<p>The age-old sycamore tree bending over Airport Road was a Johnson County icon.</p><p>Longtime residents can remember driving under it even as children. They marveled at its gravity-defying resilience, and viewed it as a symbol of hope.</p><p>Artist Luke Buck was enchanted by it.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>“The tree has a personal meaning for a lot of people around here,” he said. “Everybody has stories about driving under the leaning tree, and it’s got so much local history and lore behind it.”</p><p>Still, time and gravity always win. Earlier this summer, the county highway department cut the tree down, fearing it was going to fall and hurt people.</p><p>Buck’s painting stands as a memorial to the well-known tree. “The Leaning Tree” is his most recent work, and will be the centerpiece of his annual show at Generation Art and Frame in Franklin. On Friday, the community is invited to come out and meet Buck, browse his work and take some of it home. Limited edition signed and numbered prints of “The Leaning Tree” will also be available.</p><p>Being able to feature this new work, as well as Buck’s wide range of paintings, is extremely special, said David Hendrickson, co-founder of Generation Art and Frame.</p><p>“We’ve known Luke for quite a few years, even before we opened the store,” he said “It’s probably the biggest event we have here. He has a huge following.”</p><p>The leaning tree was taken down in early September after a citizen submitted a formal complaint asking the highway department to look into the safety of the tree earlier in the summer. On June 4, Airport Road, also known as Nineveh Road, was closed after an initial inspection determined the tree was unsafe to drive under.</p><p>Later in June, two master arborists determined the tree was at “extreme risk” for falling, according to the arborist’s report. The Johnson County Board of Commissioners voted 3-0 to remove the tree on June 21.</p><p>The decision sparked a passionate reaction from the community. People went to the tree to get photographs, or to sign their names on a sign that had been erected at the tree’s base. Facebook pages were formed to rally people into saving the tree.</p><p>“I was amazed when they made a Facebook page for it,” Buck said. “They had more 2,000 people signed up on it.”</p><p>For Buck, the tree was a perfect fit for his artwork. The Nineveh resident is a renowned painter of landscapes and wildlife. He grew up in a family of artists, and was drawn towards the natural world that he would explore around his rural Indiana home.</p><p>After graduating from John Herron Art Institute, he worked an illustrator and sharpened his own skills as a painter. His work has been featured all over Indiana and the rest of country, including noted shows such as the Hoosier Art Salon, Southern Wildlife Art Festival and Disney’s Festival of the Masters.</p><p>His focus is on what he calls the “vanishing American landscape,” mostly in Indiana but also across the country. Old farm homes and fading rural barns emerge from the forests and prairies. Secret lakes reflect radiant autumn leaves. Weathered boats bob in secluded lagoons.</p><p>“In a way, my paintings are kind of preserving a little piece of history, I think,” Buck said. “I try to be as accurate as I can when I paint something like that, because people are so familiar with it.”</p><p>“The Leaning Tree” was another example of this kind of preservation through art.</p><p>He had his own connection with the leaning tree, driving under it countless times. When his daughter was growing up, kids in their neighborhood called it the “kissing tree,” because the way it leaned over to touch the trees across the roadway.</p><p>“I always wanted to paint it anyway, just because of the way it leans like that,” he said. “My wife said I had better do it now, because they’re going to cut it down.”</p><p>Buck’s work captures the unique nature of the tree as it hovers over the road, its canopy creating a tunnel of shade. Since creating prints of the work, it’s been incredibly popular with fans.</p><p>He’s looking forward to sharing it with new audiences at the Generation show.</p><p>“It’s my favorite show of the year,” he said. “I have gallery shows throughout the country, but I’ve been doing this for more than 20 years. It’s turned out to be one of my biggest shows of the year, even compared to some of the bigger gallery shows.”</p><p>Generation Art and Frame, a Franklin-based art supply store and gallery, has been featuring Buck’s work annually for about 25 years. Having an artist of Buck’s stature regularly featured is a big deal for the gallery, Hendrickson said.</p><p>“We just really enjoy Luke’s work, and he’s so great to work with,” he said. “It’s always one of the highlights of the year for us.”</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="If you go" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p><strong>Luke Buck annual show</strong></p><p>What: An exhibition of landscape and wildlife paintings by Buck, a renowned artist from Nineveh. People will be able to buy his original works and prints, including his newest piece, "The Leaning Tree." He will also be in attendance and available to talk with guests.</p><p>When: 6 to 8 p.m. Friday</p><p>Where: Generation Art and Frame, 43 N. Main St., Franklin</p><p>Organizers encourage guests to wear a mask while interacting with others, and they will have hand sanitizer available.</p><p>Information: <a href="http://facebook.com/GenerationArtAndFrame">facebook.com/GenerationArtAndFrame</a></p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
