Easter Sunrise

The light shining through the clouds caught my interest in this photo I took near Jeremy Creek in McClellanville, SC.

May the dawn of this special day bring peace and renewal to you and your loved ones.
Happy Easter!

"Easter Vigil" A Charcoal Drawing of a Biblical Garden Statue

I sketched in the Biblical Garden at Magnolia Plantation on the day after Good Friday, surrounded by plants that are mentioned in the Bible. This small formal garden is a hidden gem tucked into one of the largest Romantic Gardens in the country. It's the second year I've painted here on the Saturday after Good Friday.

"Easter Vigil" is a charcoal drawing of a statue of Mary standing in the center of 12 small square flower beds designed to form the shape of a cross. The 12 flower beds are symbolic of the 12 Disciples of Christ.

The deep shadows and sharp contrasts in my charcoal drawing make me think of Mary as she watched and prayed on that dark day before The Resurrection.

"Easter Vigil"
Charcoal, pastel and conte drawing on paper
Dimensions: 14"x 10.5"

The International Camellia Society "Camellia of the Month", C. japonica "Princess" (?) April 2009

The subject of my painting "Camellia in the Rain" is a bloom from a bush highlighted as "Camellia of the Month" by the International Camellia Society (ICS) for April 2009.

The International Camellia Society is a non-profit organization with over 2,000 members worldwide. It is the official registrar for the genus Camellia and maintains the International Camellia Register in addition to publishing the yearly "International Camellia Journal ".

On the Society's website @ http://www.camellia-ics.org is a photograph of the camellia and information about the plant's recent history in the Charleston garden of Mrs. Rose Muschick.

As with many varieties of older heritage camellias, the ancestry of this plant is an open question. Information about the plant from camellia growers, horticulturists, or flora-culturalists is welcomed.

"Plantation Smoke House" A Plein Air Painting of a Historic Outbuilding at Hobcaw Barony

"Plantation Smokehouse" is my plein air painting of a historic outbuilding at Hobcaw Barony, a Historic National Site and research reserve of the Bell W. Baruch Foundation.




In the painting, shadows play on the white side of the smoke house, as Spanish moss sways in the breeze from nearby Winyah Bay.
I used color contrasts and value changes to direct the viewer's eye from the moss filled tree at left, across the smokehouse and off through the shadows to the water in the distance.

"Plantation Smoke House"
Oil on panel
Size: 11" x 14"
Price on request

Hobcaw Barony is composed of land that was granted in 1718 as a "barony" to English royalty. It was later sold and subdivided into plantations extending from the Waccamaw River to the Atlantic Ocean. The word "Hobcaw" is a Native American term meaning "between the waters".

The antebellum smokehouse at Hobcaw was used to cure game caught by the hunting parties to the Barony when it was used as a winter hunting retreat by Bernard Baruch in the early 1900's . Duck, turkey, deer, quail, foxes, and wild boar were hunted by distinguished guests, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill .