Hometown Brandon - Winter 2015

Furthermore, there are so many
interesting buildings around Oxford,
and with each one I’ve painted, I’ve
learned to look at in a new way. William
Faulkner’s Rowan Oak is one of my
favorite places. When you walk on the
gravel towards the house, you can smell
the cedar trees that line the path. I’m
also attracted to Rowan Oak because so
many people from all over the world
come to see where William Faulkner
wrote his tedious novels. One time when
I was sitting in the grass sketching the
house, a man walked up and started
talking to me about what I was drawing.
An interesting conversation started up,
and I learned that he was from London,
England, and was in Mississippi just to
see Rowan Oak. Clearly he was
Faulkner’s number one fan.
But, it was interesting to talk to this
man because his experiences were so
different from mine. Now, how many
places can you casually bump into
someone from London? That’s what
inspires me about Rowan Oak. Not
only is it Faulkner’s home, but it’s a
hidden gem in Oxford that attracts
people from far and wide.
Another neat place that I wanted to
paint was Taylor Grocery in Taylor,
Mississippi. It’s about twenty minutes
from Oxford, and is home to some of the
best catfish on the planet. The grocery
is easily the town’s main attraction,
because Taylor is a sleepy place that
reminds you of days gone by. A church
on each corner surrounds the grocery,
along with a few houses where you wish
the walls could talk. Just being there, you
can tell it’s a special place, and I learned
to appreciate every crooked board and
every cracked brick when I painted it.
It’s classically southern, and I love it.
I see my art as a way to communicate
with where I am, and as a way to capture
what is special to me.
Hometown Brandon • 33