This little fellow was scampering along the path looking for food to stuff in his cheeks and store up for the coming winter. I took several photos of him hard at work one day last fall and painted this in my studio in January.
6x6 Oil on panel $275 at the Centennial Art Show this weekend.
The Nashville Parthenon originated as an exhibit at the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition and received a makeover in 2002. It is a centerpiece of the urban Centennial Park near Vanderbilt University. This view is from the SW side of the park, where you can see the skyline of downtown Nashville in the distance.
5x7 Oil on panel $275 at the Centennial Art Show this weekend.
5x7 Oil on panel $275 at the Centennial Art Show this weekend.
The same day I photographed the diligent squirrel, I also walked the park and photographed many other areas and sites. This seating area is one of many that surround the Lake Watauga in Centennial Park. It's a popular place to stroll and, believe it or not, to fish. A few years ago, I met a man fishing there and we got to talking. He told me he worked the night shift cleaning the nearby Burger King and, on his way home every morning, he would stop and fish here until he caught a couple that he would take home and fry up for breakfast.
8x10 Oil on panel $350 at the Centennial Art Show this weekend.
8x10 Oil on panel $350 at the Centennial Art Show this weekend.
 | Another familiar site in the park was this steam locomotive from the early 1940s. It has been on display here for many decades, but when I took my photos little did I know that just a few weeks later that engine would be ceremoniously transported to begin a four-year, 2 million dollar restoration by the Nashville Steam Preservation Society. Their goal is to see it pulling passenger excursions from the Riverfront Station. I'm happy that I was able to capture it in it's last days in Centennial Park. 12x12 Oil on gallery wrap canvas $525 at the Centennial Art Show this weekend. |
The artists of The Chestnut Group partner with local conservancy groups to support and preserve natural and historic areas in the Nashville region. Our members spend many months viewing, studying, and painting from life and/or from their own images of the place we are promoting. In the Fall we return to Radner Lake for the show in November. This current show in the Parthenon supports the programs and events that take place year-round in Centennial Park. I hope you take the opportunity to come and enjoy the art and have your own encounter with Athena!
