FranklinIs Connected

Discovering The Trace

Discovering The Trace

Leiper’s Creek Gallery lays just a mile and a half from access to the Natchez Trace Parkway, tucked within the historic village made famous by attracting songwriters and artists for generations.  Jason A. Saunders will have an exhibition—Discovering The Trace—that features national parkway in all seasons.

Saunders came to the area five years ago in order to live in an environment that sustains his passion. His work is a cornerstone of the small town’s upscale gallery that garners critical praise from around the country for the consistent high quality found within its walls; all carefully selected by the owner Lisa Fox.

For three weeks this October, from the 11th through the 31st, the gallery will feature Saunders’ work in a one-man exhibition titled Discovering The Trace—The Natchez Trace Exhibition. It will offer 75 of Saunders’s landscape paintings, scenes captured over the last 12 months along the entire expanse of the national parkway.

The ambitious project is one that Saunders envisioned some seven years ago and finally chose to accomplish in time for this year’s autumn. During the course of this project, he painted en plein air and photographed scenes later executed in his studio. The sizes of his paintings range from small to massive.

In a magnanimous gesture, Saunders and Fox will donate a percentage of the exhibition’s earnings to The Land Trust for Tennessee, recognizing its efforts help preserve the Trace’s beautiful views in Tennessee.

President and executive director of the Land Trust, Jeanie Nelson, said, “At the heart of our work has always been the Natchez Trace…its history and its protection. We are honored to have a portion of the proceeds of this exhibition by one of the state’s finest landscape artists—Jason A. Saunders— that will go to help further our work.”

Lisa Fox added, “We are incredibly excited about this project and the possible ongoing ramifications it could have in the preservation campaign,” Fox said. “I don’t think a project like this has ever been attempted before and to have an artist like Jason give his time and talent to it is truly an important honor.”

The opening reception for Jason A. Saunders’ Discovering The Trace—The Natchez Trace Exhibition will be held October 11th from 6 to 9 p.m. For more information call 615.599.5102.

Leiper’s Creek Gallery is located at 4144 Old Hillsboro Road in historic Leiper’s Fork. Hours are Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. Contact owner Lisa Fox via (615) 599.5102, (615)519.1545 or leiperscreekgallery@comcast.net . Shown here, Spring Light by Jason A. Saunders.