The following artists will be painting in the park tomorrow:

Mickey Williams, West Fraser, Julyan Davis, Ted Ellis, Rhett Thurman, Trey Finney, Shannon Smith, Jennifer Smith Rogers, J. Christian Snedeker, Karen Larson Turner, Laurie Meyer, George Pate, Mark Bailey, Gary Gowans, Lese Corrigan, Mark Horton, Chris Groves, Nancy Hoerter, Shannon Runquist  and Larry Moore.

The works from the park will be auctioned off at Ella W. Richardson Fine Art (58 Broad Street) tomorrow evening, November 5 at 6:30pm. Tickets are $55 per person and still available at www.cfada.com. Join our artists tomorrow evening and help us raise funds for art programs at 11 local high schools, many of these high schools depend completely on CFADA’s donation.

The participating high schools are: Wando HS, R.B. Stall, West Ashley HS, St. John’s HS, James Island HS, Garrett Academy, Septima Clark, Academic Magnet, Charleston School of the Arts, North Charleston HS and Burke HS. These high schools compete in the annual high school art competition that takes place in conjunction with the Painting in the Park. The art competition is sponsored by Artist & Craftsman Supply, Charleston Magazine and Charleston County School District. The student art works will be judged by: Superintendent Dr. Nancy McGinley, Ellen Dressler Morryl of the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs, Darcy Shankland of Charleston Magazine and Angela Mack of the Gibbes Museum of Art. Thank you to all our sponsors and judges for your on-going support.

CFADA member galleries are:

Charleston Renaissance Gallery, Corrigan Gallery, Ella Walton Richardson Fine Art, Helena Fox Fine Art, Horton Hayes Fine Art, Smith-Killian Fine Art, The Sylvan Gallery and Wells Gallery

Program:

Wednesday, November 2, 6-8 p.m. – “Women in Art” Lecture at the Gibbes Museum of Art

Friday, November 4, 5:30-8:30 p.m. – CFADA Gallery Receptions & Historic Downtown Charleston Art Stroll

Saturday morning, November 5, 9 a.m. – noon – “Painting in the Park” in Washington Park

Saturday evening, November 5, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. – “Silent Auction & Patrons’ Reception”

The highlight of the fine art weekend is the Painting in the Park which will feature some of the most celebrated local and visiting artists, including Mickey Williams, West Fraser, Julyan Davis, Ted Ellis, Rhett Thurman, Trey Finney, Shannon Smith, Jennifer Smith Rogers, J. Christian Snedeker, Karen Larson Turner, Laurie Meyer, George Pate, Mark Bailey, Gary Gowans, Lese Corrigan, Mark Horton, Chris Groves, Nancy Hoerter, Shannon Runquist  and Larry Moore.

“Silent Auction & Patrons’ Reception” is a benefit created for art collectors and patrons interested in spending time with their favorite artists and supporting CFADA’s mission. The evening starts at 6:30 p.m. at Ella W. Richardson Fine Art. The works from the park will be up for bid. The silent auction ends at 8:00 p.m. and the event ends at 8:30 p.m.

Tickets for the Silent Auction & Patrons’ Reception are $55 per person. Ella W. Richardson Fine Art is located at 58 Broad Street in downtown Charleston, SC. Purchase tickets at www.cfada.com.

The Charleston Fine Art Annual raises funds that keep art alive in local high schools. Since 2004, CFADA has donated over $180,000 to art programs at eleven local high schools.

Recently I could sense the beginning of the end of Charleston’s steamy days and nights. However, when I settled down with coffee, opened The Post and Courier and found “My Charleston 2012,” I remembered the steamy days all over again.

I am completely puzzled by the glaring omission of one of Charleston’s most popular assets, our visual arts community and galleries. At last count, there were nearly 60 galleries in peninsula Charleston alone. I cannot believe that anyone living and working here could miss this aspect of Charleston. I can only conjecture this omission is by design or attitude.

Charleston has much to offer residents and visitors, and the community of artists and art-related businesses certainly contributes to Charleston’s quality of life. The businesses provide jobs, a significant sales tax resource and a national tourism draw, capturing regional and national attention in print and electronic media.

I will venture to say that we are in the top rankings of favorite destinations not only for the food, architecture, history and outdoor sporting offerings. Your omission of the Art Scene in the 2012 “Guide to life in the Lowcountry” ignores an important aspect of our community identity.

I do hope that some day, blind eyes will open, and Charleston will appreciate what she has down the street or around the corner. Charleston’s artistic heritage is not only from the past, but is alive and well today.

West Fraser

Artist

S.C. State Arts Commissioner

Park Island West

Mount Pleasant

A love of the land is apparent in Fraser’s paintings that evoke a true and honest sense of place.  A master of the nuances of light and nature, his work is comparable to the finest of American and European Impressionist of the past. Nationally recognized, Fraser creates a feeling of timelessness in his work that draws the viewers into his contemporary experience. The upcoming exhibition grew out of West Fraser’s passion for his landscape. The South Carolina and Georgia Lowcountry, the region his family has claimed as home since colonial times, is a land of beauty, serenity, history and diversity, which keeps her inhabitants spellbound. Since earliest memories, Fraser has explored her hidden places, both by water and by land. A keen observer might find him at work, knee deep in marsh mud with white ibises feeding all around him, running under his easel without a care. He captures the soul of the region in his upcoming exhibit.

Lynne Riding expresses the vastness of intimacy and a lifetime of notions of
place in an abstract manner.  Her manifestation of surroundings includes
nature’s realty as well as its concept. Creating stories of roots in all
senses ­ from whence she comes, literally and figuratively ­ where she has
been and where she is ­ without concrete images, Riding makes a silent
recording of place and passage.  It is portraiture in a broad sense.  It
comes from and takes the viewer to areas of deeper consciousness.

Viewing these works one begins to have a real sense of the value of stream
of consciousness ­ the flow of thoughts and words, of lives and places ­
streamlined into the minimalism of these abstractions.  With both the
passage and resistance of this stream, the artist creates an awareness that
relates to time as space.

A gallery of contemporary works exploring the depth and intellect behind the
drive to create, Corrigan Gallery provides a breathing space around the
historic city’s traditional bent.  http://www.corrigangallery.com

A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea. We asked our artist to create that image or tangible element to express those words that spark an idea.  The exhibit will offer a variety of media and styles from Wells Gallery artists and visiting artists alike.

Daddy's Girls by West Fraser

Helena Fox Fine Art, located south of Broad in Historic Charleston, South Carolina, specializes in fine contemporary representational art. Established in 2004, the gallery is a compilation of national and international artists, including renowned Southern painter, West Fraser. The varied collection of work mingles impressionistic landscapes and streetscapes, maritime paintings, plein air travel paintings, still lifes, and trompe l’oeil, with and modernistic architectural paintings, wildlife sculpture by internationally acclaimed sculptor Kent Ullberg and exquisite handcrafted 22K gold jewelry by acclaimed Welsh goldsmith, Sarah Amos.

Chef Holst by Kaitlyn Iserman of Charleston City Paper

Anson Restaurant is a favorite Charleston restaurant  with Southern architecture, elegant interior and gracious hospitality, serving Lowcountry favorites like Shrimp and Grits. Anson’s newest rising culinary star is Chef Jeremy Holst. With an emphasis on the abundance of seafood from the Lowcountry waters and utilizing local farmer’s produce, Chef Holst is working to provide Anson guests with the freshest and highest quality ingredients available. Anson is proud to have Chef Holst leading a team that is dedicated to making this goal a reality. After growing up in Mt. Pleasant, SC and graduating from Culinary Institute of America in 2000, Chef Holst began his professional career at Panos & Pauls located in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. From here, he continued his culinary path at a five star five diamond resort, The Woodlands in Summerville, South Carolina. The Ritz Carlton in Las Vegas, Nevada,  the acclaimed Six Tables Restaurant in Mt. Pleasant that earned a Tripe AAA Four Diamond Rating, and The Troutdale, a popular farm to table restaurant in Bristol, Tennessee, were next to provide Chef Holst with ample expertise before returning home and joining Anson.

During this year’s Palette & Palate Stroll, The Wells Gallery will be featuring new paintings by George Pate, Signature Member of Oil Painters of America. George has recently painted stunning marshscapes from the lowcountry, unique perspective highlighting the Charleston Steeples, and the varied culture of historic Charleston. George will be in the gallery during the event to discuss his works. Laurie Meyer will also be in the gallery painting live and discussing her most recent paintings that offer views of the lowcountry, Charleston architecture as well as Mexico and Italy. Laurie Meyer is a local resident and has painted in Charleston for over 25 years.

Chef Charles Arena

For this year’s event, the Wells Gallery is excited to welcome the Boathouse at Breach Inlet and the Executive Chef Charles Arena who relies heavily on his background in classical French technique to create “straightforward, simple dishes with a modern edge.” The Boathouse is well-known for using local products whenever possible, and is a Platinum Member of the Sustainable Seafood Initiative.

Formerly a ramshackle bait shop with an attached functioning dock, the site was transformed into the original Boathouse in 1997. This waterfront locale is historically known as the actual launching site of our country’s first submarine, the H.L. Hunley.

Poised at the “breach” between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic, guests enjoy spectacular sunset views and balmy ocean breezes of the Isle of Palms. Guests arrive early for cocktails on the rooftop Crow Bar or an appetizer at the waterfront Oyster Bar. Inside, the pine and mahogany interior creates a richly warm atmosphere with a distinctly nautical feel.

A 1998 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, Chef Arena also earned a degree in business from the College of Charleston in 2002. He performed his CIA externship at La Cote Basque in New York City. Prior to joining the Boathouse at Breach Inlet, Arena was Executive Sous Chef at Kiawah Island Beach Club.