Painting Under the Oaks at Santee Coastal Reserve WMA

 I took the opportunity to paint this beautiful day on location at the SC Department of Natural Resources Santee Coastal Reserve Wildlife Management Area near McClellanville, SC.

Sunlight lights my canvas as I paint under the oaks
near the Santee Gun Club Clubhouse,
a regional office of the SC Department of Natural Resources.

The subject of my plein air painting is sunlight filtering through the live oaks leading to the historic Santee Gun Clubhouse circa 1908 on the grounds of the former Blake Plantation once the site of large scale rice planting and the first rice mill in SC.

 "Sunlit Oaks"A mix media painting on canvas
by
 Katherine M Schneider
20" x 24" unframed

Painting On Location at the SCDNR Santee Coastal Wildlife Management Area - February 2014

The Santee Coastal Wildlife Management Area of the SC Dept. of Natural Resources is a great place to visit this time of year. The weather is cooler, the bugs are more manageable, and with the deciduous leaves down for winter, more expansive vistas are visable in the hardwood forests. I'm continuing to explore the many inspirational locations this diverse ecosystem provides... Here are a couple of areas I've been inspired to paint out in recently

An umbrella shields my canvas from the wind as I paint evening light
on a rice trunk gate at the SC Santee Coastal Reserve.

The Washo Reserve is a scene of seasonal color and migrating wildlife.

Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings of Santee Coastal Reserve SCDNR Wildlife Management Area by Artist Katherine M Schneider on Display at Historic Santee Gun Club Clubhouse

An exhibition of new paintings and drawings by Katherine M Schneider entitled "From Dawn to Dusk" is on display

The Historic Santee Gun Club Clubhouse circa 1898
currently headquarters of the SCDNR at
Santee Coastal Reserve Wildlife Management Area
210 Santee Gun Club Rd. McClellanville, SC.

at the historic Santee Gun Club Clubhouse of the South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources (SCDNR). The artworks on display are the artist's impressions of the habitats and wildlife of the SC Santee Coastal Reserve.

This diverse ecosystem is made up of 24,000 acres "including a variety of habitats including upland forests, freshwater, brackish and tidal wetlands and agricultural fields. The property is composed of Murphy Island, Cedar Island, The Cape, Washo Reserve and adjacent upland habitats.

Murphy Island, Cedar Island and The Cape are former rice fields managed for the benefit of breeding migratory and wintering waterfowl, shorebirds and wading birds. Loggerhead sea turtles nest on Murphy and Cedar Islands. Washo Reserve, owned by The Nature Conservancy, is a 1,000-acre sanctuary consisting of a cypress lake that supports one of the largest Wood stork rookeries on the East Coast and a surrounding upland buffer.

 Schneider's plein air drawing of wind blown spanish moss
in a cypress tree at a freshwater impoundment
 at the Santee Coastal Reserve  

The upland habitat at SCR contains a diversity of forest types, including a natural stand of longleaf pine, Carolina bays and mixed hardwoods. The long-leaf pine and other forested areas support many colonies of the endangered Red-cockaded woodpecker, songbirds, raptors, butterflies, fox squirrels and other small mammals." (DNR managed lands site)


Over the past 5 months, Schneider has sketched and painted on location (en plein air) at Santee Coastal Reserve studying the land and inhabitants of the long leaf pine barrens, freshwater impoundments, tidal wetlands, former rice fields and South Santee River.

The setting sun creates dramatic light patterns
in the broom sedge grass of a long leaf pine barren as
 Katherine Schneider paints on location at Santee Coastal Reserve 

The field studies created over this time period developed strong impressions of the seasonal changes in the landscape, native wildlife and migratory birds and have provided a store of material from which the artworks in the exhibit "From Dawn to Dusk" have evolved.  

                                                                                                 

The exhibit "From Dawn to Dusk" Paintings and Drawings of the Santee Coastal Reserve by Katherine M. Schneider is open to the public Mon.-Thurs. 9:00am to 4:00pm at the Santee Coastal Reserve Clubhouse, 210 Santee Gun Club Rd. McClellanville, SC. Phone (843) 546-6062.

Great Weather for Plein Air Painting In the SC Lowcountry

. 

My painting and easel  set up on a quiet country road.
As the light faded, a family of deer wandered across the road.
They move soft as shadows.

Sunlight filtering through live oaks on a country road and cool fall weather made for great painting in the ACE basin today.  I'm working on a larger canvas (36"x48") that will take several painting sessions to complete. 

Pictured here is my custom made canvas panel with an under painting of neutral grey-green and dark tones. Next, I'll work on developing abstract light and shadow patterns in the trees. It's often useful to simplify a subject with this much visual "information". Including too much detail will weaken the overall design and cause the painting to look cluttered. 

 I'm working to create a painting about softly filtered sunlight and sheltering live oaks on a road less traveled. A scene of timeless beauty increasingly hard to find ...

"Twilight Moon Rising" An Oil Painting by Katherine Schneider

"Twilight Moon Rising"
Oil on Canvas panel
8x10"

This month the moon has been rising early in the eastern sky. It's already ascended high above the horizon by twilight-the time between sundown and full darkness in the evening.

My painting "Twilight Moon Rising" catches the brief time when the moon shines softly as it rises through the fading light over the marsh.

National Arbor Day 2012

Happy National Arbor Day 2012.  "Lowcountry Morning Glow" is my plein air painting of a SC Lowcountry marsh hummock with the state tree - the Palmetto.  What a great day to get outside and celebrate the beauty of trees.

"Lowcountry Morning Glow"
oil on panel
sold

"Springtime in Charleston" A plein air painting of the Joseph Verre House

A bright red Japanese maple and intertwining vines of pink roses and confederate jasmine blooming on the garden gate of the Joseph Verre House were the inspiration for this plein air (on location) painting .

Charleston's historic colonial homes are graced with some of the loveliest, intimate garden spaces in the country. While they are often planted to be enjoyed all year long, it is in the spring that they outdo themselves with colorful blooms.

"Springtime in Charleston"
Plein air oil on panel
Size: 11" x 14"
Sold

"Timeless Elegance - Magnolia Plantation" an oil painting of a Lowcountry Plantation by Katherine Schneider

"Timeless Elegance - Magnolia Plantation"

Oil on panel painting by Katherine Schneider

 11"x14" 

$450.00

This time of year the world famous collection of camellias is in full bloom at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens along the banks of the Ashley River near Charleston, SC. Painting on the grounds of the Manor house is a pleasure anytime of year, but even more now when the weather is mild and the amazing variety of  blooming camellias add bright bursts of color to the muted tones of  the winter garden.

A Snowy Egret (aka: White Heron) Woodcut Intaglio Print by Katherine Schneider

This hand rubbed woodcut is a fine art intaglio print of  A Snowy Egret  also known as a white heron. It can be found in shallow waterways and ponds throughout the Carolina Lowcountry.

Patient hunters, these beautiful birds can be seen stalking minnows and fiddlers crabs on their long stilt like legs.

In my woodcut painting, an egret stands among the tall marsh grass as tidal waters fill the area.



"Marsh Watch"
Image size: 12" x 10"
Paper size: 22"x 15"
Price: $225.00

This hand rubbed woodcut painting is an artists proof of a small series of hand pressed paintings on French Rives BFK paper.

"Afterglow" A Painting of the Evening Sky

The late evening after the sun has set in the west is one of the most fleeting and beautiful times of day. 

My oil painting "Afterglow" shows a lone tree on a Lowcountry marsh hummock silhouetted against the soft colors of the evening sky.

Painting in the Moonlight

Painting outside en plein air is always a challenge. Shifting weather conditions and rapidly changing light are only a few of the problems to be considered when painting on location. Recently I decided to take on an even more challenging task - Painting outside in the dark to study the subtle effects of moonlight on the landscape.

I had a great evening painting in the moonlight even though I wasn't sure of what the paintings looked like til I got back to the studio.

I decided to work on a larger than usual (16 x20") canvas. It felt good to paint in a larger plein air format but I had to mix and paint faster to get the job done before the light changed.

I also finished a second smaller painting of the full moon seen through swaying fronds of SC's state tree - the palmetto.

I look forward to more painting in the moonlight - It's an exciting challenge to try capture in paint the subtle beauty of the moon!

"After the Storm" A Study of a Lowcountry Sky

The summer weather patterns are creating beautiful skies here in the Lowcountry - towering thunderheads, cumulonimbus clouds, silvery patches of summer showers and rainbows! I've been out studying the rapidly changing effects in the summer skies recently.

"After the Storm" is a study of the atmospheric effects of passing rain clouds and an ephemeral double rainbow over a pine island in the marsh.

A Plein Air Painting of the Restored Bandstand in White Point Gardens by Katherine Schneider

White Point Gardens was a great place to paint today. The park was full of activity as children hunted for Easter eggs, blankets were spread for picnics, and everyone enjoyed the sunshine by the harbor.

The newly renovated Bandstand looked lovely with it's lowered platform and fresh paint.

"What's Old Is New Again"

The Bandstand at White Point Gardens

Oil on cradled birch panel

Plein air painting by Katherine Schneider

"Mossy Marsh Oak" A Plein Air Painting Using a Toned Surface

In my plein air painting "Mossy Marsh Oak", I used a warm color on the painting surface to enrich my oil paint. The warm tone of the canvas adds contrast to the cool blues and greens in the landscape. It also gives impact to the highlights in the Live Oak, Spanish moss, and marsh.

The painting panel was prepared several days earlier and allowed to dry.
Once on location, I lightly sketched the scene in charcoal on my painting surface.
Next, I worked over the sketch with thinned oil paint to establish the composition.

I then painted the horizon line, marsh and sky. The form of oak tree in the foreground was painted last, to build on the values of the sky and middle ground marsh.

As the afternoon sun began to set, I was able to see the last rays of the sun highlighting the marsh, creek and live oak. These highlights were added quickly by "etching" into the layer of oil paint revealing the warm tone of the panel.

I hope you like the result of "planned spontaneity" by using a pretoned canvas in this plein air painting of sunlight on a Mossy Marsh Oak.

"Late Summer In the Marsh" Plein Air Drawing and Painting by a Lowcountry Creek

There's a hint of fall in the Lowcountry this week. The weather is perfect for plein air painting in the marsh with a slight breeze and no bugs.

I started with a preliminary charcoal drawing of the marsh scene before painting. I often bring my sketch book to work out design issues in a composition. Drawing is a useful tool - it sharpens artistic observation and is a good "creative warm up" for painting.

Here's the final plein air painting of the marsh scene in oil. I've adjusted the composition to include the bend in the creek. This change leads the viewer's eye from the foreground around the bend of the creek into the marsh rather than off the page as in the earlier charcoal drawing. I've also lowered the horizon line to include more sky.

Painting is a "process" as well as a "product". Hope you like the result.

"Late Summer in the Marsh"
11"x 14"
Oil on cradled panel

"Shrimp Trawler on the Creek" Use of Color and Value Contrast

The painting "Shrimp Trawler on the Creek" is an alla prima oil painting I'm working on for an upcoming show.
In it, I've used value and color contrast to portray sunlight breaking through storm clouds over a Lowcountry creek. The yellow of the afternoon sun contrasts with the dark blue of the storm clouds adding a sense of drama and visual interest to this otherwise peaceful scene.
The painting is is one of several new pieces in progress to be included in a show I'm having this fall in Charleston.

A visitor to the studio says it reminds him of one of his grandmother's nursery ditties "Shrimp Boats Is A-Coming". It's a charming old southern folk song with these lyrics:
"Shrimp boats is a-coming there's dancing tonight. Shrimp boats is a-coming there's dancing tonight. Won't you hurry, hurry, hurry home. Won't you hurry, hurry, hurry home. Shrimp boats is a-coming there's dancing tonight".

"Sunshine on Hampton Plantation" A Plein Air Painting of a Southern Mansion

Painting in the shade of the Washington Oak this afternoon, I was glad I remembered to bring lots of bug spray. With recent summer showers, the mosquitoes were out in force. I was swarmed so badly I'm surprised I have any blood left.

Bug spray and a portable bug zapper improved the situation and I had a wonderful afternoon painting at one of my favorite locations - Hampton Plantation Historical Site.

"Sunshine on Hampton Plantation"
Oil on cradled panel
Dimensions: 11" x 14"
Price: $450.00

I had the pleasure of meeting internationally famous author and painter, Kevin Macpherson when he was in Charleston this spring. Mr. Macpherson creates beautiful, award winning paintings using a limited palette of only 3 primary colors (yellow, red, blue) with white. In his books and workshops, he teaches the importance of mixing "harmonious colors and sensitive grays".
Although I like to use a few more "tube" colors on my palette for convenience, I am working on mixing a wider range of grays and neutrals. Here's a photo of my palette showing the mixtures I've been experimenting with recently.
The shadows and sunshine in the painting "Sunshine on Hampton Plantation" gave me an opportunity to try out these new neutral mixtures while working with color harmony and accurate values. I feel the painting succeeds in portraying the effect of light and shadow on the white mansion due to the use of a wide range of warm and cool grays.

"Evening Light at Hampton Plantation" A Plein Air Painting of a Historical Site

I took advantage of the cooler weather today to paint "en plein air" (on location) at Hampton Plantation State Historical Site.
The magnificent "Washington Oak" framing the plantation house's stately front portico with moss draped branches is the subject I chose to paint this afternoon. The tree is said to have been saved from being cut down to provide a better view from the newly built front portico by President George Washington during his visit to Hampton Plantation in 1791.
Now a mighty live oak, the tree was named in his honor.

The lengthening evening shadows falling through the tree's branches and across the front lawn create an interesting value contrast in my plein air painting of Hampton Plantation, the stately home of South Carolina's first poet laureate, Archibald Rutledge.

"Evening Light at Hampton Plantation"
Plein air oil on cradled panel
Dimensions: 11" x 14"
Private collection

"Farmland by Angel Oak" An Oil Painting of Vanishing Rural Fields

"Farmland by Angel Oak"
Oil on canvas panel
Dimensions: 11" x 14"

This is a painting of farmland directly across the winding dirt road from the ancient Angel Oak.
The future of this and other farmland on rural John's Island, SC is of great concern due to encroaching development.
Recent plans to build 630 housing units on 42 acres surrounding the Angel Oak have residents concerned about the long term impact of this development on the rural environment of Johns Island and the magnificent Angel Oak tree.

Here is my plein air painting (painted on location) created during a "paint out" at Angel Oak Park.

"Misty Morning at Angel Oak"
11"x14"
Oil on panel


The developers will be presenting their latest plans for the Angel Oak Village Development to the Charleston Commercial Corridor Design Review Board this Thursday (6/ 25/09) at 5:00 in the 3ed Floor meeting room at 75 Calhoun St. Chas, SC.
Yesterdays editorial in the Post and Courier titled "Stay Vigilant for Angel Oak"advises "those who are interested in the long term well-being of the Angel Oak to get a close look at what developer Robert DeMoura now has in mind for the tract and let the board hear their thoughts." At issue are the architectural design plans and the development's density. The development also has not yet been awarded necessary environmental permits.
It's not too late to have a voice in this critical issue that affects not only the health of the irreplaceable National treasure "Angel Oak" but also the quality of life on rural Johns Island.
To see more artwork and information about Angel Oak click these links:
"Plein Air Painters at Angel Oak", "Angel Oak-More Trees to Be Cut??", "New Drawing of Angel Oak", and "Land Surrounding Angel Oak to be... Development".

A Plein Air Charcoal Drawing of Hampton Plantation

This charcoal and mixed media drawing of Hampton Plantation was created in the shade of the magnificent Washington Oak on the grounds of the Hampton Plantation Historic Site.

In the drawing, the graceful curve of the live oak tree in the foreground leads the viewer's eye through overhanging branches swaying with Spanish moss to the portico of the mansion. The last rays of the afternoon sun cast a soft light on the white columns and front steps inviting the viewer to come and rest a while on the porch.

Hampton Plantation was given to the South Carolina State Park Service by SC Poet Laureate Archibald Rutledge and his family in 1971. The mansion was built in the 1740's with the addition of a beautiful Adam style portico (porch) modeled after Hampton House in England in 1791.

The Live Oak tree in my drawing is called "The Washington Oak" in honor of President George Washington. During his visit to Hampton Plantation in 1791, the President was asked if he thought the tree blocked the view from the newly built portico. Washington replied that he like the tree and it was saved.

For more paintings of Hampton Plantation click here.