As my friend Dawn Ford remarked recently, “It’s great to eat caviar and drink wine in the middle of the afternoon.”
Especially if the day is your birthday and you are at Blackberry Farm with a bunch of nice folks listening to a truly fascinating artist who is in East Tennessee as the guest of the Knoxville Museum of Art.
That was the occasion on Friday, March 2, a birthday I share with Jim Clayton and Dr. Seuss. Dawn and I were attending the Artist’s Luncheon spotlighting painter Hunt Slonem, the featured artist of the KMA’s L’Amour du Vin 2012 weekend, a huge annual fund-raising wine auction. Hunt Slonem is a true character. His primary medium is oil and he describes his technique as “wet on wet.” But it is the subject matter that is so compelling to me: monkeys, birds and rabbits are among his favorite subjects. But he also is obsessed with saints and historical figures. And color, color, color.
“I believe in painting floors, walls and ceilings of a room the same color,” he told the 50 or so folks gathered in the sun terrace of The Barn at Blackberry Farm. “But I won’t paint the trim in a room of an old building. I leave the peeling trim.” Slonem has ample experience with this. He owns three huge historic mansions: two plantations in Louisiana and the Cordts mansion in upstate New York. Click here for a wonderful profile of him by Rita Braver a few years ago on CBS Sunday Morning. Click here for a fun read about him in the New York Times.
Part of what makes Slonem so much fun to listen to is his wholehearted belief in interacting with the supernatural. His stories are full of references to things he has been told by psychics, fortune tellers, healers, mystics, sages, ghosts and dead people including Abraham Lincoln and Rudolph Valentino. Seriously. And his occasionally self-deprecating humor makes his talk and slide-show of his work so much fun. “I’m a firm believer,” he said, “that if you hate something, you should buy a lot of it. I hate depression glass. But I kept seeing it in flea markets and now I have about 100 depression glass candlesticks and they look kind of great!”
Here are a few photos of this wonderful Friday experience. I am afraid I am becoming addicted to Blackberry Farm. When anyone mentions they are having a charitable event there, I practically race to give them my credit card number! This could become a very expensive habit.
According to Sam Beall, Edge Hill is the second oldest wine vineyard on the North Coast of California. “It’s the Chardonnay that made California Chardonnay famous,” he said. Here is a link to Edge Hill, but the website is quite limited. If you’d like to learn more about it click here for an interesting article about Samantha’s father.
Looks like great fun. And Mike Winchester is as handsome as ever!
You are right as always. Sounds like the perfect Friday. So glad it was a celebration of your Birthday.
Cynthia you outdone yourself on this one! So glad you were there to celebrate your 29th in style. Aren’t we just lucky to have a neighbor like Blackberry?
Annette: Hahaha .Agree about Mike! Thanks, Mickey. And, David: Can’t wait till your next event there. We are VERY lucky to have them.
Lois and I have been big pals with Hunt for many years. We’ve got some terrific Slonems in the collection. He’s a true original.
Hey, Leigh! Wow, you know him? What a trip he must be in “real life!” I want to see the Slonems you have. I was so thrilled to see your comment. Thanks so much!
OK–next year I’m going whether it’s your birthday or not. Sounds too fabulous to miss.
Happy Birthday and John Kelly looks so handdsome I have four portriats my son and three grandsons that he painted. Looked like a great evening. Wish I could have been there Fay
Wow! I want your life. What a great birthday setting and the food looks delicious. Cynthia: You deserved a great birthday.
Thanks, everyone! Gay, yes, you really need to go next year. You would love it. Fay, John WAS handsome. How lucky you are to have those portraits! And Monique, you practically DO have my life! You moved downtown, love it as much as I do, and have even joined our progressive dinner group. Next year: Blackberry Farm in March!
Samantha Rudd was so down to earth and literally invited everyone to stop by if and when they’re in wine country. I went to the KMA event Saturday evening and I’m still dreaming about the fantastic food and wine pairings.
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