A quick and easy butter bean salad, can you say healthy?!

On By Barbara StroudIn FOOD, HEALTH, Recipe2 Comments

Monza’s butter bean salad with shrimp… To. Die. For. Amazing! Image: Monza

Today I made a wonderful butter bean salad reminiscent of the one that Monza serves here in Charleston. Well, it wasn’t quite butter bean salad since I used fresh Lima beans from Whole Foods, but it was darn close. I’m not sure what their recipe is, but I can tell you we devoured these beans in no time flat, didn’t even give them time to chill! Next time I make these I will make it the night before! If you make it to Monza some time soon I highly suggest their butter bean salad. You can get it with just the olive oil and lemon, or with tuna or shrimp. Tasty!

Monza-ish Butter Bean/Lima Bean Salad – this recipe serves 2-3

1 container of fresh butter or lima beans

3-5 tablespoons olive oil

1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled but not cut

1 wedge of lemon

Salt

Wash the beans, in a medium or large heavy saucepan, add the beans and cover with water (cover with about 2″ water). Bring to a boil, then turn down to medium. Stir occasionally. Cook about 1 hour or until done. Then drain.

In small heavy saucepan, add the olive oil, turn it on medium, add a clove or two of garlic that has been peeled but not minced. Cut a few X marks to let the juices out… add to hot oil, then turn on low until fragrant. After the garlic sits a few minutes in the oil, pull it out and discard or set aside for another use.

Squeeze a wedge of lemon into the slightly cooled oil (be careful, if oil is hot then it’s going to spit), stir briskly or whisk until blended. With the beans in a separate bowl, pour the olive oil mixture over top of the beans. Sprinkle a little salt. Let cool, then pop into the refrigerator (good luck, half were gone before they got to the fridge, and I’m not kidding!).

If by chance they get dry add a little extra olive oil before serving (if you used all the garlic infused olive oil, regular is fine, and if you don’t like garlic, skip that step). I can’t tell you if they’ll get dry since we gobbled them up…

Next time I’m going to try beans in a carton (like FIG brand) if I can find them, or another non BPA brand like Eden… that will quicken this process. I’ll report back if I can find a good brand and if it tastes this incredible! This is going to be tasty with salmon and tzatziki sauce…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured artist… Elizabeth Tolley!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment

“Color of Sunset Maine” by Elizabeth Tolley {Image}

It’s funny how I can skim through an artists paintings, and really like some of them but be sucked in by one of Maine… Elizabeth Tolley is a California artist who painted a fabulous Maine painting… I think she captured the sunset perfectly. There are the most wild and gorgeous sunrises and sunsets. It makes you want to jump out of bed early in the morning to see the sunrise, and be home in time to see the sunset… Of course when you plan for it, it’s not fabulous, but when you’re out and about and [GASP!] without a camera that’s when you’ll see the most spectacular of skies! As my husband said, this painting has an old world look about it… it does, it’s fabulous, and ooowie, would I love to be there… Right. Now.

Here’s a blip about Elizabeth from her website!

Elizabeth “Libby” Tolley is an American Painter and Author. She is a fourth-generation Californian. Painting the rural landscapes of California’s Central Coast has been her focus. The artist brings these California scenes into the national spotlight, as her paintings have been selected for inclusion in art magazines, books, and national exhibits.

In 2007, Libby completed an instructional book on painting landscapes called, Oil Painter’s Solution Book: Landscapes, 100 answers to you oil painting questions. The book, published by North Light Books, answers questions students have asked over the years, and illustrates the process of painting both on location and in the studio. The book has been well received by artists in all mediums. Over 25,000 copies have been sold.

Libby has been featured in over 25 articles in international art magazines including, The Artist (UK), Southwest Art, Plein Air Magazine, The Artist’s Magazine, and International Artist Magazine. Libby’s paintings have graced three magaxine covers.

San Diego Flora, another book released in 2007, included her paintings “Morning on the San Mateo” and “Afternoon on the San Mateo.” “Morning on the San Mateo” was exhibited in the Capistrano Light Exhibit sponsored by The Irvine Museum.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Photo: Azalea’s in Charleston… Happy Spring!

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTSLeave a comment

H A P P Y  S P R I N G ! Can you believe it’s SPRING already?? Time flies… I mean it’s whizzing by at such a pace I can barely believe it… Maybe because it’s been like spring in Charleston most of the winter. It still comes as a shock that today is the first day of spring, or should I say… one season closer to summer, ahhh! Like those of you in cool climates dread winter, I dread summer… here’s hoping that this will be an unusually cool summer (woohoo! That hasn’t happened since 1989 when I moved here, but winter has never been so mild either, so… there’s hope)!

It’s a beautiful time here in Charleston, everything is blooming. It seems that everyone has azaleas, and the street is lined in pink blooms. Very pretty indeed!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… Robert Spooner!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured Artist1 Comment

“Gloucester Morning” by Robert Spooner

I really enjoy Robert Spooner’s work. The golden light in this painting is pure magic! It reminds me of Mackinac Island, MI… so many great paintings to choose from, I couldn’t select only one, sigh…

Robert’s plein air pieces are amazing. In many ways they remind me of the way our friend Tim Bell paints. Fast and loose and with such incredible style. Of course I love the ICE CREAM HOUSE! Matter of fact I would love to pop in that little ice cream house right now… His work has ‘air’, you can feel it. If you get a chance, check out Robert’s website. I look forward to seeing some of his pieces in person at M Gallery in Charleston, SC!

A blip about Robert from his WEBSITE :

Robert Spooner was born in Roswell, New Mexico in 1956. He received a bachelor of fine arts degree from Louisiana Tech University in 1978 and pursued a career in graphic design. It was not until 1998 that he developed an interest in oil painting after having taken it up as a creative antidote to the structured advertising world where he was working as a designer and illustrator. He became further motivated to continue on this path of expression when he enrolled in painting classes at the Denver Art Students League and studied with noted painters Kim English and Quang Ho.

 The dimensions of his canvas are determined by the story needing to be told. Robert works from large shapes in a scene to the small, all the time keeping his values in check. Arriving at the focal point, which in many cases may be a face, he slows down to spend more time on what he considers to be the heart of the painting or story.

 Robert explains that his art is not about any one approach but it is about developing as an artist by exploring various visual approaches. The discoveries he makes along the way are what fuel his desire to be an artist. He also finds inspiration from a number of artists and their works including Quang Ho, Alex Kanevsky, Dan McCaw, Dennis Miller Bunker, Morgan Weistling, Matt Smith, Anders Zorn and Valentin Serov.

 Catch you back here tomorrow!

PHOTO: Hanging out on a streetcar in San Fran… good times!

On By Barbara StroudIn TRAVEL5 Comments

This is my weekend “wish I was there” photo… Fred and I had so much fun in San Fran… went for years, then thought we should try somewhere on the east coast and never made it back… need to get back there to “our” little boutique hotel that was so cool (and had wine and cheese and night, and before bed, hot cookies and milk… oh heavens!) it’s called the INN AT UNION SQUARE and it’s one awesome place! If you make plans to go to San Fran, check it out!!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… Kim English!

On By Barbara StroudIn ARTLeave a comment

Kim English… a master of light… his paintings are striking. He is a versatile artist, the man can paint anything and it’s fabulous! Kim is in many galleries, he gives workshops (he’s giving one in Switzerland in August of this year!). The man is talented. And from artist friends I’ve heard nothing but good things about Kim, he’s a super nice guy who is talented beyond belief, he paints, he sings, good grief…! His paintings are a joy, if you aren’t familiar with Kim’s work I highly suggest you check him out, he’s in galleries all over the country! In Charleston, he’s at the Wells Gallery. I love this painting, “Conifer Sunset” (above). The one thing I love is the light on in the house with the sky getting dark, the sun setting, the day winding down… it’s magical. Oh, and those trees… L O V E  T H O S E  T R E E S !

I couldn’t make a decision, so I included two images… “Private Garden” is such a sweet painting, once again with fabulous light, and sigh… that pop of red… brilliant. I love how the shutters and window aren’t perfect, they aren’t perfectly square, they have CHARACTER. Fabulous! Here’s a blip about Kim from the Saks Galleries website (blip and images from Saks Galleries):

Colorado-based painter, Kim English, depicts in his paintings the simple beauty found in daily life. Known for his mastery of chiaroscuro, each piece speaks to the true focus of English’s inspiration the harmony existing between light and shadow. His subject matter, ranging from a street side fruit stand in Mexico to sun filled windows, creates a particular mood, through which the viewer is introduced to charming scenarios that are wrapped in depth and texture, and are entirely about paint. This is the primary force of English’s painting his astonishing manipulation of his medium. He maintains a feeling of spontaneity by completing each painting in one sitting the alla prima method. He says of using this method, Immediacy is important. Not only because it is often the nature of people, but for me it is the most instinctive way to paint.

English was born in 1957 in Omaha, Nebraska and raised in a rural community near Colorado Springs. After graduation from the Rocky Mountain School of Art he joined the faculty and later began teaching at the Art Students League of Denver and the Scottsdale Artists School. He has exhibited at the Allied Artists of America winning the Gold Medal of Honor; the National Academy of Design; the Artists of America-Denver Rotary Club; NAWA 21st Annual Exhibition; Arts for the Parks; the Colorado Governor’s Invitational – Loveland Museum; the A.R. Mitchell Memorial Museum of Western Art; The Knickerbocker 42nd Annual Exhibition; the Oil Painters of America and won both the Certificate of Merit and the Joseph Hartley Memorial Award at two Salmagundi Club Exhibitions.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Healthbeat: Beat Your Sugar and Starch Addiction… Here’s how…

On By Barbara StroudIn HEALTH4 Comments

I have to share with you a fabulous article from Prevention Magazine. Now don’t roll your eyes… hey, every little thing we can do to preserve our health is worth it, right? These are LITTLE changes that can help you beat the sugar and starch addiction (yes, addiction… America is addicted to sugar, and I’m no different. I am struggling to stop my sweet tea (and it’s not very sweet, I make “sweet tea” with 3 tablespoons of sugar for 2 quarts)… I find I don’t want to drink it… sigh… BUT tea is good for you, so I bought a mint plant and pluck off a section and place it in the glass and smash it with a spoon to release the wonderful mint flavor… at least that adds a different flavor!). Here are a few things YOU can do… this is adapted from the Prevention Magazine article adaptation of The Sugar Blockers Diet: Eat Great, Lose Weight–A Doctor’s 3-Step Plan to Lose Weight, Lower Blood Sugar, and Beat Diabetes–While Eating the Carbs You Love, by Rob Thompson, MD, with the editors of Prevention (Rodale, 2012). 

Have a Fatty Snack

Have a fatty snack 10 to 30 minutes before your meals. Reason: You remain fuller longer. 

At the outlet of your stomach is a muscular ring, the pyloric valve. It regulates the speed at which food leaves your stomach and enters your small intestine. This valve is all that stands between the ziti in your stomach and a surge of glucose in your bloodstream. But you can send your pyloric valve a message to slow down.Fat triggers a reflex that constricts the valve and slows digestion. As little as a teaspoon of fat–easily provided by a handful of nuts or a piece of cheese–will do the trick, provided you eat it before your meal.

Start Your Meal With A Salad

 Reason: It soaks up starch and sugar.

Soluble fiber from the pulp of plants–such as beans, carrots, apples, and oranges–swells like a sponge in your intestines and traps starch and sugar in the niches between its molecules. Soluble means “dissolvable”–and indeed, soluble fiber eventually dissolves, releasing glucose. However, that takes time. The glucose it absorbs seeps into your bloodstream slowly, so your body needs less insulin to handle it. A good way to ensure that you get enough soluble fiber is to have a salad–preferably before, rather than after, you eat a starch.

Eat Some Vinegar

 Reason: It slows the breakdown of starch into sugar.

The high acetic acid content in vinegar deactivates amylase, the enzyme that turns starch into sugar. (It doesn’t matter what kind of vinegar you use.) Because it acts on starch only, it has no effect on the absorption of refined sugar. In other words, it will help if you eat bread, but not candy. But there’s one more benefit: Vinegar also increases the body’s sensitivity to insulin.

You should consume vinegar at the start of your meal. Put it in salad dressing or sprinkle a couple of tablespoons on meat or vegetables. Vinegar brings out the flavor of food, as salt does.

Include Protein With Your Meal

 Reason: You won’t secrete as much insulin.

Here’s a paradox: You want to blunt insulin spikes–but to do that, you need to start secreting insulin sooner rather than later. It’s like a fire department responding to a fire. The quicker the alarm goes off, the fewer firefighters will be needed to put out the blaze.

Even though protein contains no glucose, it triggers a “first-phase insulin response” that occurs so fast, it keeps your blood sugar from rising as high later–and reduces the total amount of insulin you need to handle a meal. So have meatballs with your spaghetti.

Nosh on Lightly Cooked Vegetables

 Reason: You digest them more slowly.

Both fruits and vegetables contain soluble fiber. As a rule, though, vegetables make better sugar blockers, because they have more fiber and less sugar.

But don’t cook your vegetables to mush. Boiling vegetables until they’re limp and soggy saturates the soluble fiber, filling it with water so it can’t absorb the sugar and starch you want it to. Also, crisp vegetables are chunkier when they reach your stomach, and larger food particles take longer to digest, so you’ll feel full longer. Another tip: Roasted vegetables like cauliflower can often serve as a delicious starch substitute.

Sip A Glass Of Wine With Dinner

 Reason: Your liver won’t produce as much glucose.

Alcohol has unique sugar-blocking properties. Your liver normally converts some of the fat and protein in your blood to glucose, which adds to the glucose from the carbs you eat. But alcohol consumed with a meal temporarily halts your liver’s glucose production. A serving of any alcohol–beer, red or white wine, or a shot of hard liquor–will reduce the blood sugar load of a typical serving of starch by approximately 25%.

That doesn’t mean you should have several drinks (especially if you have diabetes, as multiple drinks can cause hypoglycemia). Not only does alcohol contain calories, but it also delays the sensation of fullness, so you tend to overeat and pile on calories. Be especially mindful about avoiding cocktails that are made with sweetened mixers–yet another source of sugar.

Save Sweets For Dessert Only

 Reason: All of the above.

If you eat sweets on an empty stomach, there’s nothing to impede the sugar from racing directly into your bloodstream–no fat, no soluble fiber, no protein, no vinegar. But if you confine sweets to the end of the meal, you have all of the built-in protection the preceding rules provide. If you want to keep blood sugar on an even keel, avoid between-meal sweets at all costs–and when you do indulge, don’t eat more than you can hold in the cup of your hand. But a few bites of candy after a meal will have little effect on your blood sugar and insulin–and can be quite satisfying.

 Bonus Sugar Blocker: Move Your Body

 There are other ways of blunting sugar spikes, and exercise is one of the best. Your muscle cells are by far the biggest users of glucose in your body and the target of most of the insulin you make.
When you exercise, your muscles need to replenish their energy stores, so each cell that you work out begins making glucose “transporters.” These sit on the surface of the cell and allow glucose to enter.In the meantime, while cells are still making the transporters, they also open up special channels that allow glucose in, independent of insulin. So to reduce sugar spikes, try going for a walk after eating.
Here’s a quick QUIZ to see if you’re at risk for Diabetes. I know sometimes you just don’t want to know, but this is one time you need to know. If you know you can prevent things from getting worse and turn things around!
Now with all that being said, it’s not really that hard. Have a small salad with some sort of fat (cheese, avocado, etc.), and a vinaigrette (any type of vinegar and olive oil). Then for your meal have a lean protein and a lightly cooked veggie. Sip a small glass of wine if you drink wine (not a reason to start drinking if you don’t). If you’re going to eat a sweet, have it after a meal as dessert, then… take a walk! Even if it’s just around the block. Leash up Fido and make his day!
Catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… Janis Sanders!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured Artist2 Comments

“On an Island” by Janis Sanders

I ran across Janis Sander’s work while checking out the artists at Camden Falls Gallery located in Camden, Maine. Her work is striking. The colors are vibrant, the subject matter is clean-lined and visually appealing. I love how the brights play off the darks. That fabulous green against the darker colors. Great work! Bright grass, dark shadow… I love it! If you’re in the area of Camden, Maine pop in and check out her work!

“Coastline” by Janis Sanders

Here’s a blip about Janis… she is just such a likable person! Blip and images from Camden Falls Gallery:

Expressive Intention

Salt air, salt spray, sweet smell of summer grass, verdant marsh, an old house at the water’s edge, wind in your hair, sun on your face.

These elements draw me outdoors, to the grassy dunes of Truro, the calm marshes of the North Shore, to the rugged cliffs of Maine.

Many of my paintings are done “en plein air”, a method introduced in the mid-1800’s by Boudin and other French artists, and pursued vigorously by the Impressionists, a name coined by an art critic in response to Claude Monet’s work, Impression, Sunrise, 1872.

Each of my works is done as spontaneously as possible, with only minimal blocking in of forms.

I begin each painting with the sky, to me the most important element.

The sky IS light, some days slightly purple, sometimes hazy cream, clear aqua, rosy, peach, celadon; we are immersed in it. Sky is the key to determine the entire atmosphere of the painting, and visually and practically provide the backdrop for the other objects in view.

My self-assigned task for each work, is to convey the ethereal ‘thing’ of light in paint, as the sun casts its breath on the world.

I paint vigorously, expressively, physically, applying paint with a palette knife in blocks/area of color, smoothing/blending minimally to keep the paint fresh and say the essence of the ‘thing’.

I take tremendous joy in the attempt, and the subsequent sharing of the result with you.

Thank you for looking, sharing the experience.

I would say thank Y O U Janis! Thanks for sharing! Catch you back here tomorrow!

A gas lantern… like eye candy for your house!

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME2 Comments

Shortly after Christmas Fred received his gift… a Charleston gas lantern… and let me tell you. This lantern is gorgeous. We absolutely love it. This has been on our list for years, but the installation kept us from actually buying the lantern. Probably 5-7 years ago we seriously contemplated this, but the guy who came out to give us a quote for installation was a) expensive, very expensive  b) didn’t seem too trustworthy  c) didn’t seem like he would try his best to make it right. We went back to Carolina Lanterns in December and got the name of an installation guy (if you’re in the Charleston area, call Tony Burke with Myers Heating and Air, he’s the “gas guy”… phone 843-364-3379, cannot recommend him highly enough!). Tony came out, explained how he was going to install the gas line, and he did the best job possible. Nice guy, reliable, can’t say enough… and the lantern. Whoa! It really makes the house look nice! We bought “the Charleston” lantern, we had our eyes on a smaller one, but Tony recommended the larger one, he said it would really make a statement. He seemed as excited as we were which was really cool. He took before and after pictures. A very exciting day!

Sometimes your house just needs the smallest thing to give it more curb appeal… sometimes just sweeping, and maybe a pretty potted plant or two? The trend now seems to be a different color front door which I really like, I’ve seen some in the neighborhood that I love, the interesting greens, etc… and the brighter wilder colors not so much… but that’s a little thing that makes a big difference! What do YOU do to brighten up your house?? It’s that time of year (well, in Charleston it’s been “that time of year” most of the winter). Catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… Jerry Weiss!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment

“Morning, Raspberry Island, Maine” by Jerry Weiss / Image: JerryWeiss.com

I think by now there isn’t a soul alive who doesn’t know how much Fred and I LOVE Maine art… one day we were downtown (Charleston, SC) going in our usual galleries, when we walked by a painting that we recognized. My husband said “that’s Raspberry Island!!” and we hear a voice that said… “you’re right!” whoa! We went in this wonderful gallery called Ingram Fine Art & Antiques… FABULOUS work mostly by Maine artists. Artists who we have met on Monhegan Island in Maine, or who’s work we’ve seen in other places as we bopped around Maine. How utterly cool that they were right here in Charleston! We spoke to one of the owners for quite a while and she was such a delight to talk to… it made us really miss Maine and really LOVE her gallery. If you’re in the area I highly encourage you to pop in and say hello and check out all the beautiful things they’ve got in their gallery!

Jerry Weiss is a fabulous artist, this is a large painting (30 x 40) and is splendid in every way! I love the shadow of the island in the water, and they sky, and… and… and… I guess it caught both of our eyes because a few years ago we rented a cottage in Port Clyde, ME, that faced Raspberry Island, so this was our view! I love the loose strokes… I swear, we need to build more walls in our house, ha ha… Here’s a blip about Jerry from his website… or click HERE to read a different version from Ingram Art & Antiques! I love learning about the artist! If you aren’t in the Charleston area, check out Jerry’s website, it’s a great one!

Seeking competence in figure painting, I spent the better part of six years drawing and painting the figure in art school, and after leaving, continued the notion of the figure in the interior. My goal was to create a visual diary that would be a pictorial record of artists and friends. Then, as now, I was intrigued by the portrait and figure as a most sacred subject.

As a landscape painter I was self-taught, and I struggled for a long time to find my vocabulary. It took many years for me to realize a structural approach, looking for the anatomy that exists in landscape as it surely does in the human subject. Since moving to Connecticut in 1994 and painting outdoors in earnest, I have become better at emphasizing abstraction of shapes. I want to refer to the individuality of the subject, those characteristics which render a person or place unique. For me this also means not merely noting the external beauty of things, but going after something a bit deeper. Put another way, I try to paint temporal qualities, but composed in such as way as to render them timeless.

Evident in my work is an enchantment with the feminine, fascination with psychological nuances, and love for the natural and architectonic shapes of landscape. I am amazed by the color of skin, continually gratified to recognize bone and muscle beneath the surface, and delighted by the powerful forms underlying the Maine coast and Connecticut River Valley. If I may be permitted understatement, I also like light, without which there would exist no space, form or visual coherence.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Photo: Meggett sunset…

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME4 Comments

This photo was taken several years ago at a friends house in Meggett, SC… gorgeous don’t you think?? Nothing like a sunset on the water… gorgeous!

Did you remember to set your clock A H E A D one hour before you went to bed last night?? We have S P R U N G   A H E A D… whoopee!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

 

Spring ahead and check your smoke alarm batteries! TONIGHT…

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTSLeave a comment

Image: Voices.Yahoo.com

This is the time of year to S P R I N G  A H E A D  ! Don’t forget to set your clocks AHEAD one hour before you go to bed…  It’s strange getting used to a new time. My body is on auto pilot. Most days I wake up at the same time each morning, and am ready to turn in around the same time each night… now everything will be screwy… Do YOU like this time change? Here in Charleston it seems like we’ve had Spring for the last few months now… so it’s not like getting excited once the time changes that Spring is near… it’s been here!

Hey, after you set your clocks, change the batteries in your smoke alarms… it could save a life!

AND… if you’re one of the slick few that noticed that I already did a post today that mentioned that the time changes tomorrow PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK! Because… oops! It just hit me… it’s T O D A Y !

Have a great day, catch you back here tomorrow!

Photo taken from Shem Creek dock, Mt Pleasant, SC… what a bizarre sky!

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTSLeave a comment

Fascinating sky, isn’t it?? Mother nature is full of mystery, you never know what you’re going to see! There is beauty all around us, especially here in the coastal Charleston area… gorgeous. The sky is different every evening… it’s amazing! Well my friends, tonight is the big time change… Remember… we change the clocks… S P R I N G  F O R W A R D ! ! ! So tomorrow’s 5 will be 6…

If you read this post earlier and are coming back to it and it seems different… you are not crazy. I sat down to read a book and for some reason it hit me… B A M ! I was thinking clocks changed on Sunday when I wrote this, but really they change Sat PM before you go to bed (unless you stay up until 2am on Sunday when it’s technically the correct time to change the clocks)… oh boy, this time change thing is confusing… sigh…

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… JULIA RALSTON!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured ArtistLeave a comment

Grandfather Carlson’s Place by Julia Ralston

I have my husband to thank for this one… he knows I’m always on the lookout for artists, recipes, ideas… and he suggested Julia! Well, thank you Fred… soon I’m going to have to change the name of this blog to include you…!

Julia has fabulous wide, loose strokes, nice and free. She’s able to leave out a lot of the little detail that ends up making a painting look fussy… I love that about her paintings! Here in Charleston, Julia is represented by the Atelier Gallery (also in Asheville, NC! Note: Link is no longer viable so it’s been removed)… so check her out… if you aren’t in the area give her website a look, you won’t be disappointed!

Summer Light by Julia Ralston

A blip about Julia from her website…

Julia Ralston was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. As a teenager she was often found reading or drawing and toting a sketchbook and journal to camp and family vacations. Encouraged by her artistic maternal grandmother and an enthusiastic high school art teacher, Julia entered Indiana University as a Fine Arts major, graduated in 1981 with a B.S. in Finance, and went to work for a major bank in Charlotte, North Carolina.

 Julia travels frequently and in each place she gathers reference material for her paintings.  Working en plein air and in the studio using her own photographs and sketches, Julia’s work expresses movement and color using loose brushwork and a variety of application methods. This vitality translates well to a variety of subject matter. Julia has studied with Scott Christensen, Stuart Shils, and Peggy Kroll-Roberts to name a few, and well as with her mentor, Andrew Braitman.  She maintains a summer studio in the North Carolina mountains and winters in the South Carolina lowcountry. If she’s not in the studio, you can find her out on the trail stalking birds and new compositions.

“The painting process is a game for me; making decisions using value, color and variety of line appeals to me in a way that wordsmiths feel about writing poetry or crafting a story. I try to be attentive to nuance of light and sense of place… it’s fantastic when brush stroke and color resurrect a memory or transport to a particular field or country road.”

Great work Julia! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Links updated 2/24/25