Our Artists

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Pete Alcott resides in Gatlinburg and has been creating glass art since 2004. A member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, Pete finds his inspiration in nature. Allowing the glass to flow and speak to him of its desired design is Pete’s favorite method of creating. Some of his creations represent the fluid movement of clouds and streams while other pieces celebrate the simple elegance of geometric shapes. Recently retired, Pete is looking forward to more walks in The Great Smoky Mountain National Park to provide more inspiration for his artwork.

Born and raised in Sydney Australia my passion for photography started at a young age. The Northern Beaches and the Mid North Coast of New South Wales provided the perfect fodder for my imagination and creative spirit. Family holidays always produced many fond and creative images with my family often waiting patiently for me to get the perfect shot. In 2016 a move to the beautiful Smoky Mountains of Tennessee unleashed a whole new vista just waiting to be explored. I'm happiest crawling through the woods looking for the tiniest of flowers and bugs, but I also love the wide open spaces and beautiful landscapes only to be found in the mountains of Tennessee.Married for 32 years to the love of my life, Randy and proud mother to Ryan and Lauren. They will always be my inspiration.

Val Stoffels is the daughter of a USAF staff sergeant and grew up in Nottingham England. She has been a resident of East Tennessee for the past 34 years. Although her degrees are in Mathematics and Instructional Technology, she has always studied art. She is currently a mathematics teacher in Sevier County and her mathematics background shows through in her level of detail. She has her own unique and colorful style that she acquired through her many years of study and practice. 

Deborah was born in Tennessee, a Knoxville, Tennessee resident where she pursues an active music/artist career. She loves to hike, bike and paint in the Great Smokey Mountains! Deborah’s art education has been private study with teachers Bordner and Ensing, workshops including Arrowmont in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Tennessee Artists Association, Jerry’s Artarama, and one semester at Maryville College.

https://youtu.be/oXqxDwn3WHk

Mary Ruden has artwork and sculpture in Public Art projects in several states. She was awarded a Preservation Award by the Knox Heritage East TN Preservation Alliance. Her bronze statues and recent quilts feature historic and famous people of Tennessee, including a bronze bust that has been on display in museums and City Hall. She has two large outdoor sculptures in Founders Park in Johnson City, TN; one at the American Museum of Science & Energy in Oak Ridge, TN, and several in North Carolina. Her artwork with orchids can be seen in an online gallery with the North American Orchid Conservation Center. She is a member of American Society of Botanical Artists and several art associations.

My husband and I moved to Sevier County in 2006 and I took up painting in about 2008. I had always wanted to try my hand at painting, but life had a way of getting in the way. After retiring and seeing the beautiful scenery here in the Smoky Mountains I decided to make time to paint. My mother and brother painted, and I am told that we are related to Thomas Eakins, the Great American Painter. 

After working on my own for a few years, I decided to take lessons and signed up for classes in Fountain city with Aurora Harrison Bull. Through the classes, I perfected my colors, style. and abilities.

I love to hike and the trails in the Smoky Mountains offer so much inspiration for my paintings. I also love to travel and wherever we travel to, I try to paint a few painting of where we have been. This includes the Canadian Rockies, Italy, the Northwest area of the United States and many of our National Parks. I especially love to paint waterfalls. God’s beauty has inspired me, and I hope that you enjoy the results.

Faye Speck is a creative artist who lives in Sevierville, Tennessee. Faye believes the love of art should be passed down from generation to generation, so this great form of expression will not be lost. She believes art comes in many forms. Whether it’s creating music, painting, interior decorating, crochet or crafting a piece of jewelry. Faye believes that creative expression is good for the soul. Her desire is to present works of art that move the heart and mind to a calm and joyful state.

Myra sincerely believes that God gave her the love of painting. In her early twenties, it helped her get through a tragic event in her life. Over the years she has taken several classes from different instructors to improve her art.Her favorite classes were Bob Ross workshops taught by Pat Le Beau. Pat worked with Bob Ross for many years.She gets inspired to paint nature after hiking in these beautiful Smoky Mountains. She often paints from the photographs she takes or from memory and imagination.

Curiosity and by accident are my excuses for travelling

as much as I have during my life journey, nothing

was planned until late in my thirties when I felt a need to be able to “talk the talk” as well as “walk the walk”. I went to college for my Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree because I wanted to be able to explain my art to my children and others. Exploring the landscape from Canada, to the Bahama Islands,from Mexico to New York, and a little of Europe added a broader 

perception of the world to my vision . 

I noticed the color and sound resonating through

my work as a reflection of where I have lived and travelled.

I see movement as the brush coincides with pigment, not only as it is applied to a surface but also as it begins to reflect the image that is represented. I seldom see anything as static, there is even the most subtle of movements, as air gently stirs around all that is still. Color moves it’s subject!

Living things grow and move even as we see them as still, 

we barely realize what is actually happening.

I use color, form, and medium to emphasize movement as the canvas may be stretched, tucked, and folded to create an even more dimensional and fluid effect, it is ever evolving!

Interview link: https://youtu.be/70Assg6Ya6M

Born and raised on the central shore of New Jersey, Joan has been drawing and creating art since she was a young child. She credits much of her early development to her mother for often enrolling her in local art lessons. In high school she majored in art and was chosen to participate in the Ocean County Teen Fine Art show in her senior year. Once in college her education turned toward commercial art and she began airbrushing in the summers. What started out as a summer job on the beach turned into a nearly 30-year career. For a time she worked in web design in Los Angeles but not long after the dot com bubble burst she returned to airbrushing full time.

In the summer of 2004, after moving to the city of Phoenix, she set her sights on fine arts and began her journey into the wonderful world of oil painting. The “hairy brush” took some getting used to but she quickly got the hang of it. It took about a minute and a half to absolutely fall in love with the medium. Each painting she does continues to be part of a lifelong art education as there is always something new to be learned or explored in painting.  

In an effort to improve her skills and learn from others she sought out other local artist in the many places she has lived over the years.  The lessons learned and friendships created in this endeavor have been invaluable to her experience as an artist.  

Joan has also worked in mediums such as watercolors, acrylics, oils paint and soft pastels, though it is the latter two she spends the most time with. Her style has been referred to as “painterly realism” which is exactly what she is trying to accomplish in both her landscape work and with her pet portraits.. Each new painting she comes closer to refining that style and improving on her skills.

She has found herself living and painting in the great beauty of the Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee for the last decade and it is where she now calls her forever home, along with her two dogs and two cats that allow them to share the home with them. 

Linda Triebe painted her very first wall mural in Chicago when she was only 10 years old and has been painting ever since. She often muses that she "will paint anything that does not move."

Prior to moving to Sevierville 14 years ago, Linda lived in Naples, FL for 20 years successfully operating her own business (art, design, painting, art instruction).  

Commissioned by interior designers, Linda created original motifs, painted them on furniture, accessories, etc.  Using the mediums of both acrylic and oil paints she weaves the beauty of landscapes, seascapes and florals onto canvas as part of her repertoire along with full-scale wall murals in which she adds amazing trompe l'oeil (3D) effects. 

A resident of Sevierville for almost 15 years, Linda finds inspiration in the many landscapes, breathtaking beauty, and incredible energies of The Great Smoky Mountains, hence her personal theme . . .  Nature's Landscapes: Gifts of Serenity and Beauty    

As an active artist 45+ years, Linda has also been giving art instruction 35+ years including 5 years at the Sevierville Dolly Parton 'My People' Activity Center where she taught landscape painting.  

Linda's unique artistic styling also includes finger paintings on canvas. "Painting with my fingers adds tremendous energy, excitement, and movement to my paintings which paintbrushes cannot achieve."

Throughout her distinguished career Linda has been the recipient of many awards including 1st place recognition and outstanding achievement awards.  Linda is a past President of the Arlington Community for the Arts and the Micanopy Arts Council. 

"Artists are courageous and brave . . . they express what is in their heart and soul and expose it for the entire world to see . . . and that can be a scary proposition for many." Linda Triebe