The similarities were comforting.
Tom Tuley had spent his career working with words — moving sentences around to be more clear, tweaking grammar and streamlining information to be easily digested by an audience. The Whitestown resident worked in journalism for years, and in 2018, he was inducted into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame.
He had never considered picking up visual art until he retired. Once he did, he found that the rhythms of creating on canvas felt the same as editing words on the page.
“I found that a lot of times, pieces would fall in place that were pretty good, but weren’t quite there yet. Sometimes, it was just changing a paragraph or a sentence, or even just a few words, that made it sing,” he said. “I find out the same thing with painting — I’ll get it to a place where it’s not bad, but there’s something missing.”
Through perseverance and practice, Tuley has found joy in art. His paintings — in oil, watercolor and pastel — capture the wonder of the world around him in subtle yet striking detail, from rural and urban landscapes to flowers, animals and water. His eye is unmistakably drawn towards the aura and atmosphere of old barns.
Tuley will display his artwork throughout the month of July at the Southside Art League’s Off Broadway Gallery.
“I hope they like what they see. I’m a realist — I don’t do impressionism and abstracts. So I hope they recognize what they see,” he said.
As a newspaper journalist, Tuley spent 38 years working with words. He served in a variety of roles, from police reporter to sports writer to columnist to managing editor. The final 12 years of his career were spent as editor of two dailies in Evansville.
But not until his retirement at age 55 did he ever look towards visual art. When he moved to Brown County to be near his grandchildren, he made friends with artist Sandy Hazelbaker. Hazelbaker mentioned one night during dinner that she missed teaching art classes and was considering offering sessions again.
“I just kind of jokingly said, ‘What would you think about me being in your class?’ She laughed and said that she’d never turned anybody down,” Tuley said.
From those classes, Tuley’s interest in art grew.
“I’d always enjoyed looking at art, but never thought I had any ability for it. My early work kind of proved that — it was pretty sad,” he said.
Hazelbaker gave Tuley some advice that changed his artistic course. She told him that if he was serious and wanted to be a real artist, he had to do two things: pick up a brush every day, and do at least 100 paintings.
“I keep track of my paintings, and three years and 97 paintings later, the Brown County Artist Association invited me to join their gallery,” he said.
That fateful invitation was 20 years ago, and Tuley has been at work ever since. He has remained a member of the artist association, serving as the group’s president in 2007-08 and again currently.
He is a signature member of the Watercolor Society of Indiana, where he has been accepted in to the juried show many times. He also has been juried into the Hoosier Salon, and the Indiana Heritage Arts exhibits.
“When I retired, I really planned to do two things — I planned to become the great American novelist, and I was going to play golf,” he said. “I wrote two books, and couldn’t get a publisher for either one. I play golf so infrequently I finally sold my golf clubs. So art took its place, I guess.”
In his show at the Southside Art League, Tuley plans to display a mix of different styles and subjects. Though he’s mostly worked in watercolor, he has also experimented more with pastel as well as oil paints, which he started working in.
The 21 pieces in the exhibition are a comprehensive look at his different works.
“I’m kind of humbled that they’d choose me to show my work. I’ve never been to the Southside Art League, but I was surprised to get the chance, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity,” he said.
IF YOU GO
Tom Tuley exhibition
What: A one-artist show of watercolor paintings, oils and pastels by Tuley, a Whitestown resident and longtime journalist who has taken up art in retirement
Where: Southside Art League Off Broadway Gallery, 299 E. Broadway, Greenwood
When: Through July 29
Gallery hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Closed Sunday through Tuesday.
Reception: Tuley will host a reception for the public from 6 to 8 p.m. July 14 at the gallery. Light refreshments will be served.
Information: southsideartleague.org
