Great Smoky Mountains No. 9 - Jade

When I was in elementary school, we had several outdoor recesses. That was good! The bad thing was that we’d all come in wired up from subzero Wisconsin windchills and then our poor teachers had the unenviable task of calming us down to focus on the next lesson. My favorite teachers read to us for a brief interval. During those story times, I would pull out a sheet of paper and draw while listening to the story.

To this day, I’ve maintained a dual-track mentality of processing a narrative while painting. “Jade” was painted on location along the Middle Prong River within the Smokies. I had a fun afternoon while creating this piece. In addition to the cool rush of the river and gorgeous scenery, I listened to the audiobook of RuPaul’s autobiography, The House of Hidden Meanings.

The best takeaway from his story? “Kindness is the highest form of intellect.”