Explore Park Spur #1 12 x 16 oil SoldIt's actually Friday night but I am posting this for tomorrow, since I will be gone. I need to pack the car for a demo and show downtown at Center in the Square Gallery, but my brain is still on the Blue Ridge Parkway daily painting project for 2010. So I decided to do some research on the Parkway.
History: The Blue Ridge Parkway was born during the Great Depression of the 1930's. The need for jobs and the growing number of automobiles led to FDR's New Deal that pushed for funds and manpower to construct the Parkway. The Great Smoky Mountains and the Shenandoah National Park were attracting tourists but a scenic motor road was needed to enhance the area.
I remember so vividly my family vacations in the 50's and 60's - packing the car in Richmond and heading for the mountains. Little did I know then that I would be living within walking distance of "Skyline Drive" as we used to call it. One summer our family rented a cabin behind Traveltown Lodge in Hollins. It was a magical night as we sat on the front porch, my brother and sister and I catching fireflys (lightning bugs) at the foot of Tinker Mountain. I remember the blue-green hills, the cool breeze and "huge" mountains covering the sunset. Tinker Mountain seemed so big to a little girl from the flat sandy Piedmont area of Chesterfield, Va. My love of the mountains began that night. It is stronger today than ever. A few years ago, my husband and I moved from Cloverdale to Blue Ridge. We did not need a larger house but wanted to be closer to nature. We now have a comforable "farmhouse" retreat and 3+ acres of land on a private road within walking distance of my beloved "Skyline Drive" What an incredible blessing to now, after many years of hard work, be able to stay at home and paint my mountains. This "Blue Ridge" daily painting project is the culmination of my life's dreams.
History: The Blue Ridge Parkway was born during the Great Depression of the 1930's. The need for jobs and the growing number of automobiles led to FDR's New Deal that pushed for funds and manpower to construct the Parkway. The Great Smoky Mountains and the Shenandoah National Park were attracting tourists but a scenic motor road was needed to enhance the area.
I remember so vividly my family vacations in the 50's and 60's - packing the car in Richmond and heading for the mountains. Little did I know then that I would be living within walking distance of "Skyline Drive" as we used to call it. One summer our family rented a cabin behind Traveltown Lodge in Hollins. It was a magical night as we sat on the front porch, my brother and sister and I catching fireflys (lightning bugs) at the foot of Tinker Mountain. I remember the blue-green hills, the cool breeze and "huge" mountains covering the sunset. Tinker Mountain seemed so big to a little girl from the flat sandy Piedmont area of Chesterfield, Va. My love of the mountains began that night. It is stronger today than ever. A few years ago, my husband and I moved from Cloverdale to Blue Ridge. We did not need a larger house but wanted to be closer to nature. We now have a comforable "farmhouse" retreat and 3+ acres of land on a private road within walking distance of my beloved "Skyline Drive" What an incredible blessing to now, after many years of hard work, be able to stay at home and paint my mountains. This "Blue Ridge" daily painting project is the culmination of my life's dreams.
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