Give a Valentine Gift of Fine Art, A Gift That Will Be Enjoyed Every Day and Handed Down for Generations

"Harpeth at Fulton Greer Park" 11x14 Oil by Tommy Thompson

A Valentine gift of fine art is a gift that will be be enjoyed every day and handed down for generations. A gift of original fine art gives pleasure to the recipient every day, not just on Valentine’s Day, and it increases in value over time. To make your Valentine shopping a unique experience, visit Belle Meade Plantation Art Gallery, 5025 Harding Pike, Nashville, TN, where a special exhibition of oils and pastels by Tommy Thompson and Michelle Rideout is being displayed for sale until February 28, 2010. The Gallery’s hours are: Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. As an added bonus to your Valentine shopping experience, one-half of the purchase price of your gift will be tax deductible since the Plantation is a nonprofit organization.

When you visit Belle Meade Plantation Art Gallery to see the Thompson/Rideout Art Exhibit, why not have lunch or dinner upstairs in the Belle Restaurant (http://www.bellerestaurant.com), where you can view Thompson’s beautiful oil painting of the Belle Meade Mansion. This painting is also for sale by the Belle Meade Plantation Gift Shop (downstairs).

After several years as a commercial and architectural illustrator, Thompson moved on to traditional oil painting in 2002. Since that time, the artist has painted onsite throughout the country. With other artists and friends, he has painted on location not only in Alabama but also in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wyoming, plus Canada. His artwork has been featured in national publications including American Art Collector, Southwest Art, Horses in Art; in regional publications like Hills and Hamlets and Greater Nashville House, Home, and Garden; and in Nashville area newspapers, The Tennessean and Brentwood Life. His work has been featured online by Area of Design--In the Spotlight, The Judge's Choice, The Journal of 100 Miles (Natchez Trace), Discovered Artists, Painter's Keys, Chestnut Group, Plein Air Artists, Landscape Artists International, and Oil Painters of America. Thompson’s artwork was recently juried into a special exhibition called “Saving Paradise” of Belmont University’s Leu Gallery, September 1-December 2, 2010. For more information on Thompson’s work, check out his web site at www.tommythompsonart.com

"Biltmore Goose," 11x14 Pastel, by Michelle Rideout

After graduating with a degree in graphic design from the University of North Alabama, Rideout worked for several years for Village Prints (www.villageprints.com), creating hundreds of architectural-style composite pencil drawings of towns across 12 Southern states. After moving to Tennessee, she studied with some of the country's top artists including Carolyn Wright of Chattanooga, TN; Jason Saunders, Leiper's Fork, TN; Dawn Whitelaw, Pat Thompson, and Roger Dale Brown of Franklin, TN; Jeremy Doss of Townsend, TN; and Jeanne Mackenzie of Colorado. Besides painting on location at various Nashville area sites with her father, Rideout also enjoys painting with friends in Nashville's Chestnut Group, "plein air painters for the land." For more information on Rideout’s work, check out her web site at www.michellerideout.com

Pot O' Pansies

Tommy Thompson painted "Pot O'Pansies" after visiting Lake Lure, NC. He saw this pot of pansies outside the Lodge at Lake Lure, one of his favorite places to visit. Lake Lure is the second most photographed place in the United States; the most photographed place is Lake Tahoe.

Harpeth River Snag

Tommy Thompson painted "Harpeth River Snag" during a plein air painting workshop in Leiper's Fork, TN, conducted by Jeremy Doss. This painting represents a departure in oil painting for Thompson since it was done in a more impressionistic style.

Spring Iris

Tommy Thompson painted "Spring Iris" as part of a series of floral originals. The artist has received several kudos for his paintings of flowers recently.

Short Cut to Oscar's

"Short Cut to Oscar's" was created by Tommy Thompson from memory. The painter has traveled throughout the United States over the past 20+ years pursuing a career in art and has accumulated a myriad of images through his memory and with the aid of a digital camera.

Shadowed Plants

Tommy Thompson created the oil painting, "Shadowed Plants," as an exercise in brush work.

Route 1, Box 232

Tommy Thompson painted "Route 1, Box 232" from memories of scenes that he has observed during travels over the past 30 years.

Floral Splendor

Tommy Thompson painted "Floral Splendor" after visiting a small Alabama town where he admired their beautiful hanging baskets draped on street lamps.

Pansies Three

Tommy Thompson painted "Pansies Three" as part of a series of floral paintings that he has enjoyed creating recently.

Leiper's Fork Refuge

Tommy Thompson painted "Leiper's Fork House" after visiting the small community near Franklin, TN. Leiper's Fork is one of the artist's favorite places to paint.

Late Hay

Tommy Thompson painted "Late Hay" from memories of his childhood growing up on a farm where one of his summer jobs was cutting hay.

Ivy and Pots

Tommy Thompson painted "Ivy and Pots" while remembering a scene that he observed several years ago. In this painting, the artist tried to employ various painting techniques that he has learned during workshops over the past few years.

Gazebo at Leiper's Fork, TN

Tommy Thompson painted "Gazebo at Leiper's Fork" during Roger Dale Brown's Plein Air Workshop at the village. The Gazebo is the site of many parties and other events in the small picturesque village.

Sitting Pretty

Tommy Thompson painted "Sitting Pretty" during a Plein Air Workshop conducted by Roger Dale Brown in Leiper's Fork, TN. The adirondack chairs were actually white, but Thompson used his artistic license and changed the color to red for emphasis.

Distant Meadow

Tommy Thompson painted "Distant Meadow" during a plein air workshop conducted by Roger Dale Brown at Leiper's Fork, TN. Both artists enjoy painting landscapes around the country.

Aubrey's Creek

Tommy Thompson painted "Aubrey's Creek" while participating in a plein air workshop in Leiper's Fork, TN, with the award-winning artist, Roger Dale Brown. Barns and farms are featured in many of Thompson's paintings probably because of his love of the simpler way of life.

Pretty Petals

Tommy Thompson produced this still life in the impasto style of painting. By scooping up paint that he had only partially mixed, the artist piled the oil paint on like icing with a palette knife. As Kevin Macpherson says in his book, Landscape Painting: Inside and Out, "a thick, juicy stroke can be carved into alternative shapes easier than a very thin passage."

Roger Dale Brown Conducts Plein Air Workshop at Leiper's Fork, TN

Award-winning artist, Roger Dale Brown OPA, paints a demo during his plein air oil workshop at Leiper's Fork, TN in late September 2009. Roger has won numerous awards during his painting career; the talented painter has conducted workshops throughout the United States and China. In January 2010 he will be teaching at Chicago's Palette and Chisel. Be sure to check out his web site to learn more about this great artist and teacher. Tommy Thompson and his daughter Michelle Rideout, had the pleasure of participating in Roger's plein air workshop at picturesque Leiper's Fork. In October the father/daughter artists will be studying with Jeremy Doss in the same quaint village.

Roger Dale Brown Critiques My Daughter's Painting

Roger Dale Brown provided expert advice to Michelle Rideout, my artist daughter, last weekend during his plein air oil workshop at Leiper's Fork, TN. Michelle has been painting about five years but has several years of experience in various phases of art. She has studied under some of the finest artists in Tennessee, honing her skills in pastel, watercolor and oil. Today she is focusing more on oil and will be attending another plein air oil workshop with the talented artist, Jeremy Doss, at Leiper's Fork in October.

Tommy Thompson Paints En Plein Air at Leiper's Fork, TN

Last weekend Tommy Thompson had the pleasure of participating in Roger Dale Brown's Plein Air Oil Workshop at beautiful Leiper's Fork, TN. Roger is an award-winning painter, who will be teaching at the Palette and Chisel in Chicago in January 2010. To learn more about this great painter and teacher, log onto his web site.