The Union County Art Council has sponsored a project called “Paint the Town” and several local businesses have jumped on board to participate. Union County Property Assessor Randy Turner was the first to have UCHS Senior Cadie Chappel to paint the windows of his office at the UC Court House. After telling the Art Council what he hired Cadie to do with the windows in his office, the Art Council came up with the “Paint the Town” Project. He said “he gets compliments all day” on his windows.

The way the project works is, the student is introduced to the business owner by an Art Council Board Member, then the student shows them some possible designs that they have completed. The student negotiates the fee and times they will be able to paint. The Art Council pays for supplies only and sets up the businesses. The student also agrees to clean the windows off when requested. The type of paint used is Temperant Paint, which is easily removed with water and soap. Hopefully, there are life lessons in this for the student by coming up with a design and negotiating the price.

Union County High School Senior Cadie Chappel was the first artist to be willing to do the job. Janet Holloway, the owner of “Janet’s Hair and Tan”, was a business that also participated. She had four windows that faced Maynardville Highway. She was very pleased with the job Cadie did.

Next, she tackled the UT Extension and 4-H Office on Maynardville Highway. There she painted a farm scene.

This past Saturday, Cadie got busy on Li'l Jo's BBQ Restaurant in Maynardville.

Curtis Petree, the owner of Li'l Jo's, wanted his Pink Pig Logo that he has on his T-shirt’s for his painting. Cadie was tickled to paint the Pink Pig Logo.

Cadie is a very pleasant person and all the businesses have been very pleased with her work. Every time Arts Council member Carol Pratt meets with Cadie and a local business, Cadie thanks her for giving her the opportunity to paint. In all fairness, Cadie is helping the businesses and the Art Council, without her, there would be no project. We thank Cadie for stepping up to the plate (pallet) and being so eager to help.

There are other projects spanning off of this and if the grants come through, who knows how far it will go.

Cadie’s future looks promising and she will have a great portfolio with all the windows she has painted.

Check out Union County Arts Facebook page to see some of “Paint the Town” photos.

If you own a business and would like to participate, contact UC Arts Councils Susan Boone at ucartscoop@aol.com or Carol Pratt at carolpratt1961@me.com.