The Artist is Inn
'First Dance'
If it’s morning at Hippensteal’s Mountain View Inn, there’s one thing guests can count on beyond the scrumptious, made-from-scratch, last-you-’til-supper breakfast. Co-owner Vern Hippensteal is sure to be making his morning rounds, his trademark jeans and apron impeccably pressed, happily serving up coffee and conversation. The twinkle in his eyes as he moves from table to table exudes a certain contentment.
He has much for which to be contented. Business is steady at the charming, quietly cloistered bed and breakfast inn he and his wife, Lisa, built on a lush hillside a short drive from the frenetic activity of downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Since opening their doors in 1990, the inn has served as a respite from all things frenetic.
The inn is named for The Mountain View Hotel, the long-since shuttered hotel once managed by Lisa’s family, where the couple met as summer employees.
Hippensteal’s Mountain View Inn boasts an expansive rocking chair-lined porch, perfect for helping guests remember to breathe as they take in the scenic Smoky Mountain vista. Inside, light from the glass-enclosed dining room filters deeper into the cozy foyer and living room. Guests are invited to pull a book from the library shelves and set a spell in front of the stacked stone fireplace, where the logs are sure to be popping and crackling when cold temperatures warrant.
Of the myriad accommodations available in the Gatlinburg area, part of what renders Hippensteal’s Mountain View Inn unique is how it highlights the richly detailed watercolors for which Vern is known. In addition to the diverse paintings scattered throughout the house, each of the 12 guest rooms is named for and designed after one of Hippensteal’s limited-edition prints. While Hippensteal’s primary gallery is located a few miles down the hill in the Gatlinburg Arts and Crafts Community, visitors can purchase prints and greeting cards in the foyer.
Meandering Led to Painting
As an artist, Hippensteal is prolific. Before, after, and In-between innkeeping duties, he carves out time to focus on his true passions—meandering along the vast trails of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, bringing alternately tranquil, enchanted, and mysterious scenes to life through the poetic application of his paintbrush.
His roots and creative spark run deep. A Gatlinburg native, he is the eighth-generation grandson of William Ogle, the region’s first settler.
The vast vistas and valleys have captivated him since childhood. “This place is in my heart,” he says. “When I was 12 and almost six feet tall. I would tell my mom to quit worrying every time I wanted to head into the mountains.”
His artistic inclinations emerged as naturally as his love for the Smokies. “I was drawing from the time I could hold a pencil,” he says.
Pastels were his initial medium. “I started out doing portraits, but once I did my first painting of the mountains, I knew it would be what I did forever.”
When renowned Gatlinburg painter Jim Gray invited a young Hippensteal to take classes, he jumped at the opportunity. “One day, Jim suggested I paint in watercolor,” he remembers. “He even bought a set for me to try. When I showed him my first piece, he said, ‘damn,’ which was the greatest compliment imaginable. I’ve been painting with watercolors ever since.”
His mountain meanderings provide ample inspiration. “When I know I want to paint a place, I visit each season because you don’t know which is most magical until you experience it. I paint most of my waterfalls from spring outings because that’s when the water seems fullest.” He chooses the background based on whatever time is best. “When I painted Ramsey Cascades, I painted the water from a winter visit and incorporated the rhododendron from a late June hike. I call what I do magical realism.”
That melding of seasons into a scene developed from a long-ago adventure. “Back when I was studying art, I was working three jobs to support my habit,” he notes. “I had finally scheduled a day off from all three to paint Rainbow Falls. I’d been looking forward to it for a month. When I got there, there was no water because there had been so little rain. I was so disappointed.”
The Artist is Inn
'Nature's Innocence'
A Mt. LeConte Wedding
Hippensteal likes to say every trail is his favorite, although he knows some more intimately than others. “In early spring, when I cross the bridge at Porters Creek, I know the trail will look like it’s covered in snow from the white fringed phacelia that blooms in such abundance. In the first two weeks of April, I can visualize shooting stars and stone crop growing near the cave at The Sinks.
The scenery-filled memories always linger. “I’ve hiked Mt. LeConte 130 times—in snow, ice, when the temperatures were 20 degrees below, when they’ve been 50 degrees above, but with the wind blowing, feeling like it was 20 degrees below.” He recalls one night in particular when Lisa and he were staying up there and saw a horizontal lighting strike. “What a breathtaking moment.”
Most auspicious of all LeConte experiences was their on a frigid November morning in 1982. “We said our vows at 6:10 a.m. as the sun was coming up, hiked down, then got married in a church at 6:10 p.m.”
He smiles as he says, “My wife Lisa gets mad that I can see a trail in my mind’s eye even though I’ve not been on it for years. I can, for example, walk the Boulevard Trail in my mind and haven’t been in 32 years.”
At any one time, Hippensteal may be working on 12-16 paintings. Although he once carried canvases with him, these days Hippensteal primarily carries little cards to make an initial 30-minute sketch and any footnotes with details he’ll need in the studio. “I destroy the sketches afterwards because I don’t want people to see the steps; I want them to see the finished product.”
Adding a Touch of Whimsy
As much as he is inspired by nature’s designs, Hippensteal isn’t averse to taking a few creative liberties. When his mother was still alive, Hippensteal decided to add something cute to a painting he was creating for her. “I settled on a fairy. Back then I was taking commissions. One day, a gentleman came into the studio and watched me as I painted that fairy. He said he wanted one, too.” Despite the fact his was already completed, Hippensteal agreed, even though it meant taking the painting apart to add that fairy enhancement.
Word soon got out. “Grown men would come into the gallery, hoping to find the hidden fairies or sprites I incorporated. As more people requested them, they became my signature.”
The Artist is Inn
'Autumn's Song'
To Become a 900 Miler or Not
There was a time Hippensteal was determined to become a member of the exclusive 900 Miler Club, open only to the stalwart hikers who have successfully traversed every trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
“I had completed every trail on the Tennessee side and had just spent five weekends in a row on trails in North Carolina,” he recalls. When he realized his favorite thing was hiking and not driving to the hiking destination, he let go and has never looked back.
A Legacy Beyond Canvas
As much as Hippensteal rejoices in his own work, he finds even more joy in promoting his son Woods’ work. Like his father, the younger Hippensteal began painting as a young boy, finding his way in oils rather than watercolor. He currently lives and works above the Vern Hippensteal Gallery. “I feel like he’s far more talented than I. I can’t wait to see where his journey leads.”
See more
The Vern Hippensteal Gallery is located at 480 Buckhorn Road in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. vernhippensteal.com.