CFADA’s Painting in the Park, November 3

Watch the artists at work in Washington Park on November 3 from 9am till noon.  These plein air demonstrations are open to the public, free, and feature nationally and regionally known artists from CFADA galleries:

West Fraser, Lese Corrigan, Susan Romaine,  Shannon Smith, Jennifer Smith-Rogers, Karen Larson Turner, Mark Bailey, Curt Butler, Laurie Meyer, Craig Nelson, Karen Weihs, Rhett Thurman, Trey Finney, Mark Kelvin Horton, Chris Groves, Nancy Hoerter, Elizabeth Pollie, Shannon Runquist, George Pate, Marty Whaley Adams, Nancy Pellatt, John Hull, Donald Demers, Larry Wheeler, Mary Erickson, Simon Kenevan, Fred Jamar, Robert Lange, Amy Lind, Gary Grier and Charles Williams.

Paintings created that morning in Washington Park will be on display and available for sale at BUY ART silent auction and reception. The artists will be present at this reception, which will take place at the Gibbes Museum of Art on November 3 from 6:30 to 8:30pm. Funds raised by this event are used to purchase much needed art supplies for Charleston County high schools. Tickets are $55 per person. The event is catered by Cru Catering.  To reserve tickets, click here http://www.charlestonfineartdealersassociation.com/tickets/tickets.html or call (843)819-8006 or email CFADA at info@cfada.com.

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Painting in the Park: Featuring Karen Larson Turner

For Karen Larson Turner, becoming an artist was the natural continuation of her favorite childhood pastime. Her earliest memories include hours spent on the floor with a sketchbook, producing countless drawings from her imagination. Later, she discovered the joy of drawing and painting from life.

A summer resident of Martha’s Vineyard, Karen’s first plein-air paintings were inspired by the island’s historic Victorian architecture, and by the age of fourteen she was taking commissions for house portraits. Her parents’ gift of a portable French easel furthered Karen’s enjoyment of outdoor painting. She learned to work on tourist – packed sidewalks, where knowing how to talk and paint at the same time became necessary; she also learned how to paint with one hand and brace the easel with the other on particularly windy days, and how to capture shadows quickly before the light changed.

Turner graduated from Calvin College in 1991 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. In 1992, her love for the craftsmanship of traditional oil painting inspired her to further study at the School of Representational Art in Chicago, Illinois. Modeled after the 19th century Atlier system, SORA provides mentorship of three master painters for students embarking upon rigorous study of classical technique. Turner completed four years of study with the school, honing a mastery of anatomy, the figure, portraiture, and the still life. Her final year was devoted to one major work – “Thirst”, a visual parable standing over six feet tall and involving five human figures.

After completing the program, Turner set to work as a full time painter, exhibiting in a variety of galleries and accepting private commissions. Although she divides most of her time between still lifes and landscape painting, she usually has something in progress involving the figure. These are long-term projects that involve hiring models and creating numerous sketches to find the best possible composition. Karen’s favorite approach to painting is to express ideas through metaphor and allegory. Still life work appeals to Karen’s love for detail and texture – thin, painstaking layers of paint reveal the reflective surface of silver or the ripeness of a peeled lemon. In contrast, landscape work brings a freedom and spontaneity to her brush as she seeks to capture the effects of light and shadow in painterly strokes.

“While in Charleston, I have rediscovered the joys of these subjects in my oils, and I have remembered the reasons I first began to paint. There are countless images before us wherever we go: the curve of a road, the fleeting shadows on a porch, a formation of clouds. Those scenes which cause us to stop and stare, if only for a moment, those things that inspire awe or contemplation…grand or humble…these are worthy to be remembered.”

Karen is represented by the Wells Gallery located at 125 Meeting Street in downtown Charleston, SC.

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14th Charleston Fine Art Annual – PROGRAM

Program:

Friday, November 2:

5 – 8 p.m. – CFADA gallery receptions & Charleston Fine Art Annual Art Stroll – FREE and open to public

8 – 10:30 p.m. – Society 1858’s Rock, Scissors, Art on Paper preview party & reception at the Gibbes, $30 advance purchase, $40 at the door. www.gibbesmuseum.org/events

Saturday, November 3:

9 a.m. – noon – Painting in the Park in Washington Park – FREE and open to public (coffee and snacks available)

10 a.m. – 5 p.m. -  Art on Paper Fair at the Gibbes

11 a.m. and 2 p.m. – Artist Demonstrations and Curator-led Tour of Art on Paper Fair at the Gibbes

6:30 – 8:30 p.m. – CFADA’s Buy Art! silent auction & patrons’ reception benefiting the Charleston County High Schools’ art programs, $55 in advance/$65 day of event. www.cfada.com

Sunday, November 4:

1–5 p.m. – Art on Paper Fair at the Gibbes

2:30 p.m. – Curator-led Tour of Art on Paper Fair at the Gibbes

The fine art weekend is a benefit for art programs at 11 local high schools. CFADA has donated over $250,000 to public high schools since 2004. Buy tickets at www.cfada.com

The following artists are painting in the park and donating their works to BUY ART silent auction this year:

West Fraser, Lese Corrigan, Susan Romaine,  Shannon Smith, Jennifer Smith-Rogers, Karen Larson Turner, Mark Bailey, Curt Butler, Laurie Meyer, Craig Nelson, Karen Weihs, Rhett Thurman, Trey Finney, Mark Kelvin Horton, Chris Groves, Nancy Hoerter, Elizabeth Pollie, Shannon Runquist, George Pate, Marty Whaley Adams, Nancy Pellatt, John Hull, Donald Demers, Larry Wheeler, Mary Erickson, Arnold Desmarais, Simon Kenevan, Fred Jamar and Robert Lange!

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“La Nuit” Featuring Karen Larson Turner Works Opens at the Wells Gallery November 5

On Friday, November 5^th, Karen Larson Turner will unveil ‘La Nuit’ at the Wells Gallery. The opening reception will take place from 5:30pm – 8:30pm and will coincide with the 12^th annual Charleston Fine Art Dealers Association’s (CFADA) Charleston Fine Art Weekend.

As the sun sinks low on the horizon, there is a sequence of light that transforms the day to night. In her upcoming show, Turner captures the fleeting cycle of fading sunlight as well as the moon’s illumination on a clear night. Although ‘La Nuit’ focuses solely on evening and night scenes, a first for Turner, it is a diverse exhibition of both natural marshscapes and quiet Charleston evenings. In the paintings of downtown Charleston, she also explores the warm glow cast from streetlights and from within homes.

During summers in Martha’s Vineyard as a teenager, Turner began painting in plein air, learning how to capture shadows quickly before the light changed. The paintings in ‘La Nuit’ display her mastery of this technique in the varying hues of fading sunlight and the long shadows cast by the sinking sun.

The “La Nuit” exhibit will coincide with the CFADA Fine Art Annual, featuring several gallery openings, lectures, plein air paintings by Charleston most distinguished artists and an auctions of works on Saturday evening. To find out more about the events through the week, visit www.CFADA.com. If you would like more details of works available at the art auctions, visit www.charlestonartauction.com, or call us at (843) 853.3233 to request a catalog of works.

The Wells Gallery has been honored to feature Karen Larson Turner for the past tens years. With each painting, she has shared with her audience those wonderful nuances of the Lowcountry. In November of 2003, she was commissioned by The Sanctuary Hotel to paint four large scale murals to adorn their hotel. Through the years, Karen Larson Turner’s paintings have expressed the majesty of the Lowcountry and we are very excited for the upcoming body of work.

The exhibit will be on view from Friday November 5^th until November 19^th 2010.  Digital images of new paintings are available upon request.  Contact Keli Tolley (843) 853.3233

Located at 125 Meeting Street next to the Gibbes Museum of Art in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina, the Wells Gallery features fine regional art from a diversity of perspectives in various mediums, including original painting, bronze sculpture and hand-blown glass. A member of the Charleston Fine Art Dealers’ Association and the French Quarter Gallery Association, the Wells Gallery is open Monday  – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. An additional gallery is located at The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort on Kiawah Island.  To view work and learn more about the artists, please contact the Wells Gallery at 843-853-3233 or visit www.wellsgallery.com , or visit our blog at www.wellsgallery.blogspot.com

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“The Birds” Opens at Wells Gallery in Charleston, SC on May 7

"The Beautiful Nevermore” by Russell Gordon

The Wells Gallery will be hosting an opening reception for “The Birds” show from 5-8 p.m. on Friday May 7^th. The Wells Gallery will be displaying new works highlighting the various bird species of the Carolinas. Featured artists for this show include: George Pate, Karen Larson Turner, Glenn Harrington, Russell Gordon, Kevin LePrince and Rick Reinert. The works will be on exhibit starting May 3^rd through the 31^st of May.

Owner Hume Killian drew inspiration for this show from the various bird species of the Carolinas.  “Birds define Charleston and the South Carolina Lowcountry as much as its architecture, history and barrier islands. Like many of us they come and go with the seasons”, explains owner Killian. “This show will allow our local and national artists to interpret this natural wonder using their distinct artistic voice.”

The Wells Gallery is located at 125 Meeting Street next to the Gibbes Museum of Art in historic downtown Charleston, SC.

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May 1 Art Openings at Helena Fox Fine Art and Wells Gallery in Charleston, SC

Helena Fox Fine Art presents a variety of new works by gallery artists Don Demers, West Fraser, Becky Parrish, Kent Ullberg & Teri Whitner. The works will be on view at the gallery as it celebrates the Spring season.  The opening reception will take place on Friday, May 1^st from 5 to 8pm. The gallery is located at 12 Queen Street.

The Wells Gallery, located at 125 Meeting Street, will feature 20 regional landscapes by Karen Larson Turner in a show titled Emergence: Seeking a Steadfast Light. Show opens on Friday, May 1 with a reception from 5 to 8pm.  “As I paint the coastal landscape, I seek more than anything to explore and capture the effects of light. In particular, I am drawn to those conditions and times of day when the light is emerging from darkness, whether from shadow, fog, or storm.  In the midst of the darkest sky or the deepest shadow the smallest hint of light will attract our attention,” describes her work Karen Larson Turner.

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