Endangered Bridge at Sandy Hook 9 x 12 acrylic on panel, $320 I met a young man who is a local photographer, and he shared with me the history of this bridge and his unhappiness over the decision to replace it. This bridge has served the community of Sandy Hook... Continue reading

Crooked Sheep 16 x 20 acrylic on canvas, $730 At Milky Way Farms, the historic home of Frank and Ethel Mars located in Giles County, Tennessee, one of several barns exists from the original 30 built there in the early 1930s. One in particular is the Crooked Sheep Barn up... Continue reading

Guest blogger Janet Tuhlar shares Part Two of her research on Nathanael Greene, giving us insight to the founding of our country and the South. (Part One, click here.) Properties gifted to General Greene The tragic, premature death of General Nathanael Greene robbed the fledgling nation of an outstanding leader. His enormous debt for the supply of his troops now fell on Caty, his thirty-two year old widow, as she struggled to raise five young children. At the close of the War, properties had been given to General Greene in appreciation for his delivery of the South from British occupation. Before his death, Nathanael had decided what would be done with the properties. North Carolina had given 25,000 acres upon its frontier (now Maury County, Tennessee). This property was sizeable indeed, but of no use to the general at the time. He did nothing with it, but stated in his... Continue reading

We've been studying cone shapes this month in the Mini-Monet class. Last week we painted May Day Mother's Day cones with flowers. Today we painted Teton Teepees. Here is Emma's Teepee. And Kate's. I look forward to Thursdays and my mini-Monets! For more information on classes, workshops, art events and... Continue reading

Sign up for "Wet Paint," my monthly e-newsletter before the end of the month and you'll be entered to win one of five sets of notecards to be given away. OR Click "Like" on my Facebook page. Or do both to double your chances of winning! Click here to enter.... Continue reading

This adorable female House Finch has built her next in the fern that hangs from my front porch. I didn't realize it was there when I moved the fern to the front steps during several days of rain. The only egg in the nest at the time fell out. However, since then I haven't touched the fern and we have many eggs waiting to hatch in the next 2 weeks. Click here to hear her song. Continue reading

On Saturday we enjoyed back to back Magnolia Blossom painting classes with a lovely lunch catered by Naomi Beddingfield. The first class started at 9sm. The room that was originally the "man cave" or Billiards Room has been converted into a studio. Lunch was served at noon. Charles Jones, owner... Continue reading

Several years ago friends of mine and I would spend our Saturday evenings at the senior center on Broadway in downtown Nashville (that's right, Senior Center) learning how to Swing Dance. The evening started with an hour of lessons to learn the basic rock step, and was followed by a 1940s USO-style dance (Family-friendsly, Alcohol-free, Smoke-free). During the summer, it was offered outside at the band shell at Centennial Park with even more people attending. Even babies were feeling the beat and having a good time. Having a soul that must have been originally destined for the 1940s, I loved it. I even signed up for Swing Dance lessons at the local YMCA to improve my skills, but with two left feet, no previous dance experience, and local church ladies convinced swing dancing would be a path to lead to destruction, I gave it up. Buh-bye. And I never really... Continue reading

Today I painted for several hours in the lobby of my hometown's YMCA. I love demonstrating painting in public because the more curious of the bystanders will ask questions and get excited about the possibility of revisiting their inner artists. Continue reading

We are studying cones this month in the Mini-Monet class at aMuse'um Children's Museum. Kate paints a beautiful cone, a Mother's Day May Day Basket with Flowers. Ella Ann embellished her painting with a purple door, instead of brown. Marvelous! Columbia is busting with talent!! Continue reading

I was intrigued to hear that Maury County's own community of Culleoka has a very distinguished culinary history, being the home of the nationally renown Culleoka Queen Cantaloupe. According the The Local Table magazine... Consider the Culleoka Cantaloupe business that thrived in our area from 1910 until 1928. Erastus J. and Hardy Park who owned and operated the Culleoka Produce Company managed a thriving export business in which hundreds of thousands of melons were encased with the stamp, “Selected Culleoka Queen Cantaloupe – Salmon Colored Meat.” Annually, about 90 boxcars were shipped from Culleoka’s Pleasant Grove depot on the L & N across the country and then into ports around the world. Unbelievable as it is, those very seeds from that illustrious fruit have been lost to the Culleoka community. Maury countians can only hope for rediscovery of the uniquely delicious startup. Adam Southern, local historian, storyteller, librarian, and character,... Continue reading

I love to teach and I love to see new students proud of the paintings they create without knowing how much talent actually resides within them. Tonight was such a night. I did hear a little "belly aching," a whine or two that this reference painting was too hard to... Continue reading

This month in my Paint-Along classes we are painting the Magnolia Blossom. I'm very impresses with the results. Several of these ladies had not been painting long. A couple of the students claimed they had never painted at all. You couldn't tell it. They all looked like Pros. I did hear a slight whine once or twice, but nothing that couldn't be easily fixed. And the results speak for themselves. Beautiful job ladies!! Continue reading

Maury County Parks and Recreation is hosting "Art Avalanche" in June whereby area artists have been invited to teach art lessons to the residents of Maury County. I was asked to create a "Mommy and Me"-style Paint-Along for the younger set. Here are the reference paintings for the class... Huckaby... Continue reading

"I think I shall never grow tired of painting chickens and flowers" ~Susan E Jones "I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers." ~Claude Monet "If I hadn't started painting, I would have raised chickens." ~Grandma Moses Shake a Tail Feather 8 x 10 oils on canvas, $200 Continue reading

"I think I shall never grow tired of painting chickens and flowers" ~Susan E Jones "I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers." ~Claude Monet "If I hadn't started painting, I would have raised chickens." ~Grandma Moses Continue reading

Guest blogger Janet Uhlar shares her insight on one of Maury County's honored sons. Maury County and General Nathanael Greene -- Savior of the Continental Army Nathanael Greene, a major general in the Continental Army, and second in command, has yet to take his appropriate place of honor as a founding father, whose decisions and actions were pivotal to the establishment of these United States. Though properly referred to as the ‘strategist of the American Revolution’, even that forgotten title does not offer a true picture of his importance. He was, in truth, thrice the savior of the Continental Army. Greene, a Rhode Island iron master, was a practicing Quaker until 1774. That same year, he helped form a local militia regiment -- managing to smuggle both muskets and a former British Drill Sergeant from Boston to help strengthen the regiment. Yet, when it came time to appoint officers, Greene... Continue reading

I became acquainted with Janet through the Maury County Historical Society. As the Vice President of Publications, I received an email from Janet adding additional information to our research on Skipwith Hall, one of Maury County's antebellum gems. Janet has graciously agreed to be a guest blogger and will share her knowledge in a few posts over the next few weeks. But first, a little about Janet.... JANET UHLAR Author, lecturer, screenplay writer, Janet Uhlar’s genre is rarely seen. She presents biography through the living, breathing form of biographical fiction. The characters lived; the events occurred. The dialogue carries the stories. Janet firmly believes that when the private lives and unique personalities of historical figures are presented, and the dynamics between these characters brought out, history becomes much more than cold black print on a stark white page. History takes on a life of its own, with true flesh and... Continue reading

Saturday marked the inaugeral of my newest workshop, House Portraits. It was a nasty weather day: thunderstorms, flooding, hail, tornado warnings. I'm surprised as many as four ladies braved the elements to attend. But I'm sure glad they did. What a great way to spend an afternoon. They are all... Continue reading

Saturday marked the inaugeral of my newest workshop, House Portraits. It was a nasty weather day: thunderstorms, flooding, hail, tornado warnings. I'm surprised as many as four ladies braved the elements to attend. But I'm sure glad they did. What a great way to spend an afternoon. They are all amazing artists. Linda left early to get home before dark. She had a much longer commute than the rest of us, so she is not pictured here with me, Jane, Diane, and Judi. Jane's painting is gorgeous. It makes me want to take a picnic under the trees. Diane's paintng is off to a good start. She excels at impressionism bricks. As much as I love my little cottage, Judi's paintings makes me pine for a tiny cabin on lots of acres with an air stream studio. And finally Windy Acre Cottage, my home. It was a fun afternoon. We'll... Continue reading

Supreme Sultan 6 x 6 Oils on panel, $95 I love this iris so much, I painted it two more times today. Iris Third Time's a Charm Continue reading

Yesterday my friends Roni, Jamie and I headed north to visit the Frist Museum for the Visual Arts in downtown Nashville, TN, to see their exhibit "Rembrandt and the Dutch Golden Age." I'm more interested in the light and color and movement of the French Impressionists, not the dark, Chiaroscuro paintings of the Dutch Baroque era, but I didn't want to be this close to greatness and not enjoy the genius of Rembrandt, Halls, Steenwyck and others. The morning was cold due to Dogwood Winter settling in, but the afternoon was perfect! I'm embarrassed to admit what I don't know about art history and about Rembrandt himself, and I learned a lot in the few hours we toured the exhibit. Namely, Rembrandt was his first name (Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn). I now feel completely justified in signing my paintings "susan e." Three items of interest resinated with me, the first... Continue reading

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting Tammy Pierchoski, CEO of Giles County STAAR Theater in historic, downtown Pulaski.And as fabulous as this theatre is, with it's dedicated volunteer staff, mission to include every person who shows up to be in a performance, to all the behind the scenes workers for lights, costumes, props, etc, etc, I couldn't help be blown away with the part of the theatre not seen by the public. After the buidling was purchased to house the Southern Tennessee Area Arts Repertory (STAAR), a curious Pierchoski investigated the second floor after she noticed the roof was much taller than surrounding buildings. What she found was astonishing! “Pulaski, Tennessee is to have one of the largest and most magnificent halls this side of Cincinnati”, announced The Pulaski Citizen on June 26, 1868. The opening of the opera house on December 25 of that same year began an... Continue reading

Enjoyed a glorious day painting with a room full of artists at the studio of Milky Way Farms on Saturday. We painted an abstract impressionism of the Tennessee Iris. Three generations of one family came to paint on this day, as well as two generations of several others. And I... Continue reading