The Chestnut Group of plein air artists is celebrating our 20th year in 2021. We are having a show June 25-27 to celebrate. Each Chestnut member can contribute up to ten paintings for the show; plus we can donate one or more paintings to the show - which means the artist’s proceeds from the sale of those paintings go to The Chestnut Group.
The show is at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville. The location is spectacular - such a beautiful building. There are 498 paintings hung on the walls. I found out yesterday that I will be working the table where people pay for the paintings they want on Friday night. I will get there early to be sure I know how to handle Square, etc. and keep all the records organized and straight.
My insecurities as an artist have been overwhelming this week as I've seen the paintings other Chestnut members have submitted to the show. I keep telling myself that it doesn't matter - I'm still learning and growing.
Here are the paintings of mine that will be in the show:
Early Spring from Murfrees Fork Bridge, oil on 14x11 panel. Murfrees Fork Bridge is on Carl Road in Williamson County, TN. I drive over that bridge at least a few times a week. We often see deer in the field on the left background of the painting, and there's often a log lying in the creek, although it wasn't visible on this day. The leaves were just coming out on the trees, and the field was brightly lit in the background.
Blue Bird Hill Shadows, oil on 12x16 panel. I took a class in plein air painting at Blue Bird Hill farm I Santa Fe, Tennessee. Anne Blair Brown and Trey Finney live there, although I did this painting when I was there for a workshop led by Kathie Odom. The shadows of the trees were beautiful on the grass.
Queen Anne's Lace and Hay Rolls, oil on 16x20 linen panel. This is a farm on Coleman Road in Franklin that I drive past daily. Throughout the year, it provides different scenes. Towards the end of the summer, all the hay rolls will be stacked next to the barn. Early in spring the ground is covered with small yellow flowers. By the time June arrives, the Queen Anne's Lace, Thistles, and Clover are tall along the roadside which provided a wonderful foreground for this painting.
Wildflowers Above the Rock Wall, oil and cold wax medium on 5x7 panel. This is at the front of our property along Carl Road. I have painting it quite a few times over the years. This year we have the flowers much more "landscaped." This painting was done when the flowers were all intertwined and formed a fairly dense blanket of blooms above the rock wall.
Hay Rolls on Rolling Hills, oil on 8x16 panel. This scene is from Carters Creek Pike in Franklin. I pass these fields daily. I love it when the hay rolls are fresh and strewn across the field. The field sold recently, and I wonder if there will be construction on the site in the future.
Tennessee Tranquility, oil on 11x14 linen panel. Bailey Road in near Leiper's Fork - a few streets over from where we live. They're building some houses in this area, and so I wanted to capture this scene before construction changes it forever.
Golden Fields of Franklin, oil on 16x20 linen panel. This is the same barn and field as in "Queen Anne's Lace and Hay Rolls" above. This was when the small yellow flowers were blooming and the field were filled with large patches of gold. I used a palette knife to do the yellow. I loved the look, and this is easily my favorite of my paintings in the show. I started this in a class taught by Dawn Whitelaw, and finished it at home.
Along Tennessee Roadsides, oil on 11x14 linen panel. The Queen Anne's Lace, Clover, and Thistles along the roadsides during May/June/July each year fascinate me, They're "weeds" but the colors are so pretty, that I have taken probably 100+ photos of various scenes over the past couple years. The Queen Anne's Lace is so dainty and intricate - I just love seeing it.
Bear Creek Road Reflections, oil on 12x24 linen panel. I was driving down Bear Creek Road a couple months ago and saw this barn with its reflection in the pond beside it. I literally stopped my car, rolled down the window and started taking photographs of it, Fortunately, it's a small country road and there were no other cars behind me at the time. Since then I've been back several times to see it in different lights.
Rock Wall Wildflowers, oil on 8x16 linen panel, donated painting. Another one of the wild flowers above the rock wall at the entrance to our property on Carl Road. This time the flowers were in smaller groups. This is one of my favorite scenes to paint.
Dogwoods in March, oil on 5 x 7 panel. We have a lot of natural dogwood trees on our farm; so we named it "Dogwood Trace Farm" in order to highlight the dogwoods along with the fact that we are so close to the Natchez Trace. We even planted more dogwood trees. Each year I enjoy and photograph the dogwood blooms. Most are white although we have a couple of pink dogwoods, too.
