Normandy

I spent the last two days of last week in and around Normandy and Bell Buckle. I did Thursday and Friday morning at the Normandy dam painting the tail waters that are the Duck River. It is a great place to paint. The river is small and accessible everywhere there. Thursday I was the only person around. That morning the trout stocking truck from Dale Hollow Fish Hatchery showed up and dumped trout in the river. The next day was Good Friday and I am sure word on the trout got out so there were a few fishermen in the river but they seemed to be too busy fishing to even care I was there. The only question I was asked was by a lady who pulled up in a beat up pick-up and asked if I had "caught anything yet." I didn't want to try to explain what I was actually doing so I said,"nope, not yet."

Henry Horton Park

The Chestnut Group is teaming up with the Nature Conservency to paint the Duck River Watershed to raise money for the restoration and preservation of the Duck River. After I painted in Mount Olivet I drove to Henry Horton State Park that afternoon and the drive is not that bad. It is a straight shot down Nolensville road and takes less than an hour from the heart of Nashville. The river winds around the park and is very accesible almost everywhere in the park. They have a walking trail that runs along the north side of the river with some beautiful views. There is quite a bit there to paint. Got one done Saturday afternoon and plan on going back for a full day soon.
If anybody in the Chestnuts has a question about it, e-mail.

Plein Air Nashville

Plein Air Nashville is back in action. We painted Saturday at the Mount Olivet Cemetary. I had never been so I actually didn't know what to expect. There is so much to paint there you would never get it all. The history there is also worth going for. We were just standing there talking and I turned and read the first one next to me and it was Acklen, the lady that owned the Belmont Mansion before it was Belmont University. Names that you recognize are everywhere, old Nashville names. There is also a number of Confederate soldiers and generals buried there. I think the nicest thing about the place though is the artistic quality of most of the monuments. It is almost like walking through a sculpture garden.
Anyway, I was rather pleased with the painting I got. It was backlit with a lot of reflected light and real close values. When you looked at the monuments they were all gray but some were more green, some more blue, some more red, etc., etc. The difference sometimes was more of a temperature change in the color than an actual change in the value. I think it was the struggle more than the finish that made me appreciate this painting so much.