not being able to draw or make art. Take the risk. Your friends at Paint Bloomington are waiting to help you.