LikeTheDew.com

Back in the days of the old Nashville Network on cable TV, I was backstage at Ralph Emery’s “Nashville Now” show when an unexpected treat arrived: a planeload of shrimp.

It had been sent up by the owner of the Flora-Bama Lounge, a classic Gulf Coast beer joint on the Florida-Alabama line. It would be an understatement to say that a great feast was had by all, including the crew of the show, some songwriters who happened to be hanging around and one fairly hungry newspaper reporter.

Here at likethedew.com, we haven’t yet received a planeload of shrimp from the Flora-Bama, but an unexpected treat did arrive this week: some virtual refreshments sent by an illustrator in northeast Tennessee, James Noel Smith.

These virtual refreshments were so good that we’re also sharing them with our readers. Just look at the illustration and enjoy. (Fortunately, this refreshment, unlike most, is calorie — and guilt — free, even if you’re on a diet.)

In a subsequent e-mail, Mr. Smith told us — sort of — how he came to create this work of art:

“I can’t remember exactly why I drew it. My mind just ain’t as sharp as it used to be. I think. I only remember that my reps asked me to do something for a promo piece that they were printing up for all their illustrators and photographers with some theme like … great pleasures in life or whatever … and it just came directly from my brain stem what was formed from a Cormac McCarthy (the early crazy East Tennessee phase) inbred childhood a-growin up in a holler with an outhouse and Sears catalogs for toilet paper. Me and my sisters would save up our nickels and walk about a mile down the road to Dave Malone’s store and that is typically what I would buy. A co-cola and a moon pie.”

James Noel Smith is way too modest, of course. Want to know more about him?

Here’s a short semi-official biography:

“James Noel Smith is known for his unique pen-and-ink & watercolor ’sketchbook’ style, and has been associated with [the creative agency representing photographers and illustrators] Friend & Johnson longer than any other artist. His work spans two decades of illustration for books and magazines, advertising, corporate and institutional clients, including the White House, American Airlines, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, CONDE NAST TRAVELER, FOOD & WINE, AUDUBON, American Express, and countless others. James also illustrated the ‘gift edition’ of the popular allegorical novel, THE ALCHEMIST.

“James and his wife, the painter Michele Warner, live on a 10-acre farm in the mountains of northeast Tennessee with three horses and an ever-growing tribe of dogs and cats. They have two children — Lauren, a newly-minted RN, and Daniel, an industrial design major at SCAD. He continues to travel widely (expect to see sketchbooks from France and Italy in the near future) and work on personal projects, including watercolors of the flora and fauna of the Appalachian highlands, plein-air oil landscapes and large iconic paintings. James is a voracious reader (especially of history), film buff, enthusiastic gardener, hiker. He also says he’s working on a ‘hillbilly detective novel.’ “

James Noel Smith: http://www.jamesnoelsmith.com/

Friend and Johnson: http://www.friendandjohnson.com/

Flora-Bama: http://www.florabama.com/

1. Patty says:

   June 17, 2009 at 9:20 am

   Brings back wonderful memories of East Tennessee. We always had Moon Pies and colas in the house and nothing was better than this combo. My father loved RC’s and my older sister liked Pepsi but with a moon pie, “R-O-C Co-cola” was heavenly. Thanks for the wonderful trip down memory lane this morning.

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2. Chris Wohlwend says:

   June 17, 2009 at 9:40 am

   I know the hollow James grew up in, and I’ve been a fan of his work since our days working together in Texas, where there are no hollows but plenty of in-bred crazies.

   Reply
3. Tim Oliver says:

   June 17, 2009 at 10:22 am

   Wait a dang minute ! Nobody but a yankee calls it a “bottle of pop” ! It’s an R.C., perhaps even pronounced “Aura-See”, or, if you’re really down, a “roller-coaster, and a moon pie”!

   Reply
4. Dallas says:

   June 25, 2009 at 5:03 pm

   Hmmm. Don’t know about that, Tim. Where I grew up (a small N. Texas town) , soda pop and pop bottles were common terms among kids and grownups.

   Reply