Rothschild catches fleeting moments on paper

PORT CLINTON – Rona Rothschild likes to sit in public places and quietly sketch the people she sees. Whether she is visiting the lake near her Catawba home or selling her work at a farmers market near her winter residence in Punta Gorda, Florida, she likes to capture the fleeting moments of people walking near.

Often, those moments are recreated in simple, yet profound, line drawings. Rothschild has the surprising ability to create a vibrant personality with just a few strokes of her pen. The seemingly simple drawings tell a lively story and capture the heart and thoughts of her subject.

"As you get older, you find you want to define those moments. They become important," she said.

Not all of Rothschild's works are unelaborate. Some are intricate works of flowing color and varied technique. One work, titled "We Will Succeed," was created to portray her belief in the future of the Catawba and Port Clinton area. In it, she incorporates flowers, fishing, and seashells. It is filled, she said, with "the many colors that we are and the many things that happen here."

The picture is filled, mostly, with her hope for the future.

"You know how hard of a time we have convincing people how great it is here," she said. "I believe we're going to succeed. We're going to grow and survive and have more jobs here."

Rothschild's work also includes artistic photography. She likes to capture the nature that is unique to the area, including towering trees, quiet lake scenes and sunsets she says are the best in the world.

"As beautiful as everyone thinks Florida is – and I've been out west and all over the world, actually – the sunsets are most beautiful here," she said.

Rothschild's travels have taken her many places, including Europe, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and China. Her most memorable moment came in Germany.

"My biggest thrill was, as an art student, viewing original Durer drawings in a museum in Germany, in a study library where I was privileged to actually hold the drawings and view them close-up," she said. "I cannot imagine, in today's world, having that opportunity as an art student from overseas, who just came in off the street and asked to see them."

Rothschild, 73, grew up in Toledo and has, she said, "been painting forever."

"I was in the children's program at the Toledo Museum of Art in the 1940s. That's when I started," she said.

As an adult, Rothschild was encouraged in her art by the late Virginia Zaferau, a locally famous artist who helped create the children's mural at Ida Rupp Public Library.

"Virginia Zaferau inspired me to start doing my artwork. It was when I first moved here," Rothschild said. "I was kind of shy. She encouraged me to join the art club, and she encouraged me in my painting."

Rothschild's interest and ability grew, and she eventually opened Split Winds Gallery in Port Clinton, where she represented many local artists, including Zaferau. The shop closed two years ago, but Rothschild still hosts art shows about four times a year in her home art studio on Catawba.

Rothschild has studied art history, life drawing, design, water color and oil painting at various places, including in the Toledo Museum of Art's fine arts program. She is active in the community, is a member of the Greater Port Clinton Arts Council, and directed the first "Appetite for the Arts" event in Port Clinton.

She was selected to participate in juried art shows in Toledo and Punta Gorda, and her work is on display in a Port Clinton Artists' Club juried art show at the Port Clinton Elks Club. The show runs through June.

Through all her years of studying art, there was one lesson she had to learn on her own – slowly.

"You have to draw from the heart. You have to draw what you love," she said. "It took me a long time to figure that out."