“Life simply goes on with my art and I try like so many other artists to just follow the natural cycle that ebbs and flows with the artist’s Muse.” – Chick Huettel, Santa Rosa Beach resident and Coastal Branch Library‘s artist of the month.

Born in 1942, Chick Huettel, known as the ‘Tennessee River Painter’, painted along the Tennessee River for 29 years before moving to Florida. His honorary title was bestowed upon him by the 90^th Tennessee Legislature General Assembly for helping in the preservation of the state’s heritage through art.

Early in his education, Chick studied the paintings of the Impressionists along with English painters Turner and Constable. With that base, he then moved on to his own style after attending the Memphis Academy of Arts. Much of his landscape work lends itself to the traditional form of balance and color, but his more humorous endeavors come from the enjoyment of the marvelous works of Cruikshank and Rowlandson who captured the humorous side of everyday life in Great Britain.

Today, Chick’s studio overlooks the expanse of Choctawhatchee Bay in Santa Rosa Beach. There he paints fishermen, crab men, oystermen, plus the never ending kaleidoscope of atmospheres with it’s companion wildlife. Crowed beaches filled with color are also a favorite. His medium is oils, plus prints, and he has completed life-size sculptures using various methods and bronze.

His solo exhibitions have included Brooks Museum, Christian Brothers University, Turner Clark Gallery, Dixon Gallery, New York, C.B.H.S. High School Chick Huettel Art Collection, plus Palladio Gallery in Memphis, Tennessee. Other art galleries that carry his work are: the Huntsville Museum of Art, Alabama, New Orleans, Santa Rosa Beach, and Destin Florida. His work is also displayed in the Pentagon, D.C. as well as the governor’s mansion in Nashville Tennessee.

Huettel’s paintings will be on display at the Coastal Branch Library though the end of March. Call 850-267-9452 for more information.