"Almost heaven, West Virginia. This is the way I feel about my native state. This song takes me there.
On certain summer mornings when conditions are just right, mists from the river far below rise to the mountaintops and create a soft, silvery light. This is the memory I have painted."
I wrote these words as a result of having to do a painting of a favorite song for an upcoming art exhibit entitled The Music in Me.
After rejecting such favorites as Chopin's Nocturne in E Flat, Crazy by Patsy Cline, and Beethoven's Adagio as too difficult to paint, I was in a real quandary. I could have done such things as Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis Presley or Yellow Submarine by the Beatles in a heartbeat but they weren't among my favorites. Likewise such songs as You Ain't Nothin' But A Hound Dog and Jambalaya. I thought of my Dad's favorites, Wildwood Flower and Red River Valley but decided not many members of the current generation would recognize them. I briefly considered Moonlight Sonata and Moon River but no inspiration struck.
I was stuck. Then I watched a PBS special on John Denver and suddenly everything clicked. What could be more perfect than Country Roads, Take Me Home? I love the song and, after all, I am from West Virginia.
The painting you see above is my interpretation of John Denver's song. I painted it with a very limited palette: Yellow, purple, blue, umber, and white. Then, at the end I used a splash of red for the shirt.
If you live in the Atlanta area, you are invited to the opening reception at Tannery Row on October 16 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. The address is 554 West Main Street, Building C, Buford, GA.
