Dennas Davis wanted to “make a statement and help” the Harpeth River Watershed Association (HRWA) bring the river to life visually. The project was down to the wire and Davis worked diligently to meet the deadline for finishing his 24-foot-wide painting. Donna talked to Davis about his work and the work of the HRSA.
The 8 by 24 foot masterpiece has yet to attract a permanent home, but hopes are it will find its way to the Nashville International Airport for at least a while. The painting was commissioned to bring attention to the HRWA in their efforts to sponsor a new Tennessee State license plate. If 1,000 people pre-order the plate, it will become a reality. Davis volunteered his time and talent to the project.
“Art doesn’t last, but the river does,” said Davis, an artist who has worked in Nashville and Franklin for over 30 years. “You can work really hard to preserve art—but it’s still transient. There’s a Van Gogh painting, Vase with Irises, which was created in 1889, and not even 150 years later, the work’s pink background is now white. That painting would be valued at many millions of dollars—but what value could we place on our resources? In 1,000 years, there’s not going to be much left of the art we create now, but the river will be there–needs to be there–for tens of thousands of years. Just the way our ancestors depended on it, our descendants will depend on it, too.”
Darrell Waltrip Automotive Group sponsored the Paint the Harpeth community awareness project supporting HRWA’s mission. Davis’ life-size mural will be the central décor for HRWA’s Annual River Swing fundraiser auction, dinner and dance on October 5th (tickets are available now at www.RiverSwing.org). After River Swing, the enormous work will be displayed in the watershed’s collective living room, in various public spaces around the community. Paint the Harpeth prints will also be available for purchase this fall, in a size more likely to fit over your sofa, with profits going to support HRWA.
