Last year I and a friend of mine drove up to Atlanta to take part in the Olmstead Plein Air invitational. No, I wasn’t one of the featured artists, but I did take part in the Paint Quick Art and Sale – we get to paint “plein air” in a very beautiful park for two hours; our paintings are then displayed alongside some nationally famous artists.
This year, since my friend had just gotten back from Tahiti, I went alone. Got up at 3:30 in the morning and started the 3.5 hour trip to get there in time for the sign in and to get our canvases stamped. Well, around 6:30 I was on I 75, and a deer jumped right in front of my car! I hit the deer, looked in the rear view mirror, and saw it flung all the way across the other side of I 75 into the woods. Needless to say, my little rental car (a Hundi Accent) was damaged and I had to pull over. The front bumper was destroyed, and the radiator was bent into the fan, but not all the way into the engine block. Also, the left front plastic splash was scraping against the tire.
Well, the deputy came, took a report, and called the wrecker. Since it was Sunday morning, everything in Forsyth, Georgia was closed. So I called Tom and he was gracious enough to come and get me.
While I was waiting at the ingles grocery store, they had some beautiful flowers out in pallets. So I pulled out my paints and painted this little 8 x 10 painting. So you could say I had my own little Quick Paint.
I’ll probably touch it up when I get a chance.
This Saturday morning, I’m off to Port St. Joe for the Forgotten Coast QuickDraw!
I do feel very fortunate not to have been hurt. Just goes to show you should always say your prayers before you go to bed every night!
Tracy L. Foutz, artist 