John Shearer: Bart Lindstrom Paints Reverend Tim Tinsley’s Portrait At First Presbyterian

Chattanooga left a positive mark on Bart Lindstrom during his 25 years residing here, and now he has left a mark behind as well in the form of a portrait of former First Presbyterian Church pastor the Reverend Tim Tinsley.

 

The oil painting of Reverend Tinsley, who served from 2009-19 as the church’s 13th pastor, was unveiled during a small ceremony at the church on Oct.

30.

 

In a follow-up phone interview from his current home in Southern California a few days later, Mr. Lindstrom said the commission came about through his connection with Portrait South broker Susie McGinness of Lookout Mountain and First Presbyterian deacon Lawson Whitaker.

 

Mr. Whitaker, a professional photographer whose photos have been often featured in chattanoogan.com, was involved in helping the church find an artist, and he thought Mr. Lindstrom would be perfect due to his familiarity with the city.

 

“He had a connection to First Presbyterian and he knows First Presbyterian,” said Mr. Whitaker.

 

Mr. Lindstrom said he was quickly sold on the potential commission after a conversation with Mr. Whitaker.

 

“I told him I would really love to do that portrait,” the artist said. “I was never a member of First Presbyterian, although I attended some services. But I used to live near the Brainerd tunnel and would drive by the church (on McCallie Avenue) and think it was one of the beautiful landmarks in Chattanooga.

 

“It’s a real honor to have one of my paintings hanging there.”

 

He added that he knew the late Robert Bruce Williams, the artist who painted the popular former First Presbyterian pastor Ben Haden’s portrait, and is a good acquaintance of John Ennis, who painted Dr. Michael Milton, the church’s 12^th pastor. 

 

In his work on the Tinsley portrait, he had received some photos of him, but initially thought he was not going to get to meet him due to some health issues the pastor was having. But he said he surprisingly did get to meet Mr. Tinsley.

 

“He arranged for me to come and meet him and his wife (Laura),” Mr. Lindstrom recalled. “We had a wonderful couple of hours at the church talking about fishing and (fellow artist and church member) Gordon Wetmore.”

 

“It was a blessing to be able to meet him and get additional photos to remind me of the afternoon meeting with him.”

 

The iconic Stanford White-designed First Presbyterian building is also featured in the background of the portrait, and Mr. Lindstrom and Mr. Whitaker had also worked on photos of that during his visit.

 

“He and I were walking down McCallie and got all kinds of different angles to use behind him,” Mr. Lindstrom said. 

 

While he had his prep work done after going back home, getting the portrait completed took not only a little work with his hand holding the brush, but also with his eyes visualizing how to combine Mr. Tinsley’s face with the church.

 

“It was sort of a juggling act to let it (the church) be quiet enough to sit in the background and let Tim be dominant in the composition,” he said.

 

Mr. Lindstrom said the safety-focused ceremony during the unveiling was meaningful and he enjoyed offering brief remarks, although Mr. Tinsley was unable to attend.

 

Mr. Lindstrom’s other local works have included painting a portrait of the late former News Channel 9 news anchor MaryEllen Locher that hangs in the CHI Memorial MaryEllen Locher Breast Center.

 

“It was such an honor to paint her because she was such a strong presence at the time,” he said, adding that he worked with Ms. Locher’s husband and son to put it together.

 

He has also had some commissions of noted Americans, including a painting of women’s golfing great Nancy Lopez for a golf club in Atlanta. “She was delightful and fun to meet,” he said.

 

He also had done a drawing for a magazine article on former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Colin Powell in the late 1990s regarding his non-profit organization, America’s Promise.

 

“He loved the painting and asked for it and I got to visit his office,” he said.

 

He recalled that was in mid-December 2000 on the day Al Gore conceded the presidential election to George W. Bush, which meant Mr. Powell was going to be his secretary of State. Mr. Lindstrom jokingly recalled that when he left Mr. Powell’s office after an enjoyable conversation, a line of people had formed to congratulate Mr. Powell on his new position.

 

Another dignitary he met was former Tennessee Gov. Ned McWherter. One of Gov. McWherter’s heroes was World War I hero Alvin C. York, and he wanted a portrait of Mr. York to hang, and the Tennessee History Museum commissioned Mr. Lindstrom in the late 1980s to do it.

 

Mr. Lindstrom went to the unveiling and enjoyed talking with the governor. “He was very unassuming and delightful to talk to and he seemed genuinely interested in me and my daughter,” the artist recalled.

 

Mr. Lindstrom had come to Chattanooga in 1984 after his son enrolled in a special program for deaf students at Tennessee Temple. Missing him, the artist and his wife decided to move here permanently after a Thanksgiving visit, and everything ended up falling into place for them to sell their home in Texas.

 

He had a studio on the east side of the upper penthouse area of the Chattanooga Bank Building downtown, while fellow artist Mr. Wetmore had one on the west side.

 

Mr. Lindstrom soon realized their directions regarding life and art were similar. “It was helpful to have a studio next to another portrait artist,” he said. “It was amazing how much strength and power there was in that.

 

“I miss it to this day. I miss Gordon all the time.”

 

After Mr. Wetmore died in 2011, Mr. Lindstrom attended his funeral at First Presbyterian.

 

Mr. Lindstrom, who moved to Atlanta in 2009, although three of his children are still in Chattanooga, said art was what helped him find his way as a young man. He said he was small and not good at sports, and he also suffered from dyslexia.

 

But he could draw, and that ended up more than making up for all his shortcomings.

 

“I discovered I could make friends by doing pictures – horses for the girls and cars and motorcycles for the boys,” he said, remembering sitting outside a new school he had begun attending during recess as a child and drawing.

 

By drawing pictures, he in turn drew friends and admirers.

 

His artwork continues to bring him joy to this day, he said, and he does not plan to stop anytime soon. As a result, his own portrait of himself – at least his full life’s work -- remains unfinished. 

 

“It’s what keeps me happy and keeps me going,” he said of painting. “I get to go meet people.”

 

Jcshearer2@comcast.net