BusinessTN

The starving artist cliché is lost on Heath Claiborne. The award-winning master of watercolors and self-proclaimed “artist of the national parks” is known for his super-realistic style and focus on Appalachian landscapes, examples of which have been featured in Southern Living magazine and at Knoxville’s annual Dogwood Arts Festival.

But this gifted, 31-year-old Maryville resident has revealed another passion—real estate investing. It’s a facet of the stereotypical artist’s character that, to some, goes against the cliché.

For Claiborne, it’s keeping his plate full and his dreams alive.

Once inspired to become famous, he trekked across the country selling his works at art shows. Claiborne even ventured to New York in search of his big break but received little fanfare.

He was living a gambler’s life, pulling in $6,000 for an original painting at one show and then losing money during the next 10 shows. He learned early on that, even in a world where wealth can stifle creativity, cash is king.

Claiborne happened upon his first real estate opportunity with virtually no experience and only $3,000 in his pocket. Traveling home from an art show, he found himself at an auction among 50 Roane County locals bidding on a building in downtown Rockwood. He bought the 23,000-square-foot property for $15,000, intending to convert it into an art gallery, but decided to cash out when an investor group offered him a sweet deal worth “many times that,” Claiborne says.

Good fortune, or beginner’s luck, helped launch his new side career.

In December 2002, he purchased the old Capitol Theater in downtown Maryville for $200,000, opened his art gallery in the lobby and made plans to renovate the 16,000-square-foot theater back to its 1930s glory.

“I want the theater to be my showplace, but I want the whole building to draw cash,” he says.

Realizing his real estate nai-veté could lead to financial ruin, Claiborne boldly sought advice from the area’s most successful professionals, such as Knoxville-based career artist Jim Gray, Joe Downey of Downey Oil Co. in Maryville and even Blount County’s godfather of business, Jim Clayton.

What Claiborne learned was priceless.

“I admire their outer humble demeanor. They do not exaggerate, they do what they say they are going to do, and they are normally slow to give opinions,” he says.

Just as his role models have succeeded, Claiborne hopes to turn his theater into a moneymaker. But he’s not the only one who would benefit.

The Capitol Theater is part of the county’s growing trend toward “geo-tourism”—converting existing structures into points of historical interest.

"Those who travel for culture and history tend to spend a little more money and stay a little longer,” says Herb Handly, executive vice president of tourism with the Smoky Mountain Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Claiborne’s theater is still under renovation, and it may be some time before its grand reopening. All structural plans for the building have been approved—it’s Claiborne himself who is causing the holdup, and for good reason.

He is currently researching ways to differentiate his theater from the Palace Theater, a similar, fully renovated 19th Century facility just a few storefronts away. Owned and operated by Steve Kaufman and Donna Dixon, the Palace is an acoustic venue and espresso bar. For the Capitol Theater, Claiborne may convert its basement floor into residential space.

“We think that [Claiborne is] restoring a very significant location, and it is of interest to many people,” Handly says.

The seemingly endless decision-making has led Claiborne close to burn-out.

With about 40 properties to his name, he now has the flexibility to take a breather from cutting deals and refocus on his God-given talent of painting.