Southern Story, 56"x20", acrylic on canvas

Sometimes I think I moved to the South just for the stories. Everybody has (at least) one. Meet someone and they’ll tell you theirs. Then they want to hear yours. Long before we even thought of coming here, Southern writers were among my favorite storytellers. I’m always going back to the novels and stories of  Pat Conroy (Prince of Tides), Charles Frazier (Cold Mountain), even Thomas Wolfe . Seems I can’t drive down the road without seeing a scene out of somebody’s story.

Southern Story, left panel

Storytellers paint word pictures and leave it to the reader’s (or listener’s) imagination to  visualize the picture in their heads. Sometimes seeing a particular place or object suggests its own story. I like painting pictures that imply a story: vintage signs, outdated machinery, old buildings. These are used things, artifacts from people’s lives. What’s their story?

Southern Story, center panel

I’ve combined these three paintings into one piece. Just by being together they start to tell a story. They’re like three movie sets ready for filming to begin or three backdrops in a play waiting for the actors to step on stage.

Southern Story, right panel

The scene’s set. You tell the story.