Karen's Solo Show at Principle — James Neil Hollingsworth

Karen and I just got back from Charleston where we attended the opening of her solo show at Principle Gallery. We were offered free digs for a few days so we extended our visit and had a mini vacation.

Brett Scheifflee and two of his paintings

After we arrived and unloaded Karen's paintings we did a little gallery hopping. When we're in Charleston we usually stop at Robert Lange Studios first. Brett Scheifflee was having his own solo show that Friday and we got an early preview of his work. These photos do not do his work justice. You need to seem them in person to appreciate their subtle beauty.

Sand Tiger Shark at the South Carolina Aquarium

Our first stop the next day was the South Carolina Aquarium. Karen has begun to use fish in her paintings, so in addition to its educational function the aquarium provided a lot of photo reference material for future paintings.

Fred Jamar: Artist in residence at the Vendue Hotel

Later we went to the Vendue Hotel. They were putting the final touches on their "Homage" art show opening the next night and while we were there we met the artist in residence Fred Jamar. An interesting fellow with a good gig.

Our next day started on Sullivan's Island. We wanted to get a little beach time in but there had been a substantial storm the night before and the winds at the beach were rough. We soon realized that our walk was going to be very short and headed back to the car. On our way we came upon this injured bird near the water. We didn't want to just leave it there to be washed out to sea, so Karen wrapped it in a beach towel and I got on the phone and tracked down a bird rescue center. A representative came very quickly and picked it up. She took our contact info so she could let us know how the bird did. Sadly, we got a call on our way back to Atlanta informing us that it had died.

Since we had parked at Fort Moultrie to access the beach we decided to explore the site. This was where Edgar Allan Poe was stationed when he was nineteen years old. Thought that was kind of cool. Afterwards we headed back to our neck of the woods, ate and walked down to the Vendue to see the "Homage" show.

The theme of the Homage show was that artists from various galleries in town would pick a classic masterpiece and do their own riff on it. It was a great idea and all the paintings were very creative. "Moms" by our close friend Karin Jurick was the first painting you see when you walk into the hotel. The Vendue was packed, and there was lots of food drink and music. It was a fun way to spend an evening in Charleston.

The day of Karen's show began at the Angel Oak on John's Island. This is a 400+ year old tree. We had been told by friends that we "have to go and see the tree". I have to say it's spectacular. While we were there we met an artist painting the tree. His name is Fred DeLoach and he had a very interesting history. Me being an armchair paleontologist I loved to learn that he had been employed at the Field Museum in Chicago and had worked on the preparation of the Tyrannosaurus Rex "Sue". Before we left we invited him to Karen's opening. Which he did.

Karen, Frank Russen and a fan from Asheville

Karen and I left the tree, drove over to Folly Beach for a while then headed back into town to get ready for the opening. The show began at five and we got there a few minutes after. A crowd was already beginning to grow.

The gallery looked great. Frank, Thomas, and Liz had done a beautiful job of hanging the show.

Frank DeLoach, did indeed come to the show.

The show went really well. By the end of the evening Karen had sold nine paintings and a possible commission. Before we left we thanked everyone from the gallery for doing such a great job with the opening then said our good-byes since we'd be leaving early the next day before they opened. All in all a very successful show and vacation. The next show will be Karen's fall show at Shain Gallery in Charlotte NC.