http://www.outdoorpainter.com /August-September 2019 73
ARTINMEMORY
“WhenmyfatherpassedawayinMarch,”saysJoanneQuillen,“wewantedtodosomething
specialinhismemoryforourthreeadultchildren.Hehadalwayschampionedspending‘extra’
moneyinwaysthatbroughtlastingjoyormadea positivedifferencetoothers.Sinceourart
collectionhascertainlybroughtusjoy,andtheOlmstedPleinAirInvitationaleventimproves
themetroAtlantaareaandsupportsfineartists,wedecidedtobuya paintingforeachofthem
atthisyear’sevent.Theyallpickedsomethingtheyloved—andeachthinktheirpaintingis by
farthebest:LilySunDapplesbyChristineLashley,ComingInbyJillBasham,andBarnDanceby
RustyJewell.Thesepaintingscurrently hang on our walls, and we’ll give them to our kids in my
father’s memory at Christmas.”beenrestrictedtopaintingina verylimited
areaaroundOlmstedPark.Joannawandered
aroundandsawHiuLaipaintingthispiece.It
wasloveat firstsight,fromthecompositionthe
artistchoserightthroughherexecution.
“We’vemadeallofourartpurchasesat the
Olmstedevent,oras a resultofmeetingartists
there.Welovetheartwehavepurchased,but
wearealsocommittedtosupportingthisart
form,notonlyfortheartistswehavecometo
caresomuchabout,butalsofortheAtlanta
region.If peoplelikeusdon’tbuyartwhen
theartistscometotown,we’lllosethisterrific
culturalevent.
“Asforwhywebuyanyparticularpiece,
it’salwaysbecauseit’swhatpleasesusthemost
fromanartistwhosebodyofworkwerespect.
Happily,thatis oftena piecebyoneofour
growingbandofartistfriends.Atthispointwe
havenotpurchaseda piecefroma gallery,but
wearefollowingourfavoritesonInstagram
andsomedaysoonweprobablywillpurchase
somethingweseethere,eitherdirectlyfromthe
artistorfroma galleryrepresentingtheirwork.
“Todate,we’vecollectedpiecesfromCindy
Baron,JillBasham,RussellJewell,Thomas
JeffersonKitts,HiuLaiChong,Christine
Lashley,TomLynch,KathieOdom,Cynthia
Rosen,JohnBrandonSills,PatrickSaunders,
JillSteenhuis,TaraWill,andVladislavYeliseyev.
If wehadto,fortodayat least,we’dsayour
favoritesincludeChristineLashley’sGarden
WhitesandTaraWill’sDeepdeneSparkle, which
wepurchasedbeforeit wasawardedBest
PaintinginOlmstedLinearParkat thisyear’s
event.
“Ahugepartof ourloveof pleinairis that
it’sso personal.Asa resultof havingdeveloped
a relationshipwithChristineLashleyandJill
Basham,I invitedthemto comeandpaintfrom
the35th-floorwindowsof mymidtownAtlanta
offices.Bothproducedhigh-perspectivepieces
theyenteredintothisyear’sOlmstedcompetition.
“Theonlychallengewefaceinterms
ofcollecting(otherthansavingourmoney
tobeabletopurchaseart)is findingworthy
placementsinourhome.Welovethesepieces
andtheartiststheyrepresent,andwewantall
ofthemtobewithus. As a result, we rotate our
paintings frequently.”
(OPPOSITEPAGE) Deepdene Sparkle
TaraWill
2019,pastel, 24 x 24 in.
Plein air
(TOP)ComingIn, JillBasham,
2019, oil, 9 x 12 in., plein air(MIDDLE)LilySunDapples,
ChristineLashley,2019,oil,
9 x 12 in., plein air(BOTTOM)BarnDance, Russell
Jewell,2019, watercolor, 12 x 24 in.,
plein air