CAG Changeout Date

All the Exhibitors in the Charleston Artists Gallery (at 160 East Bay, Charleston) will be bringing in new their artwork today (July  14th) AND, Artist, Cecelia Campbell will be  in the CAG Gallery  from 11-6pm.  Good time to drop by to say "Hi" and to see all the beautiful new artwork the gallery that is going on display!

My Wall at CAG Nov.'12

I have three of my pastels of the local dunes up in the Charleston Artist Guild

CAG Miniature Holiday Art Sale '12

This year CAG put up two Christmas trees in the gallery.  One tree was for CAG members who had been jurried into exhibiting status,  and the other was for exhibiting members who are in the CAG gallery

Exhibitors are  allowed to hang small affordable miniature artwork on their respective tree.  You may remember that last year I put two serious holiday still lifes on the tree, and a playful Surfing Santa. The still lifes sold almost instantly, but the Santa did not find a home. Honestly I was kinda glad that he didn't, as I really would have liked to have him in my own home.

This year caught me short on paintings and Bruce talked me into putting Santa back on the CAG Tree.
Wouldn't you know it.  He sold within two days.  Now I may have to  repaint one for myself.

Little River Light House Aug '11

I had seen photos of a light house along the Little River in South Carolina, so today Bruce and I went looking for it.  It turns out to be a  replica of a light house that is used by a condo community  to store its pool supplies.  Functional or not, the clever camouflage has become something of a local landmark to boaters on the Little River, SC.

Seacoast Artist Guild Meet with Sandi Blood 5 '11

Our May 1 Seacoast Artist Guild meeting featured a presentation  by Sandi Blood, one of our photographer members. Sandi is a Massachusetts native who moved to the area four years ago and has since been enjoying traveling the area searching for those perfect shots! Her topic was Abstracting Photography.

The Thunderhead 4 '11

With all the storms hitting the South, there has been a lot of dramatic cloud formations in the sky over the marsh....I just finished this pastel painting of a thunderhead I saw yesterday.

Oh by the way, so far, dramatic cloud formations are about the only action we have seen from those storm fronts.

Georgetown Lighthouse 2 '11

I  recently took a boat tour of South Carolina's Winyah Bay.  The tour included a visit to North Island and its  Georgetown Lighthouse.  I was so impressed with the history of the place that I decided to paint a picture of the lighthouse for my local landmark series. 

Georgetown Lighthouse 12"x9" oil

Her's my rendition of  the Georgetown Lighthouse.

and here's a photo  from the University of North Carolina of the  the lighthouse.

 By way of background....Georgetown Harbor, located in Wynyah Bay  between North and South Islands, is the second largest seaport in South Carolina.  Safe passage into the harbor is now, and as it always has been,  critical to the local economy.  In 1789, Revolutionary War Patriot Paul Trapier donated a tract of land on North Island for the establishment of the Georgetown Lighthouse.  (aka North Island Lighthouse.)  The seventy-two-foot, pyramidal tower, constructed of Cypress wood, was finished in the early part of 1801 Besides the tower, a two-story keeper’s dwelling was built along with a tank for holding the whale oil that fueled the lighthouse’s lamp. The wooden tower’s life was cut short by a violent storm in 1806.

Several years passed before a replacement structure was built. A marble plaque positioned above the door records the names of those who undertook the work on the tower and records the year of its erection as 1811. This time the seventy-two-foot tower was constructed of brick, greatly reducing the chance that those big, bad gales which plague the area (aka hurricanes) would blow the lighthouse down. The staircase that spirals upwards inside the stout brick tower is made of stone. In 1857, the tower was modified to display a fourth-order Fresnel lens. 

When the Civil War broke out, the Confederates used the Georgetown Lighthouse as a lookout station, until Union forces captured it in May of 1862. The lighthouse was heavily damaged during the North-South conflict, and as part of the post-war repair work, the tower was heightened to eighty-seven feet.  The Georgetown Lighthouse was manned until 1986, when the Coast Guard automated the light.

As stipulated in the will of former Boston Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey, South Island and all of North Island, save the lighthouse acreage, was bequeathed to the South Carolina Heritage Trust, creating the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Preserve.  In 2001, the lighthouse property was added to the preserve.  This is a rare early federal lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and with it now under state control, the tower will hopefully be restored and one day open to the public.  The 1-story brick keeper's house, brick oilhouse (1890), and boathouse (1894) are also preserved

Visiting Summerville's Galleries2 '11

Last Friday, I made a trip to Summerville, SC.  I'd heard that the area had a growing fine arts community and I wanted to   to check out their gallery scene.  Summerville is a pleasant little Southern town.  It's proximity to the major employers  of North Charleston  has kept it from suffering the decline that one sees in less affluent areas.   The tree lined streets are lined with interesting shops and lot of quaint cafes that are full of customers.  AND   I am pleased to report that there is indeed a strong art presence in the area. There are lots of small galleries and fine art craft stores, and most of the local businesses exhibit the work of local artists on their walls.

First stop on the trip was Art Central Art Gallery. This gallery owned and operated by thirteen local artists The gallery offers a unique selection of paintings, photographs, hand-made jewelry, pottery and prints by local artists and artisans.  I was especially impressed with the mixed media of artist Helen K. Beacham.

Next stop was People Places and Quilts.  It has been rated as the number one quilt shop in the country.  'Why is a landscape  painter visiting a quilt shop?', you ask.  I used to teach Fiber Arts, and still love looking at non-traditional uses of fiber.  The moment I stepped through the door of this place I fell in love with the  place.   The building used to be an old hardware store. The shop is arranged in a series of rooms... each with its own character and purpose...  one for social gatherings and training, one for traditional quilts, one for children filled with bright colorful cloth, and one with contemporary batiks and subtly patterned fabrics. There is color  and creative ideas on display everywhere.  The shop not only sells fabric but has a fine display of both traditional and art quilts. A visit here will really get your creative juices flowing.

I also visited several other places in the area including the Finishing Touch, which offers  a nice array of original artwork and prints,  and fine handcrafted gifts.

The community offers an art walk on the Third Thursdays (5 - 8 pm) from March through September where artists set up out of door exhibits along Central Ave.  There will also be an Open Studio Tour in April.The art walk,  galleries, and the many fine dining establishments are just a few of the many reasons to pay a visit to Summerville, SC.

WACG Beach Wash Workshop 8 '10

The Waccamah Arts and Crafts Guild sponsored a workshop on learning to do beach washes as backgrounds for artwork.

 The workshop leader came prepared with all of the materials we would need to learn the skillset

We all chose a spot on Myrtle Beach to listen to her directions

Then she had an experienced member demonstrate how to get a nice sand wash  resist pattern on the water color paper using the smaller waves at the edge of the tide.

Back on the dry beach we practiced pouring diluted acrylics over the sand wash

Until we were surrounded by a rainbow of brilliantly colored beach washed paper

Pawleys Island and Prince George 3 '10

It had been raining hard for two days when there was a sudden break in the clouds yesterday.  Ie rushed down to Pawleys Island to catch some rays and much needed fresh air.  It was low tide, so the entire southern tip of the island was exposed.  Only the narrow neck of the inlet, between Pawley's and Prince George, was underwater.

Both the clouds above, and the reflections below were magnificent.  You can be sure that some of the photos I took will become the basis for some of my local landmark series.   Shortly after the photos above were taken the sky grew dark with ominous thunderheads.  I barely made it home before the deluge resumed.

Seacoast Artist Guild Fall Show 12 '09

Bruce and I attended the Seacoast Artist Guild's Fall Show and Sale this evening.

It was held in the Art Works Gallery in the Litchfield Exchange Building

 The show was well attended by both artists and art lovers

( especially the refreshment table).

 

I must admit I was impressed with both the quality of the art and how well it was displayed.  This group really sets professional standards for its members

I am glad.  It's nice to see that my  local art community is thriving.

Great Smokey Mountain National Park 6 '09

The main objective of our trip was to visit the Great Smokey Mountain National Park while the weather permitted was warm enough to allow us to get some reference photos without having to wear snow shoes

Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Asheville is the most visited national park with 10 million visitors each year. There are 520,976 acres to explore. When I think of the park the first thing that comes to mind is hiking  majestic mountain top with  awesome views. While it is true that this International Biosphere Reserve is home to rugged mountains (with many of its  peaks in excess of 6,000 feet),  it also has historic homesteads, 100,000 different types of plants and animals, and lots and lots of water.. 

Since the park is so large,  how does one go about exploring it  in a three day  weekend? There are four entrances to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park within 60 miles from downtown Asheville.  We tried to see  and do all the  top listed things from each of these entrances to the Great Smoky Mountains. I have created posts which  highlight the best of our experiences in these areas.

 The Deep creak area of the Great Smokies is popular for its streams and waterfalls.

Hikers can choose from several loop hikes leading to several small waterfalls We took several of these short hikes.

The sound  of the water gurgling through these ancient  rocks is  musical.

But there is running water everywhere in the Smoky Mountains.

Dribbles out of the mountain side along the road ways

like these trickles along Highway 144

 or chatters noisily through small narrow creeks

 Joining with other creeks, picking up speed andc cascading down hillsides in every larger volumes as it does here in Juney Wank falls

As it reaches the lower elevations  it spreads out

  in large reflecting ponds

 and spreads into  gentle streams safe enough for children to play in (as it does here in a stream near Cherokee).

Of course, there was much more to see and do in The Great Smokey Mountains, but those activities are topics for future posts.