Crepe Myrtle in Bloom

Many people think of Spring as the best time to see the South in bloom.  Few realize that the warmer months of the year also have their own form of  Southern flower power.. Crepe Myrtle, Magnolia and many native  Southern plants are in peak bloom.

Cannas around the Palm Garden Urn.

 And many introduced species thrive in our near tropical climate.

Climbing Gloriosa Lily looks aflame against it's green leaves

Brookgreen Gardens is one the best places in the  state to see just how truly exotic the South can look

One of my personal  favorites blooms of the season are the waterlilies.  I always try to get in plein air  paintings of these beauties at this time of year.

Wild white waterlilies can be found blooming along South Carolina's roadways

But they are not as large nor as colorful as those in Brookgreen's ponds

And Brookgreen's  pond lilies are a lot safer to paint . Unfortunately this year 's constant scattered thunderstorms are making  plein air  even at  Brookgreen  hazardous. 
Fortunately I was able to  get in a few good sketches and grab some decent reference photos this week before the weather chased me off

 

Brookgreen Garden's Fine Art Craft Show 6'14

Bruce and I went to Brookgreen Gardens new two day juried Fine art and Craft Show today  and I am so glad we did.

Threatening Sky

  The sky rumbled and grumbled all day, but the rain stayed away 

60 exhibitors is a lot

 for the sixty local and national artists who were juried into this two day show.

Held within the background of this beautiful nationally re-known sculpture garden

Whimsical living garden sculpture

BJ and I got to meet the known artists whose works are sold within fine art galleries across the country.

BJ chatting with Master wood carver, Timothy Bahn

There were demonstrations of pottery throwing, glass blowing, hand loom weaving and a chance to learn many of the processes used in making much of the work on display.

A Custom Quilted Kimona

There were whimsical items, art for the garden, custom commissioned artwork, and hand loomed wearable art on display.

BJ chatting with fiber artist Amy Bowden

Bruce bought me several original knitwear items from the very creative fiber artist Amy Bowden.  Now I can really look snazzy when we go to art events.

What are those pink flowers? 4 '14

  "What are those pink flowers?" a friend from the West coast wrote.  "They're azaleas",  I wrote back... but wait I thought... I don't know if she will believe that answer.   It's a good question to keep in mind when one is attempting to paint a scene the viewer might never have experienced. I grew up in the wide open ( but arid) spaces of the west coast myself.  A large azalea on the west coast might reach two foot tall and three foot wide.  Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I might have suspected that  the profusion of vegetation was a bit overstated  if not outright fabricated.  Let me assure you, it is neither. 

Small Part of Brookgreen Gardens' Pine forest in Spring

The sheer size of the flowering plants  in Spring can be overwhelming.  In the older established gardens, the azaleas can reach twenty feet, and the flowering trees are taller.

The photo below will give you some sense of the heights...  They dwarf me.

CC  with azaleas at Magnolia  Gardens

And they are everywhere

 Magnolia Gardens path

There are acres and acres of woodland paths and walks like these at at Magnolia Gardens and Brookgreen Gardens

Brookgreen Gardens walkway

Even personal gardens are a mass of blooms.

Azaleas and Dogwood  at Pawleys

 It can all be a bit overwhelming.  The sheer profusion makes it hard to  know what to focus upon, much less even get a clean photo of it.. Painting the scene becomes an exercise in deciding on what is the center of interest, and trying to remove anything in the scene that  might distract the viewers' focus.

Brookgreen Garden's Gate

The photo  above shows the garden gate where I painted the scene below.  ( en plein air not from the reference photo).  Far from being overstated, I actually had to subdue a lot of color and edit out  many shapes to keep the painting  from seeming cluttered and even garish.

My painting of "The Garden Gate"

 Maybe that is why so few artists tackle full blown flower filled  Spring landscapes.  They require hard mental work and  are very tricky to pull off well.

BrookGreen Gardens Art Show 6"13

Walter Cushman,  BJ, and Ed Delaney

We visited the Brookgreen Gardens Annual Art Show On June 1 and were happy to see so many of our friends and local artists from the Seacoast Artists Guild were exhibiting. Good Selling to Sean Thompson, Maria Delaney, Millie Doud, Judy O'Brien, Suz, Mole, and Nancy VanBuren.

Maria Delaney

Suz, Mole,

and Nancy VanBuren

It's nice to belong to a Guild whose members are  so active in the local art scene

Brookgreen Gardens Night of a Thousand Candles 12 '12

Once again we attended Brookgreen Gardens Annual  "Night of a Thousand Candles" Festival.
I always look forward to this holiday light extravaganza.

 I attend this festival every year in hopes of obtaining some great reference photos to use as the basis for holiday themed Nocturns I did get some good photos of the garden at night,  but this year I was a bit disappointed in the event.

For one thing, the Gardens oversold the event and it took patrons forty five minutes of stop and go driving just to get from the front gate to the parking lot.

Then the  the gardens themselves seemed a lot sparser this year than last. I understand the need for pruning overgrown plants, but why not wait until after their major event of the season is over, or at least fill the barren beds with  some annuals .They had also changed the light displays so that they seemed  quite similar from one garden area to the next.  Bruce liked that, but I thought it monotonous. I liked it better in previous years when there were more areas with colored lights

Of course there were the usual selections of wandering bagpipers, Celtic musicians, bell ringers etc.

and some beautiful  holiday floral displays.But many of those were things I could have enjoyed just as well by daylight. So I am hoping that next year the garden flower beds will be planted  and lit as well as their indoor displays were this year.

Just sold: "Full Bloom"

"Full Bloom" 9" x 12" oil

Charleston Artists Guild just called to tell me they have sold my painting, "Full Bloom".

Brookgreen Night of a Thousand Candles 12 '11

One of my favorite things to do during the holidays is to visit Botanical Gardens at night.  Quite a number of them decorate with special holiday light shows and have all kinds of family oriented holiday activities .   We visited the Lewis Ginter Gardens in Richmod on this trip, but Brookgreen Gardens  in Pawleys Island SC  is still  my favorite.

 

Dec 3^rd  was the opening night of Brookgreen Gardens Night of a Thousand Candles.  I and my camera spent the evening documenting the spectacular beauty of the gardens at night.

Every year, for three weekend evenings,,  Brookgreen Gardens come to life  with holiday spirit amid the soft glow of more than 5,500 hand-lit candles and countless sparkling lights.

   

The sculptures are even more beautiful at night than they are by day. They almost seem alive

  The  sculptures in the pools and fountains appear to be dancing

The  heritage oak trees take on an other worldly look and seem even more ancient and massive at night

 

It's a wonderful way to celebrate the holidays while collecting nocturnal  photo references for a local landmark

Brookgreen Waterlilies I

Spring is near and I am dreaming of flowers and warm days.

Original oil painting : " Brookgreens Waterlilies I"

I took a stroll  through Brookgreen Gardens last week.  Not much is in bloom yet, but the walk did inspire me to go back and review some of the photos I took there last Spring and summer.  The photos  I captured of  the waterlilies in the Alligator Fountain  brought back sweet memories of warm sunny days.  I  used the photo below as the basis for the painting above.

My  original reference photo of the waterlilies in Brookgreen's Alligator Fountain

Lots and Lots of new Spring Paintings

My wall at Island Art Gallery

I will post some close ups when they are dry enough to handle.

Most of the paintings I have at Island were painted in  autumn  or winter with seasonal color to match.    Actually most of my paintings  are painted in very warm  tones  or very cool grays, as I prefer those ends of the palette.  But who wants to purchase a painting of fall or winter foliage, when all around them out of doors azaleas and camellias and dogwood are exploding into glorious shades of pinks and purples?    This past month  I  decided it is time to drag out my photos of Brookgreen Gardens  taken last Spring and start some new paintings. 



Tulips,iceland poppies,  ranunculus, wisteria, azalea have all been blooming on my canvases.  Guess I can paint in Spring colors if I put my mind to it.

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)

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.