Anglin Smith Fine Art and Circa 1886: Partners for the 2014 Palette and Palate Stroll

Shrimp Cocktail by Shannon Smith Hughes

The gallery known for contemporary realism and color, Anglin Smith Fine Art (formally Smith Killian Fine Art) is located in the heart of downtown Charleston’s French Quarter District at 9 Queen Street. The gallery has been featured in national publications, including AmericanStyle, Coastal Living and Southern Living, and features works by Charleston artist Betty Anglin Smith and her triplets — painters Jennifer Smith Rogers and Shannon Smith, and photographer Tripp Smith. In addition to these artists, the gallery represents sculptor Darrell Davis; works in oil by Kim English and Colin Page are also available.  Subject matter ranges from local and European landscapes to architectural works and still life, figurative and abstract.

At this year’s art and culinary affair, Anglin Smith Fine Art collaborates once again with Circa 1886. A long-time supporter of the Charleston Fine Art Dealers’ Association, Circa 1886 is one of the restaurants that come back on board each year supporting us in our efforts to raise funds for art education in Charleston.

Chef Marc Collins

To complement the gallery’s new works, Executive Chef Marc Collins will present a tasting that reflects his modern and innovative approach to traditional Southern cuisine. At this year’s event, he will be serving Shredded Lamb Osso Bucco and Cous Cous salad with yogurt dressing in small servings. Chef Collins draws inspiration from many cuisines around the world to create a menu that is truly unique to Charleston’s fine dining restaurant scene. Drawing inspiration from historic Southern dishes and always highlighting what is local and in season, Chef Collins puts a healthful, distinctive spin on classic Lowcountry dishes. This means there is less butter and cream than typically found on Southern menus. Whole grains are incorporated to dishes and ingredients are used at the peak of flavor. The result is satisfying dishes that retain their bright, bold flavors without the large amounts of fat found in many restaurant dishes. From our Plantation Rice Bread Rolls made in house daily, to the selection of local fresh seafood, to Pastry Chef Lovorn’s incredible desserts, Circa 1886 promises one of the best restaurant experiences in Charleston, the region we call home.

Chef Collins earned his formal culinary training at the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts in Pittsburgh from where he moved to San Antonio, Texas. Here he worked at La Mansion Del Rio under French Chef Guy Collinet; he then continued to hone his skills at La Louisiane and the Fairmount Hotel, perfecting his talent in the French culinary technique.

In 2001, Chef Collins moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where he was given the prestigious title of executive chef of Circa 1886. A true hidden gem, Circa 1886 is nestled in the gardens behind the Wentworth Mansion downtown.  Thanks to Chef Collins’ dedication to excellence, the restaurant has earned many accolades and awards, including the AAA Four Diamond Award, the Mobil Four Star Award, the DiRoNA Award for Fine Dining, as well as the Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence. Chef Collins has also received numerous personal honors that include being named a “Chef to Watch” by Esquire magazine in 2001. The son of an artist himself, Chef Collins brings an affinity for creativity and innovation to the preparation and presentation of every dish he serves.

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Horton Hayes Fine Art and Oak: Partners for the 2013 Palette and Palate Stroll

Summertime by Shannon Runquist

Horton Hayes Fine Art is located at the corner of State and Queen Streets and features original works by locally and nationally recognized artists, including Mark Kelvin Horton, Shannon Runquist, Chris Groves, Nancy Hoerter, Bjorn Runquist, Michael Knoch and Larry Moore.

Subject matter in the gallery varies and includes landscapes, still-life, figurative works and architectural depictions rendered in oil, pastel or watercolor. While many of the pieces depict Lowcountry scenes and themes, one may also find a range of images including mountain and western scenes, European subjects and a variety of works inspired by the diverse experiences, surroundings and travels of their artists.

Photo Credit: AndrewStephenCebulka

For this year’s stroll, Horton Hayes is pleased to be paired with Oak Steakhouse, a true Charleston favorite. Touted as “one of the best and most distinctive steakhouses in America,” Oak Steakhouse, owned and operated by The Indigo Road restaurant group, showcases world-class American cuisine in an elegant setting that captures the essence of fine dining in Charleston, S.C. Located on downtown’s historical Broad Street, Oak presents an inspired selection of Certified Angus Beef steaks, seafood specialties and vegetarian dishes featuring regional ingredients from Lowcountry farmers and fishermen from executive chef Jeremiah Bacon.

Set in the restored 150-year-old South Carolina Loan & Trust bank building, the elegant ambiance at Oak Steakhouse artfully blends the old and new. The restaurant’s 18-foot ceilings, arched windows and 150-year-old heart of pine floors complement custom chandeliers and locally commissioned artwork. With three floors and five distinct dining rooms, the multi-dimensional space offers a variety of dining options ranging from private group dining rooms to an intimate table for two.

Chef Jeremiah Bacon-photo by Leslie Ryann

Executive Chef Jeremiah Bacon’s menu highlights include succulent steaks such as the marinated 28 oz. Certified Angus Beef Prime bone-in ribeye, as well as seafood favorites like the pan-seared sea scallops served with roasted exotic mushrooms and a foie gras au poivre sauce. A Charleston native and College of Charleston alumnus, Bacon attended the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, N.Y. After graduating from the CIA in 1999, Bacon moved to New York City where he spent 10 years working for legendary restaurants such as River Café, an award-winning riverfront restaurant in Brooklyn, N.Y., and ILO in midtown. Bacon left ILO to join the staff at Le Bernardin, the famed seafood restaurant of celebrity chef Eric Ripert. In 2004, Bacon was part of the opening crew of Per Se, which along with Le Bernadin, earned Four Stars from the New York Times and Three Michelin Stars.

When Bacon returned to the Lowcountry in 2007, he passionately incorporated a local-first philosophy into his culinary practices by building strong relationships with local farmers and fisheries. Bacon joined Oak Steakhouse as executive chef and partner in November 2010 and brought this philosophy with him to add his personal touch to the menu, taking it in a progressive, yet local direction.

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Helena Fox Fine Art and Anson: Partners for the 2013 Palette & Palate Stroll

You Are The Best Thing by West Fraser

Helena Fox Fine Art, located south of Broad in Historic Charleston, 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 modernistic architectural paintings. Wildlife sculptures by internationally acclaimed sculptor Kent Ullberg and exquisite handcrafted 22K gold jewelry by celebrated Welsh goldsmith Sarah Amos will also enthrall you on your visit to the gallery

Helen Fox Fine Art proudly represents the following artists: Sarah Amos, William R. Davis, John Cosby, William McCullough, Arnold Desmarais, Julyan Davis, Kenn Backhaus, John Budicin, Terry DeLapp, Donald Demers, Mary Erickson, West Fraser, Joseph McGurl, Billyo O’Donnell, Joseph Paquet, Kent Ullberg, and Jeffrey Larson.

For the 2013 Palette and Palate Stroll, the gallery’s selection of the finest regional and national art will once again be complemented by Anson‘s decadent cuisine which blends worldly sophistication with Lowcountry lifestyle.

Anson Restaurant is a favorite Charleston restaurant  with Southern architecture, an 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.

Chef Jeremy Holst by Kaitlyn Iserman of Charleston City Paper

After growing up in Mt. Pleasant, SC, and graduating from the 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. Upon his departure, the Ritz Carlton in Las Vegas, and 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, would be next in providing Chef Holst with ample experience in fine dining expertise before returning home and joining Anson.

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Ella W. Richardson Fine Art and Social: Partners for the 2013 Palette and Palate Stroll

Cacciatore by Jeff Jamison

For this year’s Palette and Palate Stroll, Ella Walton Richardson Fine Art will present new works by Jeff Jamison, Lindsay Goodwin and Karen Weihs. The works will be featured during the month of July.  Jamison’s bustling restaurant scenes and dreamy streetscapes lend a snapshot view into the city life, and Goodwin captures the tablescapes and interiors of extravagant European establishments.

Ballroom Ceiling of Chateau d’Artigny by Lindsay Goodwin

Ella W. Richardson Fine Art specializes in classical realist and impressionist paintings and sculpture by renowned American, Dutch, Russian and Korean artists. The gallery, located at 58 Broad Street in downtown Charleston, is the exclusive North American representative of Bronze Sculpture by Dutch artist Marianne Houtkamp.

The gallery is pleased to be joined by one of Charleston’s most exciting restaurants, Social Restaurant + Wine Bar for this special event.

Housed in a nineteenth century warehouse and featuring a stunning four-thousand bottle display cellar, Social Restaurant + Wine Bar offers Charleston’s largest selection of wines by the glass. Since its opening in 2007, Social has become the preeminent wine bar of Charleston. Complementing its extensive wine selection, Social serves dishes inspired by the wine-growing regions of the world in a chic but casual atmosphere. For Chef Jesse Sutton, the finishing touch on a dish isn’t the sauce or the sides, but the perfect pairing with a glass of wine.  Driven by cultural context, Sutton looks to the traditional ingredients and natural resources of a region to inspire what he creates on the plate.

Chef Jesse Sutton

Born in Carrboro, NC, Sutton grew up in Urbana, IL, and found his way into the kitchen by the age of 18 where his culinary journey began. Sutton enrolled at Kendall College where he received his AAS. His enthusiasm and willingness to learn quickly found him in an apprenticeship with the noted avant-garde chef, Grant Achatz at Trio restaurant. This experience made Sutton realize that the culinary world was ever-evolving and that it was a direction that he wanted to pursue as a career. In 2011, after five years at the Woodlands, South Carolina’s only 5-star, 5-diamond restaurant, Sutton took on the role of Executive-Chef at Social Restaurant + Wine Bar. At Social, in collaboration with owner and Sommelier Brad Ball, Sutton has found a home where wine plays a central part in each dish he creates. Drawing from the old-world wine regions of the world, Sutton is able to take diners on a culinary journey and create simple, elegant stories from around the world using only a wine glass, a plate and a vision.

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Martin Gallery and Tristan: Partners for the 2013 Palette and Palate Stroll

To get Charleston ready for the 8th Annual Palette and Palate Stroll, we are doing feature blog posts on each pairing for the night.

Martin Gallery gathers some of the finest contemporary artists in their fields together under one roof. Upon entering the historic Grand Salon of Martin Gallery, one experiences a soaring space filled with the exquisite color and texture of oils, acrylics, bronzes, marbles, terra-cottas and richly hued glass. Martin Gallery features contemporary art, representing about forty nationally and internationally renowned artists. The array of different styles and works of art at the gallery keeps visitors engaged and contemplative. The gallery provides works of thoughtful beauty to enhance residential and commercial surroundings.

For the 8th Annual Palette & Palate Stroll, Martin Gallery is pleased to be paired with Tristan Restaurant. Tristan will be participating in the event for the first time, and we are very excited to have such an outstanding restaurant on board this year. At Tristan, fine dining is all about simplicity, personalized service, comfortable seating and calming, contemporary décor. Starting with a humble or ordinary ingredient, and taking the time to use the proper techniques to enhance it to its peak flavor is what chef Whiting and his team strive to do on a daily basis at Tristan.

Chef Nate Whiting of Tristan

Spend a few minutes with Nate Whiting, and you’re bound to hear that he “just wants to be in the kitchen.” It’s a sentiment that Tristan’s executive chef has been expressing since he started cooking at age 13. One that’s led him to work in some of the country’s – and the world’s – top kitchens since graduating from Johnson and Wales University. Over the years, he’s worked under Peninsula Grill’s renowned Chef Bob Carter in Charleston and developed some of his favorite techniques at Da Vittorio in Bergamo, Italy. Before coming to Tristan, he spent six years in the kitchen of The Dining Room at Woodlands. At Tristan, Whiting gets his inspiration from fresh, seasonal ingredients – he’s adamant about using only the best – to create dishes that make, as The Post and Courier puts it, “the simple sublime.”

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Corrigan Gallery and Barsa Tapas: Partners for the 2013 Palette and Palate Stroll

For the Palette and Palate Stroll, the Corrigan Gallery LLC is pleased to welcome once again Barsa Tapas, a Spanish tapas restaurant located on trendy upper King Street. Barsa is making a name for itself as a destination spot for those seeking fine wine, great music scene, delicious paellas and a locally sourced and seasonally inspired menu.

The Thirst by Gaston Locklear
36.5 x 35.5, oil and wax on panel with old countertop

For the art and food event, the Corrigan Gallery will present new works by gallery artists Mary Walker, Lese Corrigan, Kristi Ryba, Judy Cox, Daphne vom Baur, Karin Olah and Gaston Locklear in a show titled “Summer Breeze, Summer Ease.” The gallery opened its doors on September 1, 2005 at 62 Queen Street, Charleston, South Carolina, just off the corner of Meeting and Queen streets in the historic downtown Charleston. The gallery exhibits works of art both representational and abstract possessing the charm of old Charleston with a contemporary edge. Representing artists whose work is beyond the traditional approach to the southern landscape of marshes, the gallery consistently provides new works to see on a regular basis. Artistic vision partnered with an intellectual strength and astute handling of the materials describes the work on display.

The Book by Mary Walker
42 x 42, oil and wax on board

The gallery is showing art that is just for that – art! Not following this year’s fashions but reaching towards the future and showing respect for the past, the presented artwork fulfills the beholder’s need for beauty and the collector’s wish for strong investments. This is art for the soul; art that lets the eyes breathe fresh air. Visitors may watch paintings in process on location and view works that have been done en plein air as well asin situ studio pieces.

Barsa’s proprietor, Drazen Romic, is always working hard to think of innovative ways to bring people to the popular revitalized upper King Street area and is a pioneer when it comes to unchartered territories and the potential they can offer to business owners and the community. Romic opened the very successful Lana restaurant 8 years ago on Rutledge and Cannon long before that area was on the map as a culinary hotspot and it is at Lana where he discovered Barsa’s Executive Chef Cole Poolaw.

Originally of McColl, South Carolina, Poolaw moved to Charleston seven years ago to ultimately pursue a career in

Chef Cole Poolaw

culinary arts. He attended Trident Technical College’s Culinary Institute while working full time at Lana Restaurant honing his skills and training under Chef John Ondo. At the young age of twenty-three Cole took the helm as executive chef of Barsa tapas, lounge, and bar. There he has ventured into Spanish cuisine and traditional tapas while staying true to his roots and integrating his own Southern charm. Having a deep commitment to local sustainability, he strives to use only the freshest ingredients sourced from nearby farms. Always a purist in the kitchen, his food profiles are simple and clean yet comforting and satisfying. Whether on the line or visiting with guests in the dining room, you’ll find him with a smile and a true enthusiasm to evolve and expand his culinary palate.

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Dog and Horse Fine Art and Trattoria Lucca: Partners for the 2013 Palette and Palate Stroll

Dog & Horse Fine Art & Portraiture, established in 2001 by Jaynie Milligan Spector and located on Church street, is a source for dog and horse paintings and sculptures by top quality nationally and internationally known artists in the United States and Europe who create 21st century works of art, as well as portraits of animals and their human counterparts. Ms. Spector studied with Sothebys Auction House in London, England, and worked as an art advisor in New York City, North Carolina and Florida. She is able to find the best quality artists who reflect 21st century art while also masterfully depicting dogs and horses. A former director of 19th century art at Christies also assists Ms. Spector with earlier period paintings.

“Estrella’ by Jan Lukens

Dog & Horse offers top quality artists who work in styles from traditional to contemporary.  Clients are able to find the right artist to suit their taste and budget, whether they want the number one painter of dogs in the world or affordable top quality artists. Many of the gallery’s artists also masterfully paint men, women and children. For this year’s Palette and Palate Stroll, the gallery will feature an equestrian artist, Jan Lukens, in an exhibit titled “The Power of the Equine.” His paintings are sure to be complemented by the innovative, delicate cuisine of Trattoria Lucca.

Tucked away in a quiet corner of downtown Charleston’s Elliotsborough neighborhood lies Chef Ken Vedrinski’s charming Italian eatery, Trattoria Lucca. Inspired by the ancient Tuscan city of Lucca, a place renowned for its olive oils, Trattoria Lucca brings the essence of Italian cuisine to the Lowcountry. Vedrinski changes the dinner menu nightly depending on what the local ingredients inspire him to create that night, or what fresh catch the local fishmonger brings to his doorstep directly from the boat, such as seasonal triggerfish or black bass. The menu features Italian imported cheese and salumi, handmade pastas as well as the freshest produce and fresh seafood from the waters surrounding Charleston. At Lucca, one can expect innovative, delicate food that will have you longing for more days after the dining experience.

Chef Ken Vedrinski

A long time and loyal team member of Vedrinski’s culinary staff, Chef de Cuisine Nick Francis will be serving Lucca’s tastings at the event. Francis started his career with the chef immediately after he graduated from Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, SC. Coming from an all Italian family in Cleveland, OH, he grew up learning all of the intricacies of the cuisine and always wanted to become an Italian focused chef. He was first a chef at Sienna when it opened and worked there for several years before heading to Atlanta to work with the Neighborhood Dining Group. He did not stay away long, and soon was back at Sienna under Vedrinski’s leadership. When Trattoria Lucca opened, Francis made the move with Vedrinski and has been his right hand chef throughout the years. Together they continue to grow and develop the inspiring and creative Italian focused menu at Lucca.

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Painting in the Park: Featuring Craig Nelson

Award winning artist Craig Nelson has been creating inviting and environmental paintings for almost thirty years. His light, luminous, and sensual coastalscapes are portrayed in rich oils and capture the unique beauty of the Coastal regions. Craig’s passion for the Coast is evident in his paintings which depict foliage covered dunes, shapely cypress, majestic cliffs, and mirrored wet sands. His coastal paintings depict the peace and tranquility of the ocean and its special relationship to humanity.

A Cool Drink by Craig Nelson

Craig received a BFA with distinction from the Art Center College in California and is currently the Department Chairman of Fine Arts, Drawing, and Painting at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco, California.

Selected commissions include: Count Basie, MGM Record Corp, Sammy Davis, Jr., MGM Record Corp., Neil Simon, MCA Inc., Natalie Cole, Capitol Records, Inc., Loretta Lynn, MCA, Inc., A.C. Eichenger, Private, James Garner, Private, Frank Sinatra, Capitol Records, Inc., Richard Petty, Franklin Mint, Inc., Mr. And Mrs. Joris Brinkerhoff, Private, and Mr. and Mrs. R. Kiperman, Private.

Craig’s numerous awards and achievements include five gold medals, two silver medals, The Best in Show in, and over 200 awards of excellence from the Society of Illustrators in Los Angeles, California and a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators in New York. Craig has been published in Communication Arts Annual and JCA (in Japan).

Nelson’s work can be found at Ella Walton Richardson Fine Art located at 58 Broad street in downtown Charleston.

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Painting in the Park: Featuring Karen Weihs

Karen Weihs is a native of Charleston, SC, with a BFA from the University of Georgia. She began her professional career as a graphic designer for Sea Pines Corporation. Karen says, “As a contemporary oil painter and colorist, I love to create images that depict endless visual space. Forsaking all details, I conjure patterns of light, air, weather and reflection that feel ethereal and diffused. Layered pigments, contrasting colors and geometric shapes breathe life into my images, and while my landscapes are minimal in representational content, I find viewers often see the familiar in the abstract.”

Karen also likes to create modern intuitive expressionistic paintings that resemble figures. She calls these her getting out of my mind pieces. She wrote a popular book called Out of My Mind about creativity. Karen maintains that professional artists need to evolve, be self-taught, even if it means changing styles frequently. She often likes to go out into the field and create a painting from start to finish, en plein air. She maintains that a painter must be familiar with the palette as a pianist is to the keys on the piano. It takes practice, and there is no better way to learn and grow as an artist than from nature. From these field studies, she sees not only what is there, but what is possible for taking realism and making it feel larger and even more simple and dramatic, even more abstract. The more you look, the more simple you can make a painting more interesting than nature, editing out most of the detail and simplifying.  Learning from nature is about fleeting moments captured by the brush and palette knife, recording the natural world in record time before it is gone.

Serenity by Karen Weihs

Karen creates luminous oil paintings from her Carolina home studio. She has been at her easel for 20 years creating contemporary landscapes and intuitive playful images from out of her mind. She teaches regularly at the Bascom Museum in Highlands as well as other places in the US and Europe. Karen goes outdoors en plein air, or outside to paint from life. When not outside painting from life, and when she feels like she wants to go out of her mind, she creates in the studio some colorful, playful landscapes or intuitive abstracted coloristic paintings. She calls these her folly paintings. From “field to folly,” she likes both styles of painting. The large colorful paintings always have a minuscule part of what she has seen out in the field. She starts out with the brush, making the shapes she wants, to get the basic painting into play. Then she changes to a large palette knife with lots of paint making the texture by gliding the cake-knife-like shape palette knife through the first few layers of the painting. The effect is finished off by glazing, a technique that has been tested through years of experimenting with oil mediums. Sometimes her layers are as many as 8-10 glazing layers or more.

Her love of the simple, abstracted shapes led her to do colorful a geometric/figurative feeling series, one she calls her Wild Angels Series, another the textured Red Series, resulting in a 2009 WNC signature award.

In 1994, Karen received Artist of America award. With many more awards and publications, Karen continues to paint with much recognition. She feels that UGA instructor Lamar Dodd and mentor Frank Licciardi inspired her style of painting which has slowly evolved through work. But early on, she was taken in by the works as a teenager when viewing Charlestonian artist Alice Ravenel Huger Smith at the Gibbes Museum.

Karen has a large collector base in addition to hanging in corporate offices and restaurants including two Governor’s homes, The Biltmore Estate and The Mansion of Turtle Creek Restaurant.

Karen’s work can be found at Ella W. Richardson Fine Art located on 58 Broad street in downtown Charleston.

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Painting in the Park: Featuring Mark Kelvin Horton

Mark Kelvin Horton was born and raised in rural North Carolina. After graduating from East Carolina University School of Art in 1983, Horton moved to New York City to begin a career in advertising and design. He carried with him the dream of someday becoming a painter.

Eighteen years of living in New York were spent working as a creative director in various advertising agencies and eventually founding his own design company. Those years also provided an invaluable opportunity for Horton to view and study firsthand the seemingly endless number of masterworks of art in the city’s museums and galleries. Horton became particularly fascinated with the works of George Inness, Herman Herzog, Frederick Church and the tonalist photographer, Edward Steichen. He was also captivated by the realism of John Singer Sargent and Winslow Homer as well as the romantic landscapes of the Hudson River School painters. The experience had a profound effect on his artistic development.

Walking to Work by Mark Kelvin Horton

During his years working as an artistic director and designer, Horton continued to nurture his “fine art side”, drawing, sketching and painting whenever he had the opportunity. In early 2001 Horton made the decision to devote himself full-time to painting. He left New York City and returned to his Southern roots, moving to Charleston, South Carolina.

Horton is particularly fascinated with the effects of light and weather upon the landscape. He paints beyond a literal interpretation of a scene to portray nature in a way that reflects his own ideas and sensibilities while capturing the spirit, color and changing light of a place.

Horton’s artwork can be found at Horton Hayes Fine Art located at 30 State Street in downtown Charleston.

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