'Clingman's Dome Sunset' looks amazing as a quilt

Jun 17, 2021

Ramona Perkins created this beautiful quilt based on my fine-art photographic print "Clingman's Dome Sunset" as a gift for her brother.

Quilt connects sister, brother to their Smoky Mountains heritage

I occasionally am asked by other artists for permission to paint my fine-art photographic prints, and I normally decline because selling my work is how I earn a living. However, a client made a very unique request a few months ago for which I couldn't help but give consent.

She wanted to use my print "Clingman's Dome Sunset" (below) as the template for a quilt to give her brother, Charlie Cline.

You see, Ramona Perkins and her brother grew up in Eastern Tennessee, so sunsets in the Smoky Mountains are nostalgic landmarks of their shared lives. They have both moved out of that wonderful region, but Ramona wanted something to remind her brother of their days in the Smokies.

"Like many individuals who grew up in the area, we may leave but the Smoky Mountains are always home," she said.

She presented the quilt to her brother recently, along with a greeting card of the original print purchased from my website.

"Inside the card with the photo, I added the John Muir quote, 'You are not in the mountains; the mountains are in you,'" Ramona told me. "This statement seemed to reflect our common experience in growing up in East Tennessee."

The quilt was a wonderful recreation of "Clingman's Dome Sunset," with all the iconic layers of the hazy mountains and the beautiful pastel colors of the setting sun. It's amazing how she even created the haze for which the Smokies are known.

Ramona even returned to my gallery to purchase a canvas gallery wrap of the original print to hang in her workshop to remind her of her days in Eastern Tennessee!

"Clingman's Dome Sunset" reminds Ramona Perkins and her brother of their younger days growing up in East Tennessee.