A woman applies her brush to the canvas at Valentine's Painting Night.
GREENEVILLE– Brushstrokes spread across canvases throughout Annie Hogan Byrd Fine Arts Center as community members demonstrated their take on a Mediterranean landscape during the sold-out Valentine’s Painting Night atTusculum University.
Community members, as well as Dr. Scott Hummel and Starr Hummel, Tusculum’s president and first lady, displayed their artistic abilities during the third annual event, presented by the university’s Center for the Arts, Thursday, Feb. 13. Benjamin Conley, assistant professor ofart and design, and Rouja Green, director of theCenter for the Artsand a 14-year art teacher, guided the participants with their painting but encouraged them to express their individual tastes.
The event was open to people at all stages of artistic skill, including those who had never painted.
Matt and Ashley Copeland of Greeneville were two of the attendees at Valentine’s Painting Night. It was the second straight year the couple attended the event, and they welcomed the opportunity to have an enjoyable evening, meet others and support the university. Matt used to paint a lot when he was young and still enjoys that activity but said that hobby belongs more to his wife now.
“I paint pretty regularly, so I’m usually trying to seek out events for us to attend,” said Ashley, who likes multiple painting forms but considers landscapes her favorite. “My mother-in-law saw this event in the paper, and she asked whether we wanted to go.”
Lisa Emmette, another Greeneville resident, was also back for a second year. She said the first time she came in 2024 was helpful because she was experiencing a difficult time following the passing of her sister. Her mother was also experiencing challenges, and when her husband learned about Valentine’s Painting Night, he thought it would benefit her. She said that is exactly what happened.
“It took my mind off my sister dying,” she said. “I was taking care my mom, and it kind of relaxed me a little bit. I just really enjoyed it. My mind went into the painting, and I forgot what had happened for that night.”
She said she decided to return this year because of the good time she had in 2024. She was looking forward to being back at Tusculum. Unlike Ashley, she is not a regular painter, but she enjoys learning how to mix colors, be creative and go in her own direction with what she paints on the canvas. She said Conley was helpful.
Conley taught the painters in the Annie Hogan Byrd lobby, while Green worked with a group in the adjacent Clem Allison Art Gallery. This was Conley’s first time as the lead painter, and he said the evening was great. He said it is fun to support artists of all abilities, but he particularly loves to work with those who do not have any painting experience because they have such an open mind.
“Folks with no experience are going to follow along, but they are also going to start making their own creative decisions as well,” he said. “That’s why I emphasized the crossroads during certain points of the instructional time, when I asked, ‘Where do you want your sun on the left side or do you want it on the right side?’ That’s important because it is completely up to the painter.”
When Conley looked at the trees in the paintings, for example, he saw some people who used a pine tree look, while others stuck with the Mediterranean type. He also saw small and large suns in various locations.
Green said she was extremely pleased with the outcome of this year’s Valentine’s Painting Night. The Center for Arts sold out the painting stations in the lobby. That led the Center for the Arts to open a second, smaller area in the gallery for another session, and that also sold out.
“We really appreciate the community’s support,” Green said. “This means a lot to me personally because this is something I started from scratch n 2023. To see it grow and flourish, that is very rewarding for me. I’m thrilled about that. Everybody seems very happy about it, so I can’t wish for more.”
Valentine’s Painting Night serves as a fundraiser for Tusculum’s art program for the university’s students. To learn more about that program, please visithttps://site.tusculum.edu/art-and-design/. Anyone who wants to donate further for that program should call the Office of Institutional Advancement at 423-636-7303.
More information about the university is available atwww.tusculum.edu.
