On Eloise Adams’ first trip to Albert Lea, the view from Bridge Avenue across Fountain Lake made an impression.

Tuesday, March 06, 2001

On Eloise Adams’ first trip to Albert Lea, the view from Bridge Avenue across Fountain Lake made an impression.

&uot;When we came here to look for a house … we came down Bridge Avenue, we came around the curve, and I saw Katherine Island,&uot; Adams said. &uot;I thought, this is the prettiest town I have ever seen.&uot;

Thirty-five years later, Adams has painted an image of that same scene as part of the Albert Lea Tribune’s front-page logo.

&uot;That’s just about the nicest thing that can happen to me as an artist,&uot; Adams said. &uot;That’s just a wonderful compliment for me. And I think the scene does represent Albert Lea.&uot;

When the Tribune contacted Adams about drawing a picture of Katherine Island to use for its redesigned front page, the artist had recently completed her first sketch of that very scene, she said. After she added watercolors to her black-and-white ink image, the job was done.

She had first sketched the scene in pencil from her car, parked near the Lakeside Cafe, she said. It was late fall, so the leaves had already fallen from the trees, but Adams took the artistic liberty of drawing them on the branches, she said.

The scene focuses on the island, the foot bridge, and part of the Albert Lea downtown skyline in the background.

The original painting included a wider view of the area around the lake, as well as the mermaid statue near the shore of Fountain Lake. The Tribune had to trim some of the edges to make the image fit into its logo design.

The original, complete version will remain at the Tribune’s office. A version also appears on the Tribune’s Web site.

Adams is well known in Albert Lea for her annual prints depicting the Big Island Rendezvous and Eddie Cochran weekend, which are sold to benefit the festivals.