Balloon fest to feature two hand-painted hot air balloons

WAUSAU – The Taste and Glow Balloon Fest will host two Charles Markert hand-painted hot air balloons July 12 and 13.

Charles Markert of Excelsior, Minnesota, is a large-scale artist who is credited for free-hand painting more than 50 hot air balloon envelopes. The artist’s son and daughter-in-law, pilots Tim and Jodi Markert, will fly the balloons throughout the weekend and will make themselves available to answer questions about them.

Charles painted “LeGrande Carousel” as a piece reminiscent of visiting Coney Island as a child. Each horse is a replica of real carousel horses from amusements around the world.

Painted as a traditional baroque piece, “The Celebration,” tells a mythical story of love, merriment and fertility in three scenes. This is considered Markert’s greatest accomplishment, and it took him a year to complete.