Warner Park hosting exhibit of conservation-minded paintings this weekend

Warner Park Nature Center is hosting a special art exhibit this weekend. 

A nonprofit collective of artists called the Chestnut Group painted scenes of the nearly century-old park to benefit its preservation. 

Every piece in the exhibit was created “en plein air,” the act of painting in the great outdoors. For the Chestnut Group, this hobby has translated to a form of environmental activism. Their paintings call attention to threatened natural habitats, historic properties, and local landscapes in Middle Tennessee — including the Nashville Highland Rim Forest, a nearly continuous 97,000-acre urban forest in the western portion of the city that contains Warner Parks.

“By capturing local scenes in paintings, it reinforces that these landscapes connect emotionally enough with us that people want to bring them into their homes,” said Judson Newbern, an artist and president of the Chestnut Group, which includes about 150 members. “Hopefully, that builds the desire to actively engage in conservation as development continues to cut away at special habitats.”

Their latest show is called “Finding Sanctuary.” Sceneries painted in Warner include a sunset over forested hills, a group of kids skipping rocks on a pond and a clear creek splashing over rocks. 

The exhibit is free and open to the public at Warner Park Nature Center. The hours are Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

About half of proceeds from the art sales will go to Friends of Warner Parks, the nonprofit that supports the park’s conservation.