Portfolio > Oil Paintings/Charcoal Drawings_Old Time Songs & Stories

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Shady Grove
Shady Grove
Oil on Canvas
60" x 60"
2023

I entitled this painting after Luther Davis's fiddle version of "Shady Grove." "Shady Grove," "Reddleman and Green Jeans," and "Pumpkin Pie," are a sub-set of my Old Time series and refer to the four seasons. Thus, landscape figures prominently in these paintings.

I credit my pal and fiddler/jamming buddy Molly Stouten with introducing me to the gorgeousness of the old timers' interpretations of Old Time music. I think the old timers are the heart and soul of this music. There are many old timers, but Luther Davis is one of my favorites. Here are a few others who have shaped me profoundly as an Old Time musician: Joe and Odell Thompson, Roscoe Parish, Luther Davis, and Wade Ward. I don't want to forget Molly! She's an "old timer" in spirit, a great fiddler and Old Time musician as well as a terrific friend.

Molly is also a terrific visual artist, a painter.

It's summer in North Carolina. Under a gazebo adorned by Jessamine, surrounded by a deciduous forest, Molly and I pause from our playing to enjoy the sights and sounds of our sylvan setting.