"Bailey In Blue Ribbons" Portrait

I was recently honored to be in the Portrait Society of America's (PSA) quarterly publication for my participation in the art show "The Art of Diversity Among Women" an event in the "Generations of Women Moving History Forward" celebration for Women's History Month.

I am pictured here with Bailey Gregorie, who was one of four generations of women in her family present at the opening reception in Charleston at the Medical University of South Carolina.


"Bailey In Blue Ribbons" 14"x11" portrait commission

"Summer Breeze"

This is a breezy painting to match the breezy weather we've been having in the Lowcountry on the "First day of hurricane season".

The subject of the painting is Miss Maura, a lovely young lady and the older sister of Miss Ella in " Charleston Child" (see posting for May 9).

"Summer Breeze"
Pastel on paper
11"x 14"
Price: Sold

St. Matthews Spoleto Tea Room

Information on the 2008 Festival Tea Room is as follows:
Where: St. Matthew's Lutheran Church
403 King Street, Chas, SC
When: May 23 - June 1, 2008
1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
What: Serving tea and other beverages
finger sandwich plates
Homemade delicacies

My painting today is a scene from the tea room courtyard at St. Matthews. It's still on the easel waiting to be photographed for the blog . Until I get it posted, I wanted to tell a bit about the wonderful people and outreach programs at St Matthews.
The ladies of the church make great desserts to serve tea rooms guests. They transform the church's court yard into a lovely outside dining area complete with wrought iron cafe seating and live music. The inside dining area opens to the courtyard through French doors and displays original artwork by members of the Charleston Artist Guild. A unique gift boutique offers handmade and specialty items for sale.

The money raised from the tea room supports the church's many outreach programs, including an Alzheimer day program, teaching English as a second language, an after school care program, and computer classes, to name a few.

I was pleased to volunteer to help in the tea room as a member of the Charleston Artist Guild. The church has allowed our non-profit guild to use their building for workshops.

The tea room will be open through Sunday, June 3.

Sculpture Methods - Old and New

This life size, terra cotta portrait bust was completed several years ago. I'm posting it as an example of my work in this medium for a fellow painter who has begun sculpting.
As we discussed, there have been many improvements in mold making and casting in recent years.Things are a lot easier now with rubber, latex molding products.

I thought you'd be interested in seeing the"old method" of plaster casting I was taught by Willard Hirsch while I apprenticed with him in the late 1970's.

Here Mr. Hirsch is seen critiquing my work on a portrait bust at my studio in Mt. Pleasant.




First the completed sculpture is fitted with brass shims and a plaster slurry is thrown onto the model to capture details.

After the plaster mold has been built up to the desired thickness and allowed to dry, it's removed from the original model.


The pieces of the mold are reassembled and wet clay is pressed into the mold to make the final sculpture.


When this pressed form has dried, the pieces of the mold are taken apart and the newly formed damp clay head is allowed to dry.


After drying, it's kiln fired to harden and a patina is applied, if desired.
(See mounted portrait bust at beginning of posting.)

The whole mold making/casting process took anywhere from a week to two, depending on how thick the plaster cast had been made and how long the clay took to dry. The same piece mold could be used to make a plaster cast to be sent to a foundry for bronze casting also.

The process is so much easier these days. But the creative work of capturing a form and likeness in clay remains as challenging as ever.

I agree with you that sculpting adds to an artist's understanding of form and improves painting skill as well.

Best wishes for much success in your new art form.

Willard N. Hirsch-Charleston Sculptor 1905-1982

This is Willard N. Hirsch standing by a maquette of his statue "Cassique of the Kiawah" in his Queen Street Studio in Charleston in 1979.

He was a contemporary of the artists William Halsey and Corrie McCallum in the Charleston arts community from 1944-1982. Mr. Hirsch studied at the Beaux Arts Institute and the National Academy of Design in New York City during the 1930's. He returned to his native city of Charleston and completed numerous public and institutional sculpture projects in SC from 1942 until his death in 1982.

His works are included in the collections of Brookgreen Gardens, The SC State Museum,The Gibbs Museum of Art, Clemson University, The SC State University, The College of Charleston, The City of Charleston ( White Point Gardens and The Gaillard Auditorium), Charleston County Public Library System, Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site, Ashley Hall School, and the SC National Guard (bas-relief sculptures on Armory buildings statewide) to name a few.

For many years, he worked and taught out of his Queen Street studio in Charleston.

His sculpture lessons for children progressed from modeling a snail out of rolled and coiled clay, to modeling a turtle and finally an elephant figure in plasticine.
Mr. Hirsch taught anatomical accuracy in these lessons being sure that the snails shell coiled in the correct direction and the pattern on the turtle shell was true to life. His amusing stories brought smiles to his young students faces and life to his figures.

One of his best known and loved works is the"Little Dancer" on the Battery at White Point Gardens.




Another favorite work is his bronze stature, "The Falling Angel" which used to be on display in front of the Gibbs Museum of Art Gallery School, where he taught for several years with William Halsey and Corrie McCallum before the three artists formed their own private art school, The Charleston School of Art for instruction in drawing, painting, and sculpture.

I had the privilege of working for Mr. Hirsch as his studio assistant from 1979 to 1981.

Mr. Hirsch taught me modeling portraits and figures from life in clay and plasticine, armature construction, plaster casting, along with many great stories.

He was a world class story teller, as anyone who had the good fortune to know him will agree. There was never a day he wouldn't greet his clients with a smile and a great story.

His unique personality and talent remain with us in his many impressive works and in the memory of those who knew him. There hasn't been another sculptor in modern Charleston to match his accomplishments.

Pastel Sketch - Piccolo Spoleto Art Show

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Here's a pastel I did of the show today. I'm using it as a reference for a Piccolo Spoleto Festival oil painting.

Today's my B'day so I think I'll celebrate today and paint tomorrow.

Piccolo Spoleto Artwork in Marion Square

Another busy day at the Piccolo Spoleto Art Show in Marion Square.

Exhibiting artists Chris Ritsch and Ray Davenport stay cool during a break from showing their paintings to collectors.








Chris Ritsch, a veteran of many previous Piccolo shows, displays her award winning style.Chris has won several Piccolo awards thru the years, including two "Mayor's Choice" Purchase Awards.




Arts festivals are great places to people watch.I made some interesting sketches today which I'm using in a couple of new paintings. (Click here to see a pastel sketch).

Piccolo Spoleto Art Exhibit and SpoletoTea Room

Information on newer 2008 Spoleto and Piccolo Spoleto Events may be found by clicking the art categories "Piccolo Spoleto Festival art" and "Spoleto Festival USA" in the sidebar to the right of this page. Thought you might be interested.

Some of the 2007 show artists await the judge's decision at the Piccolo Spoleto Art Exhibition in Marion Square on opening day this afternoon.

The award winners are congratulated after the awards presentation by Mayor Joe Riley and the exhibition staff members this afternoon.
Pictured is a high school art classmate of mine who won 2en place honors, Anne Hightower Patterson. Way to go, Anne. Mrs. Bolton is smiling down on you.











Artist Bonnie Stabler won a Merit Award.










Artist Floyd Gordon was awarded an Honorable Mention for his acrylic painting on paper "Magnolia Gardens". Mr. Gordon has been juried into the last 27 consecutive Piccolo Festival Art Exhibitions.

Rick Reinert won an award of merit for his oil painting, "Doyle Gallery, Broad Street". Rick's a member of COPA. I've had a chance to see him paint en plein air.








Michel McNinch won an honorable mention with her oil painting "Low Tide".

I hope the weather stays as great as it was today- cool, sunny with a light breeze. Perfect weather to enjoy an outdoor Arts Festival. If you can make it to Charleston in the next seventeen days, this is one event you'll want to see.

I'm showing two large oil paintings across the street in an exhibit at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church. The Charleston Artist Guild is exhibiting artwork as part of St. Matthew's Spoleto Tea Room and Art Exhibition thru June 3ed.

Please come by to see the artwork and enjoy afternoon tea. St. Matthew's Church is across from Marion Square at 403 King Street. Tea, other drinks, finger sandwich plates, and homemade desserts will be served from 1pm-5pm. May 25-June 3.

"Charleston Farmers Market"

This is the painting I'm working on this morning. In this "Charleston Market" painting, I'm boosting the color and using a "Colorist" technique to give the painting a sense of the activity and excitement of the busy crowd in the market.

I'm taking a break from painting to run down to the same location ( Marion Square) to see the opening day artwork of Spoleto Festival, USA and Piccolo Spoleto Festival. More about all the exciting artistic (performing arts, music,visual arts, and more) events later. Off to see what's happening in this wonderful 2 week long International Festival of Creative Arts-Spoleto Featival USA.

"Charleston Farmers Market"
Oil on cradled wood panel
Size: 11" x 14"
Price: $375.00