Chillicothe, Jackson, & Piketon — November’s art show at the Pump House features a Piketon high school art teacher and his Jackson mentor. “Brushes of the Ohio Valley” opened last night, November 6th, 2025, in a crowded Pump House Center for the Arts.
Ross Wheeler says he has been an art teacher at his alma mater Piketon High School, teaching about 1,600 students over 17 years.
The painting he chose as his favorite in the show is “Afterglow’s Exchange,” a scene over Lake White that he said he is very familiar with when he drives home. This version has twilight “exchanging” with the lights of the residences below.
It made him a top 100 finalist in the PleinAir Magazine’s 13th Annual Salon Art Competition, and is also featured on his website – though it has already been sold.
Paul Brown is a professional artist in Jackson, whom Wheeler said he sought out for advice when he chose to switch media.
Brown said his first show was in the Markay Cultural Arts Center, a restored 1930s Art Deco theater in Jackson – but there, he let slip that he aspired to have a show in Chillicothe’s Pump House.
The painting he chose as his favorite in the show is “Gold on the Ground,” painted from a photo of his neighbor’s maple leaves. He said he loved way it turned out with the fall colors.
Brown said he has been painting with oil for probably 20 years, but he also started with pencil drawings, some on display. One is of his family barn his father built in 1922.
All his work is on sale, and he can be found on Facebook.
“Brushes of the Ohio Valley” is sponsored by Gary Depugh of Mill City Apparel in Chillicothe, and runs through the end of the month. Then, the Annual Holiday Gift Show fill the Pump House with art for sale.
Hear the artists introduce themselves in the below videos.
And, from 6 to 7pm today, November 7th, is another visit by a Cincinnati barn artist in “An Evening with Robert Kroeger.”
That is in conjunction with an online auction to benefit the Pump House that ends November 30th. 54 paintings from Kroeger’s book “Stone Barns of America” are available to bid on.
The Pump House Center for the Arts is closed Mondays, but open most other days at least 11 to 4. Learn more on their Facebook page and website.
