En plein air White's Creek

White's Creek is an area just outside of Nashville, quite rural and home of a popular tourist destination, the Fontanel. Just a couple of miles down the road from this is the beautiful landmark home of the late mother of Vicki, a good friend of mine. Vicki invited me to paint my heart out there before it was sold and so I did! 

I began with the tractor shed, filled with rusting equipment and boards, tools, (and possibly snakes!). I started the painting with the old fuel tank in the foreground, but decided it detracted from the darks and lights of the shed interior that had caught my eye.

The second painting was of the grand old house. My drawing skills are still developing so I made the decision to work out the drawing from earlier photos the night before, being sure to get the lines and perspective accurate enough to please the eye. It was a dream to start the plein air painting from that pre-drawing and it was such a beautiful Tennessee morning to paint in!

I returned a third time to the homestead to paint the fascinating barn. What a history I uncovered through the internet! It was built in the mid 1800s as a solid, 2 story paper mill structure, constructed of handmade bricks on the bank of a branch of White's Creek. You can still see the cut limestone block abutments on the sides of the stream below that served to direct the water needed for the boilers. If you want to learn more, click HERE.

I hope I have captured not only the representation of the house and buildings, but also the beautiful natural setting they are aging in. I invite the viewer to consider what lives and hopes and dreams took place here, what history was occurring, what changes have come in the century and a half since it was a thriving paper mill. 

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Three finished paintings:

"Blue Hills Tractor Shed". 9x12 oil on panel $325

"Grand Old House" 9x12 oil on panel $325

"Whites Creek Mill Barn" 9x12 oil on panel $325