”Storm Rolls In” by Leigh DeNoon Littiken. Littiken is the guest artist at the Southside Art League in May, and will be displaying a collection of her oil paintings, many of which depict scenes of nature.
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Behind every scene is a story to tell.
Leigh DeNoon Littiken has spent most of her career telling stories, spending a long career as a radio personality with WIBC radio and WFYI Public Media. As a journalist, she was nominated for multiple Emmy awards and reveled in the chance to reveal truth to those she reported for.
Her artwork plays a similar role.
“I love telling stories. This is just a new way of doing that,” she said.
Littiken will bring her lush, atmospheric oil paintings to the Southside Art League throughout the month of May. As the featured artist, she has a variety of works — mostly focused on nature and the outdoors — to showcase for the community.
In displaying her art, Littiken hopes to share her love of nature and country settings with a new audience.
“I have friends who don’t live in the country,” she said. “So it’s a chance to experience what it can be like.”
A lonely barn stands among a copse of trees, a cloud’s shadow rapidly encroaching on its sunny spot. Bursts of yellow wildflowers spark through a rugged Michigan landscape. Towering cumulonimbus clouds seem to crackle with the electricity of a coming storm.
The burning glow of a winter sunrise stands in stark contrast to the frozen world around it.
Living in the country, Littiken’s affinity for nature shines through her work.
“I’m drawn to that rural style,” she said. “The way the light is hitting something, that’s how I decide what to paint.”
Littiken has indulged her naturalistic leanings through various artistic approaches. She is active with the Indiana Plein Air Painter’s Association, where she takes to the outdoors to capture sublime scenes in real time.
Studying under Ron Mack and Mary Ann Davis, she became adept at the plein air approach. The style is invigorating, through it can also be tricky when nature changes so swiftly.
“Doing plein air, I enjoy getting out and painting with friends. And it’s been a great way to learn; the light changes as you’re painting. The shadows move. So you have to make decisions about what your composition is going to be, and you stay with that,” she said.
A love of art was instilled in Littiken at a young age. As a middle school student, she was introverted, but found a way to express herself through drawing. She transitioned to painting while studying at IU Herron School of Art and Design, playing with acrylics before finding her comfort zone in oil painting.
“Painting with acrylic and watercolor, you have to paint pretty fast, because it dries quickly,” she said. “I was really curious to see what it would be like to mix colors on the canvas. And I really enjoy the feel of oil a lot better.”
In addition to the Indiana Plein Air Painter’s Association, Littiken is active with the Jasper County Art League and Prairie Arts Council. She is also the fine art superintendent for the Newton County Fair in northwest Indiana, where she lives with her husband Rob.
In approaching the Southside Art League show, she picked a variety of paintings from her time painting.
“This is really my first show. So the theme is, ‘Anything I Painted,’” she said. “It’s all the different things I’ve painted.”
Up to this this point, a majority of Littiken’s work has been landscapes and plein air work. Her next challenge will be focusing on portraits.
“When I was drawing in high school, I enjoyed portraits. So I think that’s where I try to focus some now in painting,” she said. “People connect to people and animals. You can connect with people through a portrait.”
