Greene's Enduring Gardener:
A Greene Profile by Alex Carrier

Artist Chee Kludt Ricketts is a gardener twice-over. While her time tending the landscape around her Greene County home may be limited to season and weather; flowers blossom year-round on the landscapes she paints in her studio.

Since she and her husband Rodney moved to Greene in 2006, Ricketts has been creating her studio space and building up her body of work. From April 2nd through May 5th, that work will be on display at the Shenandoah Valley Arts Center.

The solo exhibition is titled “Nature’s Enduring Palette” and showcases Rickett’s watercolor renderings of the natural beauty she finds in the world around her. No washed out pallid paintings for this watercolorist but pictures as vibrant and lively as the artist herself.

Diminutive in stature but not nature, Ricketts (whose given name is Caroline) laughs at the fact she never grew out of her nickname.

“Chee means “little one” in the Sioux language.”

The South Carolina native studied art at Agnes Scott College in Georgia and eventually moved with her husband to Tidewater, Virginia where she created and was chairwoman of the Fine Arts program at Hampton Roads Academy. Retirement to the Blue Ridge was a natural move for the artist.

“My husband is an avid hiker and has hiked many sections of the Appalachian Trail,” explains Ricketts. “Old Rag and White Oak Canyon in Madison are two of our favorite hikes.”

“We were interested in moving someplace where we would have the opportunity to continue hiking and spending time outdoors,” she continues. “What I found in Greene – and it was a wonderful surprise - is this community of like-minded artists, who are creative and supportive. It is a wonderful community to be a part of.”

“I think artists need time alone to reflect and produce,” she explains, “but it is also very important to have people you can bounce ideas off of and can share your interests with.”

Those fellow artists find a place in Rickett’s work within the landscapes she loves and paints. While the local group of plein air (a French word meaning in the open air) artists pursue their art, Ricketts paints the painters right into her landscapes.

While people sometimes find their way onto Rickett’s canvases, it is the memories and emotions evoked by flowers and places that inspire her most.

“The painting of the Double Dutch irises is of blossoms from plants I brought here from a bed my mother and I planted,” says the artist with a quiet smile. “When we moved from Carolina to Virginia and ultimately here, I brought cuttings from my grandmother’s garden and my aunt’s.”

“That is the genesis of these paintings,” she explains. “It is a way for me to connect with my mother, grandmother, aunt and friends who come and bring bouquets. Think about how we use flowers for special occasions: weddings, babies, birthdays, anniversaries. That was the beginning of my desire to paint flowers.”

The art and technique of watercolor painting shares equal importance with Ricketts as the subject she paints.

“Flowers are certainly a natural subject matter for watercolors. The transparency of color and the reflection of light of the surface of the watercolor is not unlike the light you get off the surface of a flower.”

“I am very interested in strong value contrast – light and dark,” she continues. “I try to emphasize those to create the emotional content of my subject. I use the strong value contrast and intensify the color so it makes a more powerful impression in the mind of the viewer.”

More of those viewers will have opportunities to enjoy and buy Rickett’s paintings and to meet the artist in person. She will be hosting an open house at her studio during April’s Garden Week and extends an invitation for art-lovers to visit her studio in Greene on an appointment-only basis.

For visitors who ask the most common questions of this artist, they will find out two important things.

“How long have I been working on my art,” contemplates Rickett’s when asked? “All my life.” And to the second question, which is her favorite piece of work, she replies “The one I am currently painting.”

To find out more about Rickett’s exhibition from April 2nd – May 5th at the Shenandoah Valley Arts Center; to get information on the April 19th Garden Week Open House, or to schedule an appointment with the artist at her studio, contact Chee Ricketts at 434-985-4051 or visit her website at www.cheekludtricketts.com.