Art & Travel - Tennessee

I grew up in Buffalo and Cleveland so by the time I was 30, I was VERY familiar with lake effect snow. In 2011, I was taking a few classes at Cleveland State University and that winter was particularly cantankerous. One blustery afternoon in downtown Cleveland, a snow storm dumped several inches of snow in what felt like a blink of an eye. It took 3 hours to drive home when it should have only taken an hour. As I watched fat snowflakes fall, cars struggling not to slid off the road and my sad little windshield wipers trying to keep up so I could see the road I thought - “That’s it! I don’t want to see another snowflake for a LONG time!!”

That summer, I packed up my rusty Toyota Tacoma with all my earthly belongings and headed to Tennessee! I lived in a little town near the boarder of Kentucky and just a short drive to Kentucky Lake and the beautiful Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.

While the area was delightful and summer on the lake was a blast, it was the people I met that made living in Tennessee special to me. When the heater was having issues in the RV I was living go out of, the guys at the propane store down the road were so helpful and made sure I didn’t freeze to death that winter. Work friends became my family and I was invited over for Christmas dinner so I didn’t have to be alone. And it was the first time trying REAL southern sweet tea and chess pie. I will always be grateful for the friends I made during that time and the kindness shown to me.

I am also very grateful that my friends and family have been supportive of my artwork. It gives me courage to keep creating and share my artwork. One friend in particular, during my time living in Tennessee, wanted a painting of a lion. It’s a pleasure to make art that makes other people happy and I look at that painting with fondness and gratitude for that time in my life.

If you’ve read this far, thank you for being here and checking out my artwork- it means the world to me!