De'ja Vu?

I woke up this morning to find this photo of ' Philadelphia Alley' on today's Facebook post from 'Glimpses of Charleston'. It was taken from almost the same spot I sketched my pastel of this well known street.

Its a different time of day so the color palette is different, but I think I nailed the sense of place.

Charleston Series Complete 8 '15

"The Good Life" 10 "w' x 8 "h pastel

I've finally finished all of the paintings of Charleston's landmarks that I started working on at the end of May. My goal when I began this project was to have eight paintings completed, framed and ready to exhibit by the middle of July.

St. Phillips on Church Street 8"w x 10 h pastel

I had four of them completed before we went to our family reunion in Sedona,


Chalmers Charmers 10"w x 8"h pastel

and had plans to paint another four by the first week in July.


The First Red Dot 8"w x 10"h pastel

Add another week in for getting them named, framed, and all the paperwork ready for the gallery and I should have been right on schedule for delivery some fresh new artwork to the gallery right at the peak of the summer tourist season.


Pineapple Fountain 10"w x 8"h pastel

Well you know what they say about the best laid plans. I hadn't thought about what a strong impact the trip to Sedona would have on me. 

The Museum on Meeting and Market

Not only was I terribly homesick for the West, I couldn't get the images of Sedona out of my head.


St Michael's on Broad Street 10"w x 8"h pastel

Five paintings of Sedona later, I've finally worked most of Sedona out of my system. Bruce and I took a day trip to Charleston so I could refill my mind's eye with all of that city's unique charm. It worked.


Midday in Philadelphia Alley 8"w x 10"h pastel

I was able to complete the paintings had begun in June, and added four new ones to complete the set. Of course, I will be delivering them to the gallery a month later than I planned., but the good news is that I have rediscovered how much fun it is to work in pastels.

Attalaya Festival 9_14

Sunday saw Bruce and I visiting Huntington Beach State Park's Atalaya Festival. It is my favorite Fine Art Craft show in the area, and we always look forward to going to see it. Actually, this was our third attempt to see this year's festival. The minute we arrived on both Saturday and Sunday it had started raining. The festivals exhibitors are set up in the out of door courtyards, and inside the castles' tiny rooms. As soon as it started raining everyone rushes indoors, making it nearly impossible to really see the artwork.

One of the more interesting aspects of this Festival is that it is held entirely within the walls of Atalaya, a Moorish-style “castle” built in the Great Depression as a winter home and sculpture studio by Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington, the New York philanthropists who also created Brookgreen Gardens across U.S. 17 from the oceanfront park.It is one of the most unusual buildings in South Carolina with its lush palm–lined courtyard, wrought iron window grills, and Moorish architecture presided over by a watchtower, Atalaya is a designated National Historic Landmark. Normally,the grounds are closed to the public except by guided tour, so being able to wander about at will inside the compound is a treat in itself. Sunday's weather was far less threatening and we actually had enough space to explore the historic building and to enjoy the fine art and craft on display..

It was indeed a fine collection of art. Over 100 artisans participated in the three day event. The Atalaya Arts and Crafts Festival is renowned throughout the Southeast as one of the best art events of its kind. A wide variety of artists from across the country eagerly enter the rigid jurying process each year, which ensures that the quality is always very high and diversity is broad.

Here's Bruce looking at the artwork of my favorite Pastel artist, Greg Barnes.

The Atalaya Arts and Crafts Festival is renowned throughout the Southeast as one of the best art events of its kind. A wide variety of artists from across the country eagerly enter the rigid jurying process each year, which ensures that the quality is always very high and the media is broad. Painters, potters, sculptures and fiber artists from all over the Southeastern states were on display.

In addition to the fine visual art on display, the event will also had a variety of musical entertainment, demonstrations by exhibitors, and an opportunity to sample some of the seafood delicacies for which the low country is known.

For more information on this event see:

http://www.southcarolinaparks.com/huntingtonbeach/huntingtonbeach-a-fest.aspx

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.

'Buy Local' series now on exhibit at CAG 6 '14

Here's a peek at some of my new " Buy Local" Series Paintings

"Creekside Beauties" 14" x 11" Oil

June 1st was the designated day for all the exhibitors at the Charleston Artists Gallery to refresh their  exhibit areas with new artwork.

"Got the Blues"  14" x 11 " Oil

I  had all the art work ready to go up, but was scheduled to be in California that day.

"Seeing Double" 14" x 11" Oil

My friend, Steve Jacobs offered to hang my new paintings for me.

"Take Home Sushi" 7" x 5" Oil

Thanks for the help hand,  Steve.

Opening Day at Spoletto 5 "14

With a shower of confetti and church bells all over the city ringing, the Spoleto USA festival was officially opened today in front of the historic US Customs House in  Charleston

The Spoleto festival is an almost three week event offering a dynamic and eclectic mix of "all things art". or 17 days and nights each spring, Spoleto Festival USA fills Charleston, South Carolina’s historic theaters,

 churches 

and outdoor spaces 

with performances by renowned artists as well as emerging performers in opera, theater, dance,

 and chamber, symphonic, choral and jazz music. 

Now approaching its 36th season, Spoleto Festival USA is internationally recognized as America’s premier performing arts festival. and definitely a reason for visiting to Charleston.

Preparing the ' Buy Local' Series for Display 5 "14

Test layout using tiles to measure

My new 'Buy Local Series' paintings are signed, sealed, and ready to deliver to the Charleston Artists Gallery on Saturday.  Now I need to find the best  way to arrange them together before they get hung on the gallery walls..  The best way, I have found,  to do that is to measure off  areas. on my floor  that are the same dimensions as my wall-space(s).  (If you are unfamiliar with where you are going to be hanging, it is a good idea to visit or at least call the gallery ahead to verify the dimensions of where you will be and ask about any potential obstacles within that space  e.g. I once found myself working  around some light switches) Sometimes I use  blue painters tape, and sometimes I use the tiles themselves to mark the edges).  I  then start arranging the paintings  within that space until I come up with a pleasing combination.  Once I am satisfied with the layout, I take a quick reference photo, and mark down on a piece of paper the number of inches between each painting, and the number of inches the top and bottom paintings are  from the ceiling and floor.  Together the photo and layout measurements give me a quick way to start hanging once I arrive at the gallery.  If I have multiple columns of paintings I start hanging from the lower right and work up.  If I am only hanging a single column, I work from the top down. 

It may seem like a lot of extra work, but taking the time to do this one extra step is worth it. It's amazing how much smoother the art goes up with a little advance planning.

OMG! I AM NOT Plein Air painting near any of these

OMG!   I AM NOT Plein Air painting near any of these 'scenic ponds" anymore

Check out the size of this alligator.. It's absolutely Jurassic!

http://www.wltx.com/story/news/2014/05/05/huge-gator-seen-crossing-road-near-coast/8732793/

Spring has arrived at the SAG Gallery 4 '14

All my new Spring Series paintings went on display today at the Seacoast Artists Guild Gallery at the Market Common.  I really like how well they looked as a set.

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.

Forsythia 4 '14

The forsythia bush at the edge of the Pawleys Plantation putting green is in full bloom. It is so beautiful when it is back lit. I couldn't resist trying to capture it on canvas.

On my Easel 4'14

It's been a cold wet winter, made even more depressing by the passing of several loved ones..  As always, I  have turned to painting the beauty of nature for comfort.

At first I had to look for it... At the End of January the skies were gray, the ground wet, and the grasses and most trees still dormant, but here and there a shrub would burst into bloom reminding me that life does goes on.

  By the end of February  the grasses were greening , the  Flowering Pears were starting to bloom and spring bulbs were starting to appear.

 

 These were followed by the more colorful peach and cherry trees.

And now everywhere I look there are massive displays of  joy in being alive.

While my heart is still heavy with loss, but  the act of documenting all this youthful exuberance has been teaching me a good lesson.  Life is a process,  not a single event, and  one should appreciate each and every moment with the  people and the beauty they bring into our lives.