JACK DANIEL’S PARADISE

A TENNESSEE TRIP AND A NEW PAINTING



HAVING FUN AT "THE JACK"



Lynchburg, Tennessee is American heartland. More than a lovely village, it is a composite of all that makes the South and particularly Tennessee so exciting and colorful. On this lovely Saturday of the annual Jack Daniel’s World Championship International Barbecue Competition, I arrived with a camera, sketch pad and good pencil to begin one of my new art projects: capturing all these people, flags, bands, dancers, ancient buildings and barbecue and transferring them “my way” onto a canvass.

This isn’t just another barbecue festival. It’s what old-timers named “The Jack,” the world’s most revered competition of its kind and global in every sense of the word. This event brings people in from the four corners of the earth.

The blessings I received were many. First, I met David Hazelwood, who along with wife Claudia owns Parish Patch Farm and Inn where I lodged comfortably during my visit. This is where I want to live, I thought. Beautiful, bucolic, peaceful and loaded with beautiful living things. If you visit Middle Tennessee, treat yourself to a few days and nights at Parish Patch. Like the old song celebrates, it’s “almost heaven.” www.parishpatch.com. .

They say time flies when you’re having fun and I have to get back to the easel. There are so many scenes to paint. “The Jack” is really challenging, but I love to dream about what this painting can be when finished.

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FOLK ART IS PURE AMERICANA

ALL GOOD THINGS DESERVE A PAINTING



"COMING TO AMERICA"



LYNCHBURG, TN-No village could possibly be lovelier than this one, a city that claims Jack Daniel and his world-renowned whiskey empire as its own. I came here to get a feel for the town, the local people and the crowds coming soon to celebrate the international barbecue festival. The drive from Atlanta through Chattanooga, over mighty Mont Eagle to this destination is one of the most colorful in the country.

If this doesn’t inspire a few paintings, I thought, what would?

My home for a weekend is the farm resort called Parish Patch owned and managed by a delightful couple, David and Claudia Hazelwood. It’s near the Duck River and the village of Normandy, another rural Tennessee town that will steal your heart away. Cows graze alongside horses in pastures that must look pretty much as they did during the Civil War. The air is clear, the water pure and the people are easily America’s finest.

My mission is to decide what I want in my new painting. People of course, including visitors and locals. Flags, fires and grills provide excitement while children play and their parents eat barbecue. Bluegrass music, the live kind, rings out over the town and cloggers from other cities come to dance an autumn day away.

At the center of everything is Jack Daniel, the whiskey maker of long ago whose name is recognized the world over. He’s bound to be in the painting somewhere.

Work for me now is painting according to what others want to honor, celebrate or preserve. That can be a city, a charity, a tourist destination or the happiness that comes from the birth of a child. It’s fun for me and the joy comes from learning more about the South and all of America.

That’s a big part of the reasons I’m here now in beautiful Tennessee.

I’d love to hear from others who came this year or in the past. Bigoart1@yahoo.com.

Thanks!

Olivia Thomason

MY LATEST OUTDOOR MURAL

STONE MOUNTAIN VILLAGE MURAL COMPLETED



THE MURAL HONORS HISTORY AND DIVERSITY



It took most of the summer, but the mural is now part of the landscape in this lovely and very historic city adjacent to Stone Mountain Park. Drive down Main Street and look just above the gazebo and there it is at the top of the hill.

The work was all love. The view is directly facing Stone Mountain and the mural can be seen from atop the mountain, particulary when it is illuminated at night.

My heartfelt thanks to those special friends and family who made finishing this possible, particularly Susan Coletti, Pat and Michael Sabatelle, Ann and Rusty Hamby, John, Foster and Tyler Thomason and all the beautiful children who gave us a joyous evening of work to remember.

Stone Mountain is really soaring. For visitors coming to Atlanta, this city is a worthy trip for all those who love places that remain beautiful.

Prints will soon be available. Stay tuned.

FOLK ART JOYS

We're Back!

For many years, The Primitive Eye Gallery on Ponce de Leon near Atlanta had the finest collection of folk art in Georgia.

Now, everything is online and better than ever!

Look soon for art from Southern masters. And much more.