I’ve been staying at our Bluebird Hill farmhouse in Santa Fe, TN for over a month now. A massive power outage in Nashville, my full-time home, sent us hightailing out here. It’s the first time I’ve been able to enjoy the place as a home due to a long renovation and cold weather. The house was built in 1880, and the property sits on a quiet, rural road, seemingly in the middle of nowhere.
The weather has been delightful, and I am taking full advantage of it by painting outside every day, a favorite endeavor that had become elusive for me in the last couple of years.
To live right in the middle of such natural beauty is soul-cleansing. I love Nashville, but being out here...this is who I am. The colors, textures, and atmosphere are off the charts gorgeous. In terms of connection, it is not enough to come out here for a day of painting. Living at the farmhouse, totally immersed in the country, I am able to paint places I never would have found before, observe things I never would have seen. I am seeing the outside in a whole new way, and it’s making me a whole new person on the inside. I feel a growth shift happening, spiritually and artistically.
It occurs to me that I am here at this beautiful place going through this growth period due to a global pandemic AND an unprecedented power outage. Our power actually came back on within 24 hours of our leaving, but we stayed because it is the best place to shelter for now, and…Buttercups were covering every field and hill and it was spectacular! But, I digress.
I recently saw a church sign that read, “Crisis is a cause for change”. Yes indeed-y, it is. Lots of changes have come about, some intentional and some thrust upon me. I bet you are in the same boat. I guess we have 2 choices though: fight it, or embrace it. Since I do not like conflict, I think I’ll embrace it.
The images here are of some of the plein air studies I’ve done in the last several weeks. I have rarely been able to paint outside this consistently, and I think I am starting to understand light and atmosphere better. Having these studies helps assuage my lament that I will have to return to Nashville sometime soon. I will use them as inspiration for studio paintings, and I’m very excited about that. Thanks, Universe, for the kick in the pants to get back to plein air painting!
