Artist Date in New Bern NC 8 '11

New Bern City Hall

BJ and I had been confined to the house far too much this week, so we decided to set aside our chores for a day and do something interesting. We set out sights on the small town of New Bern, NC. It is a four hour (one way) a road trip to this picturesque town and well worth the drive.  Whether you are an architectural painter or a  nature photographer, or just a lover of art and history, this place has it all.

Water Front

 New Bern is located at the confluence of the Trent and the Neuse rivers in what is known as North Carolina's Inner Banks region. It was first settled by Europeans in 1710 by Swiss and German immigrants. It was named after the capital of Switzerland, Bern, meaning courageous, which is something these settlers must have been to brave the wilderness. New Bern is the second oldest town in North Carolina and served as the capital of the North Carolina colonial government and then briefly as the state capital.

County Courthouse

Today, New Bern has a population of roughly 30,000. people. Like most of America, most pf its day to day businesses and shopping have moved to newer shopping centers in the suburb. and it's inner city is struggling to find a new identity. Still for a community with such a small population, the residential and commercial historical areas are in remarkably good state of preservation. The unique architecture of those areas, along with the natural beauty of New Bern's location, has helped to make the town a bit of a mini tourist attraction.

The downtown area is very walkable, and every direction you go leads to something interesting. This path lead to a small courtyard park called "Bern Park which was filled with carved bears. (Actually the whole town has colorful statues of bears around it. I never did find out why. )

The town also has a lot of churches  And I do mean A LOT... all are beautifully maintained, with interesting facades.

New Bern's 's downtown commercial district is not only well preserved but has really interesting places to shop There are lots of eateries, art stores, and some great one of a kind places to visit.

This former bank building (c.1913), headquarters of the Craven Arts Council & Gallery, is both a cultural and architectural treat. The classical facade of Ionic columns provides a grand entrance for the two-story gallery. Changing exhibitions of various media such as painting, sculpture, photography, pottery and fiber art by artists of the southeastern United States are provided free of charge in the gallery area.  It is one of the most beautiful galleries I have ever visited. Be sure to visit the Bank of the Arts Sculpture Park on the corner of Broad and Middle Street across the street from the Cultural Council Gallery

PS I didn't get any photos of the residential neighborhoods, but if you enjoy photographing or painting architecture those are really interesting  as well.

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens Photo Shoot 11 '10

As a belated Birthday gift, Bruce took me to see Magnolia Plantation and Gardens just outside of Charleston SC. But spent most of my time in the gardens.  The place is huge.... walkways wander off everywhere.  One could spend days exploring the place.

 It is a pre-revolutionary plantation and boasts the oldest established horticultural gardens on the continent.  The house and grounds have been in the same family for over 300 years.  Starting right off with the first owner,  formal flower gardens were planted and cared for as carefully as the rice fields.  Each successive owner added to  size of the gardens  and enhanced the number of species collected.  They were careful to balance art with nature by providing habitats to protect the native wildlife.

I took lots of photos of the statuary

and of the wildlife

                          Even at an off season like late November, the place is spectacular.

I was especially impressed with all of the subtle shades of gray and purple and green I saw in the  water gardens.  If I painted some of these scenes I would probably be accused of faking it.
can't wait to come back in the spring when all of the azaleas are in bloom

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!

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)

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.

 

Attalaya Festival 2010

Huntington Beach State Park SC sponsors a an Arts and Crafts Fair once a year in the historic "Attalaya Castle" .

 

This year saw fewer visual artists, and more fine art crafts people .









Even so, the e quality of the art work was , as always, really high. And I did meet a fantastic pastel artist, named Greg Barnes who I hope to take a workshop from in the near future.

CC visits Charleston Aug 10, 2010

I haveas been debating  with herself about  whether Ishould be seeking representation in second gallery.  In the end, the answer  boils down to economics.  Would a second galley  be likely to turn a profit, or not ? So on On Aug 11th I headed into Charleston for a walking tour of the Art Galleries along King and Broad Streets.  What she found is that the fees charged by the galleries in this section of the city are really very high, and that sales are slow.  So it is probably best for me to to continue looking.

 

 But that didn't spoil the day.  Along the way I got to  admire the city's beautiful architecture, and  explore the Unitarian Church's historic graveyard.

and got some beautiful reference photos for future paintings. Hmmm maybe a graveyard series  for October???

Bookgreen's 2010 Art Craft Fair 6 "10

Above:  Welcome Center Portico Exhibits  Included  Anne Malarich's Photography

  

 

Brookgreen Gardens usually hosts its annual Art Craft Fair the first week in June.  We  attended last year as a collector and was impressed with the quality of the work.

Below:  Welcome Center Circle Tents Exhibits included Some Moles Fused Glass Art and Terry Lee Johnson's beautiful turned Wooden Bowls

We  planned on attending this year  with the mindset  of someone who might want to be an exhibit in next year's show. I reasoned that if nothing else, the attending the show would give CC  a chance to scout the determine if she wanted to apply next year.  And of course,  she can always use an extra reference photo or two for her local landmark series on this popular destination.

Above: Jeff Sturm Demonstrated his oil painting techniques

Below:  Watercolorist Nancy Van Buren  talks with a customer about her art.

That being said, we are truly glad we did make the time to go to this show.  We would recommend it to any art lover.   It is really one of the better art events in the community.

Swan Lake Arts and Crafts Show 5 '10

Sumter, SC has been hosting and Arts and Crafts Show at its the annual Iris Festival which is held at  the local landmark Swan Lake Park.   I decided to make the event my  Artist Date for this week..

First of all I  wanted to see the Iris.  The last time I visited the gardens the Iris had not yet begun to bloom.  But they should be at their peak of bloom right now and I really wanted to get some reference photos of both the Iris and the swans.

While the iris were definitely in  full bloom, we were disappointed in how few  blooms there were growing around the lake.  The we discovered why.   It seems that the Lake's other famous attraction .. i.e. swans have a craving for iris blooms. CC  watched the hefty fella  below munch down a half dozen just while she was standing there.

No wonder the park has fencing around so many of its flowers.

My second reason for going was to scout out whether I wanted to consider an entry into  the Arts and Crafts Show in 2011. 

There were a fair number of  fine art craft vendors selling .. glass , wearable art, woodwork  and a variety of other crafts.  There was only one full time painter, and one person who had some paintings and some crafts     (below).  Both said their  low cost reproductions had sold quite well.

While we both  enjoyed the day, the  Art Craft Show itself did not seem to be the right venue for my art work..

Artist Date: Ebb and Flow Gallery 5 '10

My Artist Date  for the week was to  visit the

Ebb and Flow Art CO-op and Coffee House

This CO-op gallery is housed in a low country bungalow facing  Hwy. 17 in Murrell's Inlet.  My first reaction when I walked through the door was that I had suddenly been transported to the  Hawaii.   Many of the galleries on the BIG Island are housed in bungalows, and share the same sense of funk and fun that I found in Ebb and Flow.    No snobby pushy salesmen here, or sterile  rooms  with nothing to do but stare at the walls.  Most of the rooms had  comfy chairs, or couches, several had tables that invited you to sit and linger; all were filled with  interesting objects of art.  Twenty-four local artists  and craftsmen are showing  here.  The media includes hand-crafted furniture,  silk art, o pottery and glass art,  jewelry,   traditional paintings on canvas and more.. 

This funky  gallery / coffee house offers an eclectic atmosphere to meet, chat, work and enjoy a great espresso, latte, or cappuccino named after famous artists. On Thursday evenings the place comes alive with folk music. I can't wait to go back.

You can check the  Ebb and Flow  out yourself at:

4763 Hwy 17, Murrells Inlet, SC, 29576

(843) 651-2386

http://www.ebbandflowartco-op.com

Brookgreen Gardens Artist Date 4 '10

Thursday I went to  Brookgreen Gardens to grab some spring reference photos for the series I am doing of their Botanical Gardens.

I thought I would get there early when the light was casting long shadows.  Unfortunately the Gardens do not open to the public until 9:30 am, which is about an two hours later than I would have liked to start. Even worse when I got there, I found busloads of school kids on a field trip.  I spent a lot more time than I would have liked waiting for a scene to be free of munchkins, but at least I got a few laughs while I was waiting.

For example    I had to wonder if this sculptured bear was trying to hide behind the azaleas from the hordes of mini-Tarzans who were climbing all over the sculptures in the children's garden.

These pair of noble beasts looked a little disgusted at being seated amidst all those pretty flowers.  They seemed to be thinking , " Hmmmmph.  The least the staff could have done is plant tropical plants around the King of Beasts!"

Speaking of Beasts... I call this shot Beauty and the Beast.

Just so you can gauge the size of this alligator, I've included a photo with the enormous statue and a human to compare with the alligator.

Artist Date at Brookgreen Gardens 3 '10

Author,  Julia Cameron popularized the concept of an "Artist Date" in her book The Artist's Way.  To quote Ms. Cameron, "An Artist Date  is a block of time , perhaps two hours weekly, especially set aside  and committed to nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist."  There are only two rules for an artist date... (a) it must be something that you enjoy and ( b) it must be done alone.. no friends, no spouses, not pets that will draw you off course.

 I adhere to the principal and put it into practice religiously.   Sometimes my date with my inner artist is a visit to a gallery or museum to look at other artists work,  and sometimes it is just a walk in the woods.   (Now don't go rolling your eyes on me.   Where do you think I get my inspiration?.)

This weeks excursion was to Brookgreen Gardens to look for scenes for my the series I am painting of this National Historic Landmark.   Below: Tree Alley.. a different view.

 

The Gardens were beautiful..  Most of the bulbs were in full bloom. Magnolia blossom petals carpeted the ground  with pink , and filled the air with a perfume so lovely that  I wished I could find a way to paint that scent.

Above: Daffodils and old mill stone.

It was warm enough that even the boat tours were running (Below).

On the other hand, it was a lousy day for photos.  One minute a scene would be bright with sunshine and billowy clouds, the next gray and threatening.  I spent a lot of time waiting for the light .  Even so, the loaner camera I am using, wasn't fast enough .... many of my shots came out dark or with so much contrast as to be useless..  The wind whipped the flowers into a  blur, and the mosquitoes were ravenous.  Oh well... I  have to look at these photos as a seasonal reference for blooms, tree shapes  and weather.

Below: Snack shop under the cherry tree

 

At the gift shop,  I found a wonderful DVD of photos of Brookgreen Gardens  taken right after last February's snowfall.  The  photos were outstanding.   The credits on the Dust jacket only said "The Staff of Brookgreen", but  I suspect most, if not all, of the photos were taken by my friend Ann Malarich.    The DVD inspired me to consider a  snow series for Pawleys Plantation  .  The photos I took of this area after that snowfall were equally outstanding.  I should at least consider making them available via DVD.