Local Atlanta Artists Sneak Peek
It’s been a long journey to the Atlanta area, but the paint is dry, the 40 taps are installed, and the scratch-kitchen is ready to go. As with all of our restaurants, we work with local artists to meld our Signature Mountain South Tupelo style with the community we are moving into. Here is a little sneak peek at the pieces you’ll find on our walls in Sandy Springs….these are just hints, you’ll have to come in for the full effect!
One of the puzzle pieces from Ford’s Burger artwork
What is more iconic and Atlantan than a thick juicy burger and an ice cold Coke? Ford takes these staples and twists them ever so slightly, with the intent to make you “consider” the subject in a new way and to make you hungry! His artwork is made up of puzzle pieces, cutting up canvases to show glimpses, which are then put together to create the whole picture. Each of his small works of art can stand on their own, but when grouped together make an entirely different composition all together.
Durant’s Artwork Mid-Process
They say paint what you know, so when your studio backs up to a goat farm, you are going to know goats. Durant’s work evolves as she goes, making mistakes along the way and letting those mistakes take her down a new path. For Tupelo she has created a very simple, but lovely rendition of two goats, friends enjoying each other company. The final piece is patched together in a blue and yellow collage made with magazines and newspapers right from Sandy Springs. You feel the warmth from the rich colors and the obvious connection between her subjects. She “hopes it brings sunshine to the wall.” We think she succeeded!
Cut out from Linn’s Fox Theater piece
The theater marquees, neighborhood mom & pops signs, a classic neon vestige of old that are slowly disappearing. Linn’s work preserves these iconic landmarks with hard lines, and just the right balance of documentation and interpretation. These Linocuts, as they are called, combine traditional wood cutting techniques with a modern material, linoleum. These black and white prints are striking, and bring you back in time to tell the story of an era and the culture from our past. Her connection to that past comes through in little, personal touches. For instance, “Swan Lake” on the Fox Theater marque, holds a special place in her heart.
Just one of Westfall’s playful chairs.
Westfall enjoys telling children the story of Pablo Picasso, an artist who could have easily been told that his abstracts were wrong and given up. She counsels children to not be scared of what they make, and she incorporates that fearless and childlike whimsy into her own work. “I’m happiest when I’m painting like a kid”, she says, and you can see this in her art – shapes and colors hint at reality, but with a very distinct playfulness. For Tupelo, Westfall created two chairs with worn beauty, chipping layers of paint. The chipped paint and use of layered colors tell the story of history, stability and of course, a hint of childlike joy.
A piece from Moore’s Barn Collection
Moore’s work is ethereal and dream like. Her art resembles a past memory you try and conjure up, but the ends are a bit hazy still. You know the barn, remember it, but the thing that stays with you is the feeling, so getting the exacts aren’t as important. Her work hints to reality, but captures the emotion perfectly. You’ll find two of her nostalgic barns on our walls. One is a rustic Georgia style barn, and the other is loosely based on a barn right outside of our hometown of Asheville, NC.