Daniel Island artists' works to be featured in exhibits
BETSY MCDONALD
The Charleston Artist Guild Gallery will present “Everchanging Tides,” an exhibit featuring the oil paintings of Daniel Island resident Betsy Jones McDonald, during the month of February.
The exhibit will include many of McDonald’s large format oil paintings of marshes, rivers and birds. The pieces capture the beauty and color of Lowcountry surroundings from the artist’s unique perspective. McDonald started drawing and painting as a child and has continued her lifetime pursuit of painting ever since. She studied fine art at Columbus State University in the late 80s and worked in design and advertising in the early 90s, furthering her eye for great composition. Her love for large-format painting in oils was discovered when she spent a summer painting murals for schools in Columbia, SC.
McDonald paints using only the primary colors (red, yellow and blue), plus white and custom mixes. The emphasis is on both color and brushstroke. “I love the colors of the marsh and the way they change with the seasons, light and tides,” she says. “Every time that you look at the marsh, you see something different and I am fascinated by that.” McDonald also teaches oil painting and color mixing through her workshops in Pawleys Island, SC.
An opening reception for McDonald’s exhibit will be held on Friday, Feb. 2 at the Charleston Artist Guild Gallery from 5 to 8 p.m. The gallery, located at 160 East Bay Street, is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sales made at the gallery support the nonprofit Guild’s community outreach work. For more information about McDonald and her paintings visit www.betsymcdonaldart.com.
LAURIE MEYER
Artist Laurie Meyer, who also lives on Daniel Island, will be among a group of artists taking part in “Bloom Boom Boom,” an exhibit at the Meyer Vogl Gallery that runs from March 2-30. All of the works featured are influenced by flowers.
“From floral-inspired abstracts to botanical patterned work to Laurie Meyer’s powerful hydrangea paintings, the gallery will be abloom,” stated a press release on the exhibit. Other artists taking part include Marissa Vogl, Nancy Hoerter, Carrie Beth Waghorn, Dorothy Shain, James Richards and Stanley Bielen.
“I never tire of painting Mother Nature’s art,” Vogl says. “From pollination to survival, flowers are incredibly complex, and we often take them for granted. Their color, their light — it’s pure magic!”
Hoerter agrees. “I’ve always been drawn to the natural beauty of flowers and have used them as a primary subject for my work. Recently, I have enjoyed exploring new ways to introduce contemporary elements into my still lifes.”
A flower-full opening reception will be held on Friday, March 2, from 5 to 8 p.m., coinciding with the Charleston Gallery Association Art Walk. The Meyer Vogl Gallery is located at 122 Meeting Street in downtown Charleston. For additional information, visit http://meyervogl.com.