“When I began to paint, a flood of memories of my childhood days came rushing in,” says impressionist painter Lori Putnam. “Growing up in the countryside, not far from where I live currently, once seemed so long ago and a lifetime of travel away.” For the past two years, Putnam has embarked on a journey to capture the four seasons of her home in Tennessee, culminating in one cohesive exhibition that will happen at LeQuire Gallery in Nashville from October 16 to December 31. The show, Close to Home, will include about 24 new oil paintings that take viewers through the idyllic and varied landscape of the state as it changes throughout the year.
Crisp Air, oil on linen, 36 x 48"
Here Kitty, Kitty, oil on linen, 36 x 48"
“Tennessee is so incredibly beautiful. We really are like three, distinctly different states. Driving from West Tennessee’s lowlands to East Tennessee’s mountains takes about eight hours,” says Putnam. “I live in the very middle, surrounded by rolling hills, rivers, lakes and streams.I finally narrowed my thoughts from celebrating all of Tennessee’s diverse landscape to sharing only my personal surroundings. In fact, the painting Crisp Air is the view from the end of my driveway.” The winter scene features an evergreen surrounded by snow beneath a clear sky.
Big Red, oil, 36 x 48"
Autumn scenes of glowy golden hues can be viewed in pieces like Branches and Showing Off, while the greens of spring and summer are in Spring Fever, Big Red and Here Kitty, Kitty.
Branches, oil on linen, 14 x 18"
Better View, oil, 18 x 24"
She reflects on the experience of connecting with her childhood home in the countryside. “It has been fabulous to have time to stand by a clear, rushing creek in the fall, watch the colors literally change before my eyes and breathe in the familiar smells of the season. When our dogwood and redbud trees bloomed in the spring, their blooms taught so much about the gentle shifts in tone and color. Some years we have a fair amount of snow and some we do not. I was so fortunate to be able to really pay attention to how our winter days can be T-shirt weather on February 24, after having snowed several inches on February 19. In the summer, the air is thick and that is exactly what I wanted to paint—the air, not the scene,” says Putnam. “Each season has such different colored skies and cloud effects too. You can learn a lot observing nature in this way, close to home.” —
LeQuire Gallery
4304 Charlotte Avenue • Nashville, TN
(615) 298-4611 • www.lequiregallery.com
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