Franklin Art Scene Spotlights BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™ Initiative in July

Franklin Art Scene July 2017

The Franklin Art Scene returns to downtown Franklin on July 7 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., featuring unique pieces created by a wide range of local artisans while promoting the community’s new BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™initiative.

The Downtown Franklin Association, who coordinates the free monthly art crawl among dozens of locations, is putting an emphasis on four-legged companions as a way of spotlighting BETTER CITIES FOR PETS™, launched in mid-June. The program, sponsored by Mars Petcare and the City of Franklin, was created to encourage more places for dogs and cats to live, visit and play, and downtown Franklin was selected as the pilot location. Several of the sites for this month’s Art Scene will feature pet-themed art that will interest the whole family, including your furry friends!

Friday’s locations are slated to offer a variety of magnificent work, ranging from mixed-media pieces to original oil and watercolor paintings, including:

Boutique MMM, at 238 Public Square, will display the work of painter Emily Newman, who translates her perspective on natural beauty and her creative passion to canvas.

Gallery 202, located on 2nd Avenue S., will feature Melvin Toledo, whose realist paintings are an expression of his own observations and respect for nature and of the beauty that can be found in everyday life.

Historic Franklin Presbyterian Church, at 435 Main Street, will host mother and daughter artists Lisa and Leah Boorse. At a very young age, Lisa desired to capture emotion and feeling and translate the experience into her drawings. Her daughter, Leah, credits her mother as being her biggest inspiration.

Hope Church, at 137 4th Avenue S., will host the work of Susan Napolitano who has been involved in the creative community for more than 25 years in Nashville and Franklin, as well as in New York City.

Imagine Box Emporium, at 311 N. Margin Street, is set to show original illustrations created by Cory Basil for his young reader novel The Perils of Fishboy.

Jack Yacoubian Jewelers, located at 300 Public Square, will highlight mixed-media artist Randy L. Purcell. Since 2009, Purcell has been working on a series of encaustic paintings using a unique process of transferring ink from recycled magazine pages onto a thin layer of beeswax.

Parks Realty, located at 415 Main Street, will feature Katie Neal, whose oil paintings are about color, materiality and the process that is painting.

The Visitor Center, at 400 Main Street, will showcase Christopher Green, who is best known for his encaustic paintings and a colorful, intense and highly detailed style.

The Williamson County Archives, at 611 Main Street, will welcome Barbara Blanks Bullard, who has thought of herself as an artist since she first held a crayon. Her love of creating art has been the defining force in her life.

The Williamson County Enrichment Center, located at 101 Everbright Avenue, will feature Amanda Harrison, a watercolor artist and a member of the Arts Council.

Bagbey House, at 134 4th Avenue N., is showcasing the work of local portrait and garden photographer Kevin Wimpy.

Many of the galleries and working studios serve complimentary refreshments, some offer live music and many will welcome pets that evening. A free trolley ride, sponsored by Genesis of Cool Springs, will circulate among all the stops, and patrons can jump on and off at will from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

For more information on individual sites and artists, visit www.facebook.com/franklinartscene.com. To download maps and applications, visit www.franklinartscene.com.