Reckon with Art

by Tim Richardson

Leading up to the main exhibition and sale on Saturday, all the forecasters were calling for rain. On the day of, many diehard Vols fans around here were anxiously getting ready for a 2:30pm kickoff at Neyland Stadium against a good Auburn team.

Still, on that same Saturday, October 3, from noon until the doors opened at 1pm, one hundred and forty-seven people in Livingston, Tennessee queued up to be among the first to see all the Paint Livingston 2026 art on display in the Community Center gym.

This art, they had been told, was inspired by the beautiful corner of the world that we call home. The artists who created the paintings were from ten different states, as far away as Massachusetts, Michigan, Arkansas, Texas, and Florida.

Many of the townsfolk in line had witnessed these artists painting throughout the county earlier in the week. The artists were spotted in random fields, near the lake, and all around downtown, their heads cocked to the side, pausing, brush in hand, as they applied paint to canvas and captured fleeting moments of the natural beauty, the dappled sunlight, all around us.

At 1pm, the people in line streamed through the doors of the gym. And then more people streamed in. And still more. Over the next three hours, it’s fair to say that we experienced the biggest gathering of people ever assembled in Livingston to view, appreciate. and buy fine art paintings. Five hundred? More? These were not just residents of Overton County but also visitors from nearby Crossville and Cookeville, as well as from Nashville, about an hour and half away.

Some folks smiled when they recognized a house and hay bales in a field that they drive by every day. One man teared up when he saw his grandfather’s first tractor, a relic of the past, tucked away in a dilapidated old barn. One attendee stood transfixed in front of a painting of an island near Willow Grove Marina, trying to figure out how someone could so expertly capture the trees reflecting in the water, the light glinting.

Scenes like this unfolded all afternoon. We were pleasantly surprised to see many of our friends and neighbors at the show. We had a good time, all of us, admiring the art, a little bemused, wondering how in the world this had come about in our little town.

Mostly, we were just happy. Happy be be united in our fellowship, happy to be enjoying such beautiful works of art, some of us happy to take one of these paintings home, some happy knowing that the money being raised by this event will be put back into creating more events like this, more occasions for appreciating art, more opportunities to be reminded that the world is full of beauty and lots of talented and good people.

This is what it means to reckon with art.

It’s hard to be cynical in a moment like this. It’s hard to look first for ulterior motives and tribes. It’s hard to have your existing biases confirmed quickly and then move on, closed-minded, numb to beauty, obvious talent, and commitment to craftsmanship.

Here in Livingston, Tennessee, we are reckoning with art. We are inviting artists and art into our lives and we are pleasantly surprised by the thoughts and feelings that we have. We like it. And we want more of it.

Some of us are becoming curious about these men and women who make a living by painting towns like ours, countrysides like ours, lakes and streams like ours. Cows like ours. Old rusty trailers and working cement silos like ours.

Who are these people, these artists? What motivates them? What do they see when they see Overton County?

Some of them seem quite proud of their work. They put a big price on it. Pricier than many of us expected anyone would ask for a painting of a barn, or a lake, or a cow.

But most of these paintings sold, to people we know, because, well, just because. Who can really say why a painting speaks to you? It just does. And you are thankful for the conversation.

This past Saturday, October 10, a week after the art exhibit, my wife Rita and I hung out with friends who play music and enjoy good food and spending time together. The Vols were on the TV, again, beating Arkansas. The pickers and songwriters and singers were in fine form. Looking around the walls of that living room and kitchen, I counted six paintings that were created during the first three years of Paint Livingston.

Paint Livingston 2026 is in the books. We’re already working on Paint Livingston 2027, which will be our fourth annual. Between now and then, you can come to one of our bi-monthly Art Mixers, and you can check out the Libby Allen High School Art Contest exhibition and award ceremony next April.

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