The Price of Being a Landscape Painter

Being one of Asheville, North Carolina's landscape artists, it's important for me to continually find new things to paint. So Joy and I do a lot of hiking (one of the sacrifices one must make for the job, right?). I love hiking. It's like a divine "re-set" button. And definitely, one of my very favorite places to visit is about an hour drive west of Asheville: Max Patch.

Max match is a 4,600-ft. bald mountain that was cleared and used as pasture in the 1800s. Today, it's a 350-acre tract of wide-open land on a high knob with 360-degree views. It's one of the most spectacular places one can experience in the Blue Ridge mountains.

The Great Smoky Mountains, only 20 miles away, completely dominate the southwest horizon. To the west the terrain drops more than 3,600 ft. into eastern Tennessee. Off in the west rises the dark ridgeline of the Black Mountains, including Mount Mitchell (the highest point this side of the Rocky Mountains. Seemingly endless ridges and peaks and valleys are in every direction you look. It's really  amazing.  Nearly every time we visit, we bring a picnic lunch or dinner consisting of a nice loaf of bread, chicken, and a nice bottle of wine, finished off with Pim's biscuits (cookies). Why Pim's? I don't know. It just seems so festive when we include them. What can I say

Left unmanaged, the field would naturally fill back in with shrubs, and later become peppered with young trees, eventually terminating the cherished 360-degree views of the Great Smoky Mountains and of Mount Mitchell to the east, so from time to time, the Forest Service mows down the grass to keep these incredible vistas open for people to enjoy.

I tell myself that hiking is important to get new ideas for subject matter for my oil paintings. And it is, but honestly, it's so "grounding" to get out in nature and to just be quiet...to listen to God...to listen to the wind and the birds and feel the sunshine on your face. I can't paint without that. And with relatively easy access (when the weather is good), this Blue Ridge mountain bald is the perfect place to enjoy the benefits of hiking in a quick afternoon trip. If you ever visit Asheville, I'd highly recommend the drive up to Max Patch. Just don't forget the Pim's!

Rejuvenating Creativity!

As primarily a landscape painter, I'm repeatedly asked how I get inspired. Really? I live in an absolutely gorgeous part of the country! How could I not get inspired? Creative inspiration is all around me. Other artists live here, constantly creating (over 220 of them within a square mile of where I'm sitting). Asheville is full of amazingly creative restaurants, buskers, craft breweries and (last but oh not least)...nature. Quiet, peaceful and restorative nature. So, if you take just a bit of time, inspiration is really easy here. 

Yesterday, I made time. It was my day off (thanks Ruth for keeping the studio open for me!) and I needed to slow down and breathe a little. It being high tourist season, I've been really busy with commissions and paintings for my own studio here in Asheville's River Arts District. I love the pace this time of year but after several weeks of "pedal to the medal" frantic painting, I really needed a breather. And my gosh, I got one yesterday. 

Yesterday morning, I'd read about a trail I'd not tried before "the "Bust your Butt" trail. I couldn't resist it with a name like that.

I packed my lunch into my camelback, put on my hiking shoes and drove 3000 feet up! Nearly to Mt. Mitchell (highest point east of the Rockies), it was a pleasant 71 degrees (compared to 85 degrees back home in Asheville). Yesterday morning, I'd read about a trail I'd not tried before "the "Bust your Butt" trail. I couldn't resist it with a name like that. I soon found out why it got that name. It was a real workout. But here and there, I had to stop walking and just stand still and listen. Nothing. Really -- nothing at all. Silence. Some clouds enveloped the mountaintop and I walked through silence in the woods. Oh my gosh, "this is where good introverts go when they die!" I thought. Awesome. 

I've written before about the concept of "inhaling" in order to be able to create (or exhale). See my blog on that topic if you're interested. Why did it take me so long to slow down? I think I'd actually get more done if I made myself do this more often! 

This was definitely a very pleasant afternoon of "inhaling". I can't wait to get back to painting today. I'm so ready. 

The Art of Dinner (at the Grove Park Inn)

Ashville's Historic Grove Park Inn

Last night, several artists in Asheville's River Arts District were asked to take part in a very special dinner at Asheville's Grove Park Inn. We each submitted a piece of our art to the executive chef along with an explanation of our technique and the story behind the piece. Then the chef created a course of the dinner that was inspired by the art and the story. What an amazingly creative idea! And the ultra cool part of it is that this was all put on for the Dallas Cowboy's!

The painting I submitted was one of my favorites: "Stroll Through the Birch Trees". The inspiration for this piece is from one summer up in British Columbia (Canada) at Francois Lake when I was a teenager. We were staying on a family farm (an ancient log cabin) on the lake, and there were fields of wheat right on the lake. But there were also "upper fields" which you could only get to via a walk through the now overgrown forest path. One sunny morning after a rainstorm the night before, I explored this path and it was magical. Sun rays were glinting off the mist rising from the forest floor. I remember the smells of the woods, of damp, of water, of pines and birches...this is what became the inspiration behind this painting. 

Dinner was spectacular. I've never eaten food like this. There were more eating utensils around my plate than I'd ever seen (except on Downton Abbey maybe). The company, the friends, the art, the music -- what an honor to have been a part of it! 

So to help you get an idea of how this all went down...here are some photos! Bon appetit!

FIRST COURSE

Matt Tommey's basket/art sculpture was pared with smoked foie Gras macaroon, black garlic dirt, apple honeycomb and micro flowers.

SECOND COURSE

My painting ("Stroll Through the Birch Trees") was pared with salsify, fennel, pea tendrils, local cheese and smoked onion ash. Note: there was fog coming from the bottom plate, wafting up around the pea tendrils. Amazing!!

THIRD COURSE

The wood sculpture of Melissa & Graeme Engler was pared with braised butternut squash, garden crust, pickled melon jus, basil cream and local snap pea.

FOURTH COURSE

John Almaguer's Venetian glass vase was pared with sous vide beef tenderloin, sweet pea puree and butter poached North Carolina shrimp.

DESSERT

Hayden Wilson's Venetian glass vase was pared with vanilla cheesecake, blueberry cream puff, blueberry compote, with chocolate Chantilly and lemon sauce.

What a night. I'm dieting today, but not too strict -- these portions last night were small, but I have to say, it's the best tasting food I've ever had. This was gastronomic art at it's best.

Gallery Representation in Hendersonville!

I'm super excited to announce that I'm going to be represented in Hendersonville, NC right there on Main Street at the Silver Fox Gallery (508 N. Main Street). I just toured the gallery today with Joy and it's a really wonderful collection of furniture and really exquisite home furnishings (including artwork). If you're in the area, it's most definitely worth a visit. Tell them I sent you!

I'm excited about it for several reasons. First, it'll be great to be represented right there on Main Street (just across from Mast General Store). I've always LOVED Main Street, Hendersonville. It's full of tourists in the summer and it's just a really nice place to walk around, check out galleries, antique stores, grab some ice cream, visit the bakery and go to dinner. There's also a wonderful kids museum just up the street, Hands On! Children's Museum (with grandchildren that visit, we go there often). So anyway, I love the location.

Secondly though, this gallery is very deeply involved with interior design projects (they have on-staff designers) and I've had super great experiences in the past working directly with an interior designer on special custom projects in the past (the Pardee Cancer Center, City Centre project in downtown Asheville and including the main elevator lobby, and the Hilton Garden Inn lobby.

So hello Hendersonville! I'm glad to be a part of what's going on in one of the coolest little towns in North Carolina!

Four Seasons on the Blue Ridge

"Four Seasons on the Blue Ridge" (Each panel 10" x 24")

What is it about the theme of the Four Seasons? It's always a winner. When you think about it, it's almost strange because I think most people hate change. We are indeed creatures of habit in nearly everything we do. There's a security in habit, in sameness, in routine. But all the rules are broken with the very popular theme of the Four Seasons (which is all about change!). Maybe we're not as addicted to sameness and routine as they say we are. 

What would it be like if all four of the above panels were winter? Or spring? Boring. It would never sell. But show the same scene as it undergoes the annual metamorphosis from death to life to death again (going out in a blaze of glory) and it immediately gets attention. 

And I suppose you can emphasize different ideas by how you organize the panels. Start with Winter and end with Autumn (as I've organized the panels above), you might emphasize resurrection and growth to maturity (and that maturity is a beautiful thing). Start with Spring and END with Winter, you might emphasize the whole natural life cycle: Birth (with Spring) and ending with death (in Winter). I did not organize the panels that way because by all accounts, I'm getting into the Autumn phase of life and I'd rather not emphasize my impending doom. 

So whether it's my artwork, or Vivaldi's famous "Four Seasons" or any number of takes on the theme, we keep coming back to it...the beauty of the passage of time, and it's new every time it's illustrated. This was a fun project and I think I may come back to it myself from time to time. 

So, if you're visiting Asheville's River Arts District soon, come on by and take a look in person. And you can rearrange the panels to send whatever message you'd like!  Cheers!

Sunset or Sunrise? End or Beginning?

Summer Scenes from the Blue Ridge

Here is my next "Sunset" themed piece. Someone last week asked "Is that sunset or sunrise"? Good question since this is just a scene out of my head but to me, this looks restful, not "waking". Now the crickets begin to chirp and cicadas begin their song, unceasing through the night. Someday, I'll paint a good sunrise but for now, this one to me is definitely and happily a sunset over the Blue Ridge mountains. Take a drive on the Blue Ridge parkway in either direction from Asheville at about 8:00 tonight and this is what you'll most likely see (and this is why I love living in Western North Carolina. 

Appalachian Panorama

Those "Special" Places

There are few more beautiful places than at the top of the Appalachians. Several years ago, we visited a place called Max Patch (about an hours drive west of Asheville) and it feels like the top of the world. It's definitely one of those North Carolina landscapes you never forget. On a clear day, I think you could see nearly a hundred miles in every direction. This oil painting (sold even before completed!) was painted to be installed above a door as "entrance art" and was based on memories of the many times we've hiked to the top of that bald and enjoyed a picnic dinner, glass of wine and Pim's (you have to have Pim's for dessert when you eat a picnic dinner at the top of Max Patch).