Australian artist Wendy Murray is working on an ambitious project: To draw every building on Gallatin Pike. The beautiful pieces perfectly capture Gallatin’s character. But WHY Gallatin? I recently chatted with Wendy to answer just that question, and what she’s learned about Nashville in the process of working on this series.
What inspired you to draw every building on Gallatin Pike?
“I guess the long answer is back in 2011, I saw a copy of Edward Ruscha’s “Every Building on the Sunset Strip,” and ever since then, I've been looking for a drawing project that might fit that. I'd also been drawing what I call my daily drawings since 2010. I started out in rural New South Wales, Australia, and last spring, I was lucky enough to win an internship at Hatch Show Print. So I came out to Nashville for six weeks, and I just really loved Gallatin.
“There's a street like Gallatin in every city — a street with fast food joints, tire repair shops, coffee shops, supermarkets. They embody all the things that make the U.S. awesome and awful at the same time.”
Wendy spent many hours on this piece, waiting for cars to move so she could capture another section of the building. (Courtesy of Wendy Murray)
What have you learned about Nashville while working on this project?
“There are so many kind and thoughtful people in this community. People have contacted me through social media and said, ‘It’s really hot out there, can I bring you a drink?’ The business owners are also supportive and amazing.
“I'm getting to know Gallatin as I draw it. I live close to one of two Krogers, and because I didn't have a car until last week, I was on the bus or on my bike. So I didn’t know the area around the first Kroger. Folks tend to stay in a radius around their house. I'm no scientist or urban geographer, but that's interesting for a car-centric place.”
What have been your favorites in the series so far?
“Madison Glass. I really like that building. In Australia, they're called Nissen huts, but you call them Quonset huts. They're such lovely people as well, and they adopted one of the stray cats around there who had had some kittens, so I call in occasionally to say hi to them. I enjoyed doing the Paloma vintage store and those older buildings there. I could sit in the shade of the Goodwill drop-off to draw those. That’s relaxing compared to, say, drawing Dollar General on the corner of Trinity and Gallatin, which was a hair-raising exercise, because folks fly around that corner and there are often accidents.
“That's why I haven't drawn the bank on the corner of Hart and Gallatin yet. I've just gotta find a safe time to sit there and draw, without a car flying through and smashing into me.”
