"Curious Cows," 9x12 Inch Oil, by Michelle Rideout
Artist Michelle Rideout Invited to Participate in the Fine Art in Brentwood (TN) Show and Sale
Brentwood, TN, November 7, 2011--Artist Michelle Rideout, daughter of Tommy Thompson, has been juried into the Fine Art in Brentwood Show and Sale, slated for December 2-4, 2011. Rideout creates works in a variety of mediums--oil, pastel, watercolor, and charcoal/conte. Brentwood Academy is located at 219 Granny White Pike, Brentwood, TN. Art show hours are Friday, December 2, 5:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M.; Saturday, December 3, 10 A.M. to 6 P.M.; and Sunday, December 4 1 P.M. to 5 P.M.
“I am happiest when I am immersed in art,” Rideout says. “I hope that my paintings add serenity to the lives of all who view them.” She was once described by the late writer Alex Haley as having an "internal spirit that is just as genuine as her classic appearance is on the outside." Her paintings reflect that genuineness of spirit and serenity. She was honored to have an exhibition of her paintings at Belle Meade Plantation Art Gallery in Nashville, TN, during February 2-28, 2010, and at the Brentwood Public Library during October 1-November 30, 2011.
The artist has been drawing since she was a small child with her artist father, Tommy Thompson, as her favorite teacher. During 15 years of experience as an illustrator with Village Prints, Florence, AL, she captured the essence of small town America in hundreds of composite pencil renderings (villageprints.com). Her prints have often been used for civic fundraisers, raising money around the country and receiving greater prominence through features in national magazines. She was commissioned to draw the boyhood homes of record producer Sam Phillips and writer, Alex Haley.
Next, Rideout turned her attention to fine art. She has studied watercolor with Carolyn Wright of Chattanooga, TN; plein air oil with Nashville artists, Jason Saunders, Roger Dale Brown, and Kim Barrick, Atlanta artist Jeremy Doss, and Colorado artist Jeanne Mackenzie; pastel with Pat Thompson, Franklin, TN; oil portraits with Dawn Whitelaw, Franklin, TN, and Casey Baugh, Framingham, MA, and Chattanooga, TN.
“I cannot imagine life without art,” Rideout says. “I am inspired to create paintings that reflect God's wonderful creations in nature.” She graduated with a B.S. degree in graphic design in 1989 from the University of North Alabama, Florence, AL.
The talented artist enjoys painting with a portrait painting group in Franklin, TN and with Nashville’s Chestnut Group, plein air painters for the land. She is also a member of the Portrait Society of America.
More examples of Rideout’s work can be seen at www.michellerideout.com. Check out www.brentwoodacademy.com for more information about the fine art show. Thirty percent of each sale at the art show is tax deductible; no sales tax is charged.
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