A Blog about Finding Inspiration

"We have a wonderful world to be inspired by and each new day is like an adventure into the unknown, where things that require a second glance can be captured in time on a canvas for anyone to enjoy forever." (Louise Corke)

Friday, October 22, 2010

Seacoast Artists Guild Donation 10 '10

One of my art guilds  holds an annual fund-raiser in early December with the proceeds going toward supporting arts in the local schools. This year they plan on auctioning off miniature paintings which are  being donated by their members. At our last guild meeting they  gave out mini ( 3"x5") canvases to any member who wanted to participate... Above is one of the little  paintings I am donating.
Below is a photo of the display set up at :
Applewoods 14361 Ocean Hwy, SC 29585

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Seacoast Artists Guild Fall Show 10 '10

 I spent the last two days "sitting"  at the SAG show... My first  reaction  to the show's location was that it was not  a good idea to hold and art show in a retail mall.  I was wrong.  The show has sold more artwork and attracted more viewers than we ever did in the gallery.
   Live and Learn!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

BrookGreen's 77th National Sculpture Show 10 '10

Brookgreen Gardens, in Pawleys Island, SC is an internationally recognized sculpture center. It is currently hosting the National Sculpture Society's 77th Annual Award Exhibition.One of the Nice things about this show is that there is a peoples choice Award, where the public gets to vote on their favorite sculpture in the show. Below are a few of my favorites:
Martyr


The artists get to provide comments
"Octihandy"
"ATC" ( It is break dancers)

Sea Coast Artist Guild 7th Annual Fall Show 10 '10

The Sea Coast Artist Guild is holding its 7th Annual Fall Show in Murrells Inlet this month.



My friend Nora Mackan  won honorable mention for her  painting of the marsh.
You can see more of her work at 
http://norapaints.blogspot.com
 I entered three  paintings:  "The Gates of Litchfield" and "Georgetown USA" ( above),
and "Evening on the Marsh" Below.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Kate Lagaly at WACG Meeting on 10_16_10

You may remember that last month I joined other members of the Waccamah Art Craft Guild for a mini workshop on acrylic beach washes ( See Sept.19 post).

This month's  the WACG member meeting sponsored artist Kate Lagaly showing us how she uses these washes in her art work.

Kate is a signature member of  the Colored Pencil Society of America
and a very fine artist and art teacher
More of her work can be seen at
katelagaly.blogspot.com 

The meeting was held in the studio of Chapin Museum in Myrtle Beach where we were able to get in very close to the demonstration
 Kate showed us lots of different  examples of her work.  Here you see one half of a wash without any painting, and the other half with a portrait atop the wash


 Then she demonstrated  putting a watercolor wash aver portions of a  beach wash
and adding a drawing in colored pencil




 Then she took a partially complete wash and pencil and continued to enhance it.
Much thanks to the WACG and to Kate Lagaly for the interesting and informative afternoon.
 

Nora Makin wins award at SAG Fall Show 10 '100

Congratulations  to My Friend Nora Makin. Nora  for winning a ribbon at the Seacoast Artist Guild Fall.  You can see Nora's and many other beautiful artworks  on display until Oct 24th at the center court of the  Inlet Square Mall.

Friday, October 15, 2010

SAG Fall Show and Sale Oct '10

The Seacoast Artists Guild Fall Show and Sale  is now on display 
CC entered three pieces into this show 
Above CC with two of her local landmark series "Gates of Litchfield" and "Georgetown USA"
 Above CC with her marsh nocturne
You can see may work and all the other lovely pieces at the Inlet Square Mall Center Court in Murrells Inlet from Oct 15th Through Oct 24th 9 am to 9 pm daily.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Local Landmarks of Edisto Island 10 '10

Palmetto Palm Reflections in Edisto State Park
The first week of October was spent on Edisto Island, SC.  I enjoyed the stay.  It was a very healthy getaway both mentally and physically.   Like most of the sea islands, Edisto Island is actually two islands... Nearest to the  ocean is a narrow spit of sand called Edisto Beach .  Most of the development on Edisto  is on this sandbar wedged between the Atlantic Ocean  and a salt marsh. There's no canned entertainment and hardly any restaurants even on Edisto Beach..  I spent most of the week touring local nature preserves and historical centers and taking photo references for future paintings.

Just West of the salt marsh is Edisto Island proper.  It is a much larger chunk of land  that in turn is cut off from the mainland by two very large rivers.   It is covered with ancient oaks, towering pine, and juniper, interspersed with tidal creeks and marshes, Edisto Island proper is mostly rural small family  farms , remote wildlife management preserves, (and a lot of AME and Baptist churches). The low country scenery is magnificent and chalk full of colonial and civil war history.  I had my bike with me so I was able

 to explore a lot of the area at a very leisurely pace.  My favorite place was through Botany Bay, which is a Wildlife Preserve managed by the Nature Conservancy.  The preserve is composed of 12 former Plantations  which date back to colonial times.

Erosion on Botany Bay Beach
Jeremy Cay

26 Annual People's Choice Art Show 10 '10

CC Beside her painting ( upper one)
CAG Show was held in Lobby of the First Federal Building
You may remember that last month I was thrilled to be promoted to an Exhibiting Member status by the Charleston Art Guild last month. One of the advantages of this status is that I am now eligible to apply for entry into the many shows they hold in downtown Charleston. The first one I entered was the prestigious People's Choice Award sponsored by First Federal Bank. This show has been presented annually for 26 years and is know for it's high quality art. Out of 350 exhibiting members, 125 pieces were shown. and mine was

Lirchfield Tree Allee and Plantation House

The Teeters came by to pick up their new painting of the Litchfield Tree Allee and Plantation House.  They were thrilled to have such a lovely reminder of their honeymoon  and wedding site.

Just Art Show at Prevost Gallery

Top three Award Winners
 The "Just Art Show" at Prevost Gallery in the Rice Museum, Georgetown, SC is a small but classy affair. Thirty five quality paintings are hung . Best in show, first second, third, and honorable mention awards are given.

This year the judge seemed to prefer abstract work ( four out of the five awards went to more abstract pieces) But as always spread the awards over different media: oil, watercolor, acrylic, and textile. The watercolor close-up of peaches below garnered honorable mention.


Small closeup of peaches garnered honorable mention

My work was the small plein air of the Georgetown steel mill on the upper right


My work, while too small and traditional for an award, was hung towards the entrance which is a good sign that the museum liked the piece and thought that the public would as well.

Visiting the Artisan Center in Walterboro SC 10 '10

CC by Steel Magnolia
I've visited South Carolina's state sponsored Artisan Center in Walterboro SC several times. It is a long drive from my home on Pawleys Island. The Center is now taking applications for the jurying-in process for artists wishing to exhibit in the coming year. I had been considering applying to this state sponsored gallery, but given the distance, I wanted wanted to review the quality and character of their exhibition before tossing my hat into the ring.The Artisan Center is fairly close to Edisto Island, so it seemed to make sense to pay it a visit while I was in the area. Unfortunately I was disappointed in what I saw. It seemed to me that there was less fine art and craft than there had been on my previous visits. And much of what was on display was geared to tourist sales. I'm not sure if this is a sign of the times, or whether it the City of Walterboro's reputation for being the murder capital of the South Carolina has discouraged artists from showing there, but I definitely won't be applying there anytime soon