“I think that in the last twenty years or so, there’s been a new kind of honesty in painting where painters have been very proud of paint and have let it behave openly.”

- Robert Rauschenberg

With a moniker like Maurice Papier you might expect a suave, sophisticated, mustachioed, tuxedo-wearing man of the world, probably French.

Actually the 60-couple-year-old University of Saint Francis art instructor and accomplished painter comes from a long line of German stock with roots in the Black Forest. “We’re all tall, gaunt, somewhat haughty, a little grumpy and appear unapproachable,” he says.

But, pssst ... let me tell you, I know the fellow and neither description fits.

With pedigrees from North Side, Ball State and Bowling Green, Papier feels right at home in Fort Wayne and the various positions he’s held at the university over the past 30-odd years.

“It’s really been an amazing trip here,” he recalls. “For years we had something like 16,000 square feet for the entire department, and it’s hard to believe we lured and kept students. Now, in our new facility, we’ve got more than 34,000 square feet and any number of very talented students and graduates.

“You couldn’t ever get it in a formal statement but we’ve been told by the accreditation people that we might just be the best art school in the country for our size.”

Papier is obviously proud of the school’s stature, but he sometimes tells his students that not everything can be learned in a formal classroom.

“In some ways I’ve learned more in conversations at Henry’s with some very bright people than I ever did during my college career,” Papier confesses. “Realization and discovery comes in many forms. I remember an incident years ago when two guys erupted into fisticuffs at Henry’s when one of them labeled (Robert) Rauschenberg as a mere decorator ... now that’s passion!”

Papier’s passions for teaching and his own art aren’t initially evident, but after spending time in conversation and after examining examples of his work one is struck by the depth of his knowledge and the extent of his talent.

The artist has exhibited in more than 100 juried regional and national shows and has had 26 one-man shows over his career. His works are represented in two dozen corporate collections, and he is a part of the Castle Gallery stable of artists. He’s also been recognized for his teaching as the recipient of several achievement awards.

Since the beginning of the year the artist has been busy on a new series of paintings which he calls “Accumulations.” The collection of images chronicles various and numerous past ideas and inspirations to form a kind of catalog of interests. Pieces of the inventory will be shown in the university’s annual summer exhibition as part of the Three Rivers Festival.

Unique to his watercolor and mixed-media works is the fact that Papier first gessoes the surface. The gesso ground provides a slick surface to which the later watercolors are applied, then wiped or manipulated depending on whim, chance or a particular hue or texture he’s after.

Papier wants to exploit this technique for his own purposes but admits that sometimes he gets taken in by the accidental nature of the process.

“(I’m) never quite sure what the resulting wash will look like. It is a very hit-and-miss situation,” he reveals. “I sometimes get textural and decorative surfaces that wouldn’t be possible in any other media and (ones) that I couldn’t anticipate.”

Papier typically masks off areas of his work with tape, leaving patterns of squares, rectangles and circles which serve to tie the piece together. This technique highlights his superb draftsmanship which is evident in most all of his work. (He practiced mechanical drafting throughout high school, thinking he would pursue a career as an engineer; a visit to the engineering department at International Harvester, however, deflated such notions.)

According to Papier, the Midwestern landscape has been a central preoccupation in his paintings over the years. He’s never been a fan of totally non-objective painting so one is often treated to collaged images that incorporate a clock face, a bit of typography, a section of a photograph of Buffalo Bill, strands of braided rope and isolated numbers.

Another reoccurring element that shows up in his work is the night sky.

“The skies have always been fascinating to me since I was a small child,” Papier relates. “The distances involved in contemplating the stars and planets on a clear night have a mystery and awe that are both pleasurable and frightening ... It makes me aware of how very insignificant the human species is in the great plan of the universe.”

When asked to cite influences in his life and work, Papier produced a list of 26 artists and topics that ranged from the seemingly mundane (the weather, geometry, maps, flying things and comic books) to Roman wall paintings, Greek architecture, astrology and astronomy.

Among his favorite painters are the classics like J.M.W. Turner, Jasper Johns, Robert Indiana, Jackson Pollock, Edward Hopper, Paul Klee, Winslow Homer and Rauschenberg. In addition Papier lists several contemporary or emerging artists - like Dozier Bell, Donald Holden, Terry DeLapp, Darren Waterston and Margaret Gerding - most of whom are landscape or skyscape painters.

Papier keeps abreast of the art world with frequent trips to Chicago to peruse the galleries as well as the Art Institute. (“We’re so fortunate to have such great resources within reach.”) Likewise, he seeks out The New Yorker for its coverage of the art scene and traditionally picks up the Sunday New York Times to read up on events there and nationally.