Discover a vibrant collection of artwork from talented local artists, proudly presented by the Williamson County Arts Council. Each piece on display is a testament to the creativity and passion of our community. Whether you’re an art enthusiast or a casual observer, you’ll find something that speaks to you. Best of all, every artwork is available for purchase, allowing you to bring a piece of local artistry into your home.
Learn more about the featured artists below!
Creating art on canvas occurred late in Michelle’s life. In early 2017 a gentleman asked a question during a job interview: “What are you passionate about?” Pondering the answer to that question led Michelle back to school to get an Interior Design degree, hoping this would fill a void. Along the way she found her true self and started painting at the age of 52.
Floral beauty has always been Michelle’s sanctuary causing a visceral response to the beauty and possibilities of nature. Communicating her point of view, good, bad or ugly is accomplished through flowers, nature and color – putting voice to canvas through paint and palette knife/brushes, in an impressionistic/abstract fashion. Being a life-long fan of Monet and spending countless hours as a child combing through coffee table books, has greatly influenced her.
After a lifetime of feeling hidden, renewed child-like joy and professional purpose bubble out and is reflected on the canvas. The emotive translations of life are expressed with color-dragging, color-lacing and texture building techniques which is purely using palette knives. Recently, during her artist residency in France in September 2021, Michelle discovered a new facet to her painting and her My Coloring Book series was born.
The “My Coloring Book” series has significant meaning to Michelle as the discovery mimicked her childhood coloring books. The thick black lining, intricate backgrounds and embellished details were all things Michelle colored on the page as a child. Now, the black/gold or white outline, details abstract brushstrokes of flowers, leaves, branches that loosely resemble flowers of different kinds.
Michelle has been published in over 17 media/publications, won 31 international awards, awarded two overseas artist residencies, licensed with two major retailers and is represented by 2 galleries.
Michelle lives in Nashville, TN considers herself a true “late bloomer”, a badge she wears proudly.
At around 12 years of age, Tim Hodge decided he wanted to be an animator. After starting his artistic career as a medical illustrator for nurse training films, he eventually started working on animated TV commercials, and ultimately landed a job at Disney Feature
Animation where he worked on The Lion King, Pocahontas, Mulan, and Brother Bear. He left Disney for Big Idea Productions and directed several episodes of the video series VeggieTales.
However, in the last 10-15 years he has refocused his interests to his painting origins and fine arts. “While I love the team eLort that goes into film production, I find that I am thriving more as an artist, finding my own voice in my paintings.”
“Painting is magic, and I mostly feel like the audience as much as I do the magician. When a seemingly random smudge of color becomes an image: a face, a dog, a cup of tea, I
continue to be amazed. And while there is immense satisfaction when another person
connects with my work, I would continue to paint even is my work was never seen.”
Tim has had paintings in many juried shows as well as a group show at Lipscomb University (“Animators After Dark” featuring the paintings of four local animators), and a one man show at Columbia Community College in September of 2023. He currently has paintings hanging at Athens University in Alabama, and is a regular participant in the Franklin Art Crawl.