Peach McComb: Painting With Courage
Editor's Note: This artist profile is part of a statewide series highlighting Tennessee artists participating in Ars Gloria, a visual arts initiative presented by the Tennessee Press Association and the Tennessee Art League. Follow Ars Gloria on Facebook and Instagram for additional artist features, competition news, and updates throughout the year.
Discussing the role of error in creativity in Psychology Today, psychiatrist Albert Rothenberg, M.D., observed that "errors constantly occur with the technical and demanding work of creation in art." According to the Milan Art Institute, many artists discover that creative block often begins when mistakes become something to fear.
Tennessee artist Peach McComb has reached the opposite conclusion. After decades at the easel, the award-winning painter believes an errant brushstroke is no real threat to a painting.
Rather, hesitation is.
"If I'm painting over something and I make a mistake, then so what?" she says. "You've made a mistake. What’s the worst that can happen?"
It’s a philosophy that she repeats when teaching or advising other artists who hesitate before making their first move. The worries that stop them dead in their tracks—concerns of criticism, failure, or just not being good enough—are something Peach has little patience for.
"A blank canvas is an invitation to experiment. It’s not something to be feared," she says. "And if you wind up making something dreadful, paint over it."
For Peach, "just keep going" is more than creative advice. It is a mantra shaped by discipline, resilience, and decades of experience. She believes that progress belongs to those willing to move through uncertainty, and that the desire for creative comfort is a trap.
That same philosophy is evident in her paintings. Working across watercolor, oils, acrylics, and pastel, Peach chooses each medium according to the emotional and technical demands of the subject. Whether painting Tennessee landscapes, historic architecture, or intimate still lifes, she is less interested in rigid formulas than in capturing the fleeting qualities of light, color, and place. Her paintings balance confident brushwork with quiet observation, allowing light to do much of the storytelling. In lieu of photographic precision, she suggests form through expressive strokes and carefully observed color, inviting viewers to experience a place rather than simply observe it.
Like the artist herself, the paintings reward decisiveness over hesitation. They reflect the same belief that has guided Peach’s life: progress comes from moving forward, not waiting for certainty.
The Courage to Start Over
It was not a path anyone—including Peach—expected to take. Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, Peach was one of four children. "My grandmother, mother, and father were all creative people," she says. “They all liked trying new things, and my mother—who taught the fifth grade—was always trying to find something new and fun for her students to do. My father also taught, but he was a professional choreographer and dance master. He helped form the New England Chapter of the Dance Masters of America.”
Although creative interests were always present, they gradually gave way to more practical pursuits.
After graduating from high school, Peach decided to serve her country by enlisting in the United States Air Force (USAF). She recalls being among the first groups of women assigned to work on the flightline, entering aircraft maintenance as the USAF expanded opportunities for women in previously male-dominated specialties.
"It’s a bit technical and I can’t go into too much detail, but my specialty in the USAF involved avionics electronic countermeasures for jets, including the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. These jets rely on sophisticated systems for protection during combat operations," she says.
Peach valued her time in the military, staying with it for much of her professional life. After her time in active duty ended, she continued serving through the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard.
During her military career, Peach relocated several times, and at one point found herself living in Illinois. Familial obligations would bring her to Middle Tennessee in 1995, and she would be pleasantly surprised by her new surroundings.
Describing her appreciation for the Volunteer State, she says, "I like Tennessee because it’s just so green here. And the people here are so wonderful, so friendly and kind. I’ve gotten quite a good reception from them, even though I am a carpetbagging Yankee."
After 24 years, she retired from military service. She stayed in the workforce, though, putting her systems analyst and project manager background to good use. She found work with the state government, and much later moved to the private sector.
Over this period, painting would gradually become a larger part of her life.
In 1997, Peach was working on renovating her bedroom. In the process of removing a set of shelves, she found herself staring at a damaged wall. Rather than simply repairing it, Peach decided to transform it. She painted a large abstract mural filled with flowers and organic forms.
A friend of Peach’s—visual artist Mary Field Neville, who was something of a mother figure to Peach—came to her home. When Peach showed Mary the mural in her bedroom, Mary did not merely compliment it. She recognized something Peach hadn't yet seen in herself.
"She told me, Miss Peach, ‘I think we found you a new career,’ " Peach says.
Peach laughed. But Mary wasn’t joking. Earlier, Mary had encouraged Peach to replace reproductions and commercial prints throughout her home with original artwork. Now she was suggesting something even more profound: Peach was capable of creating those originals herself.
Peach took the advice seriously. The reproductions came down. One by one, original paintings took their place. Many of these original paintings were her own.
Looking back, Peach is quick to admit that those first paintings were not particularly good. "They were awful," she says. "But the goal isn’t to produce something perfect. The goal is to improve."
Over the years that followed, Peach devoted herself to learning the craft, attending workshops and painting outdoors.
Lessons in Truth
The idea of truth surfaces repeatedly whenever Peach discusses art. This was something that Mary instilled in her early on.
"Mary never pulled her punches. She knew that she didn’t have to with me, but she was always one to offer informed critiques, and not empty compliments," she says. "And whenever I spoke to her about my art, I always knew that she wasn’t going to steer me wrong or lie to me."
For Peach, an opinion that is honest, informed, and given solely to help is one of the greatest gifts any mentor can provide. And in an age of instant encouragement and social media approval, Peach believes meaningful criticism has become increasingly rare. She suspects much of that reluctance stems from a fear that even constructive criticism will be interpreted as a personal attack instead of genuine help.
To some, sharing feedback honestly to be helpful can feel almost radical. Peach has a different take: Honest critique is not cruelty. It is generosity. It is the supply of a needed resource. Artists cannot improve if everyone simply tells them that their work is wonderful.
"People say they want a critique," she says with a laugh. "Sometimes they really don't."
Throughout her artistic career, Peach sought artists who challenged her. Workshops with respected painters such as Joel Knapp and Roger Dale Brown refined both her plein air technique and her understanding of composition. Brown, in particular, reinforced a lesson Mary Field Neville had taught years earlier: surround yourself with people willing to tell you the truth.
To Peach, artistic growth is not driven by occasional bursts of inspiration but by thousands of small decisions repeated over years of steady practice. That philosophy explains why she continued seeking new insights long after becoming an accomplished painter herself.
As her confidence grew, so did recognition from her peers. She earned Signature status in the Tennessee Watercolor Society, one of the organization's highest professional distinctions. Her paintings have also found their way into distinguished collections, including the permanent collection of the Tennessee State Museum. Along the way, Peach became active in organizations such as the Tennessee Art League, Nashville Artist Guild, Oil Painters of America, the American Impressionist Society, and The Chestnut Group. She currently serves as Arts Advocacy Chair for the Tennessee Watercolor Society and has taught watercolor classes through institutions like Monthaven Arts & Cultural Center.
Never Done Learning
Recognition, however, was never the destination. Instead, it became another opportunity to give back through teaching and mentorship.
Over the years, Peach became known among fellow artists as someone willing to offer thoughtful, direct criticism. The habits she developed during military service—discipline, intellectual curiosity, and a commitment to honest communication—gave her a natural foundation as a teacher.
Yet despite decades of experience, Peach insists she is still a student.
She continues attending workshops, experimenting with new subjects and media, and painting outdoors whenever possible, believing that mastery is never a destination but a lifelong pursuit.
That same curiosity shapes the way she experiences the world.
"The world is full of beauty," she says. "But you have to tear yourself away from distractions and actively look for it."
Painting, she believes, teaches people to notice what others overlook—to see changing light, subtle color, and quiet moments that often pass unnoticed.
If there is a single thread running through Peach's life, it is the conviction that growth belongs to those willing to remain curious, accept honest criticism, and keep moving forward despite uncertainty.
Because, in the end, the worst thing that can happen is remarkably small.
The painting doesn't work.
You paint over it.
Then you begin again.
Peach McComb’s solo exhibition, “Framed & Dangerous,” is on view at the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center in Clarksville through the end of September. For further information about Peach McComb, visit her website and social media.
