Tag: Charleston

Fleet Landing photo and menu… (there’s nothing like a good menu)!

On By Barbara StroudIn FOOD, HOME, TRAVELLeave a comment

I took this photo years ago when my husband and I went on a cruise with my parents. That was back when Norwegian Cruise Line departed out of Charleston. That was handy. We had a great time, caught the Little Black Taxi to the cruise terminal and were on our way for a week of rest and relaxation! When we were leaving Charleston I snapped this photo of Fleet Landing Restaurant. A great place if you’re visiting, it’s in the heart of the city, you can eat inside or out. On nice days there is nothing like eating on the water, even from inside a GREAT VIEW. Good view, friendly staff, not overly priced. Check out their menu!

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Get your ticket for Family Circle Cup Tennis… March 31 through April 8, 2012!

On By Barbara StroudIn HOMELeave a comment

Family Circle Cup Tennis…  [Image 2011]

Well… if you haven’t made your way out to a Family Circle Cup Tennis match yet, now’s your chance… I was on the Family Circle Cup website today and I see that Serena Williams will be playing tonight! Here’s a blip from FamilyCircleCup.com

Session begins at 7:00pm. 
Get your tickets today – great seats are going fast!  Ticketmaster.com

Serena Williams, 2008 Cup Champion, with highligh the Tuesday, April 2nd evening session, beginning at 7:00pm
*Serena will face the winner of the Elena Vesnina / Stephanie Dubois match to be played tomorrow.

We went last year and had a great time, so if you’re looking for something to do, get your tickets now, it’s fun! There is a great tent full of merchandise to purchase as well as vendors set up all over the place. It’s a lot of fun even if you don’t know a lot about tennis!

Visit their website for further details!

Here’s the history on Family Circle Cup tennis… check it out (info from FamilyCircleCup.com) – catch you back here tomorrow!

History – A Shining Star in Women’s Tennis
The early 70’s were a period of uncertainty for women’s tennis but at the same time it was also a time of hope for young women who had dreams of playing professional sports. They wanted their sport to grow and earn the recognition, equality and respect that their male counterparts were enjoying. The sport needed a company who believed in the future of women’s tennis and was willing to take a chance on what many people at the time thought was a long shot. Family Circle magazine stepped up to the challenge and the rest as they say is history, and history in the making it was.

From a historical perspective, few tournaments can compare to the Family Circle Cup. Initially signing on to sponsor the event in 1973, Family Circle magazine holds the record in all of professional tennis as the longest running event sponsored by the same company. Family Circle was the first women’s magazine to fully underwrite a professional women’s sporting event. Since 1973, the Family Circle Cup has been a pioneer in women’s professional sports creating milestones that over the years have directly influenced the popularity of women’s professional tennis. It is a tournament rich in tradition that has been highlighted over the past 39 years with a number of outstanding accomplishments.

In 1973, it was the first women’s tennis event to offer a $100,000 dollars in prize money. As the first Family Circle Cup champion, Rosie Casals received a check for $30,000, which was the largest prize money payout awarded to a woman that year. Even more remarkably, the Family Circle Cup was the first women’s event to be broadcast on network television in 1973. Players who participated in that first tournament still have fond memories of the significance of this occasion. Billie Jean King remarked that the final between Rosie Casals and Nancy Richey was not the best played match due to the nervousness of both players, but every player there that day knew that it was a historic day in women’s sports. Millions of viewers became instant fans, and women’s tennis was well on its way to the heights that the game has reached in present times. Today, the tournament receives four days of coverage on ESPN2, and is also broadcast on Eurosport to over 95 million homes in Europe.

In 2001, the Family Circle Cup made a bold move to secure its success for the future. After 28 years in Hilton Head, the tournament moved to a new home in Charleston, South Carolina. This partnership between the City of Charleston and Family Circle magazine is the first of its kind in women’s tennis. Family Circle magazine is the first title sponsor to partner with city and county municipalities to build a tennis facility of this stature. This state-of-the-art facility not only serves as the home for one of the Premier Events in the WTA, but also provides residents of greater Charleston access to one of the finest tennis facilities in the southeast.

Every spring, the City of Charleston and Daniel Island serves as a backdrop to one of the richest and most traditional events in women’s professional tennis. The Family Circle Cup, a WTA Premier Event, has a roster of past champions that include some of the biggest names in the history of women’s tennis including Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Tracy Austin, Steffi Graf, Gabriela Sabatini, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati, Venus Williams, Justine Henin, Serena Williams, and Caroline Wozniacki.

As one of the hottest tickets in professional sports, the Family Circle Cup is more than just a tennis tournament, it’s a festival with some world-class tennis thrown in. During the week, fans are entertained with a variety of activities aimed at making their week on Daniel Island a memorable one. It’s an action packed nine days filled with high-level tennis and a host of other activities that have been created for all age groups from children to senior citizens.

The Family Circle Cup, one of the most traditional events in women’s tennis, will continue to cement itself as an annual institution in Charleston, a city that is truly one of America’s most historic treasures.

The Family Circle Cup boasts a prize money purse of $749,160. Over ninety players compete for a piece of that purse each year and battle for one of the most coveted trophies in women’s tennis – when that is at stake, it is all business on the court.

Where most sporting events settle for status quo, the Cup continues to strive for excellence. The future of women’s professional tennis is as bright as ever, and the Family Circle Cup will continue to be its shining star.

Featured artist… Stuart Roper!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured Artist1 Comment

“The Problem Solvers” by Stuart Roper

Stuart Roper, a wonderful artist from Asheville, NC… I love it when an artist can take a mundane scene and make it spectacular! Something like workers on the side of the road… this is fabulous, what does it for me is the ORANGE. I think a painting that has orange really catches the eye… it draws me to it… same with red, it’s probably WHY I like a painting with a flag in it, it’s that pop of red against other colors that are so spectacular! A friend recently explained how someone had told her about putting at least a hint of red or orange to make a painting really stand out, I think that’s so true! Of course in this painting it’s more than a pop of color, but you get my drift… great loose strokes… Check out Stuart’s website for gallery representation… here in Charleston, SC it appears that he has a few pieces at M GALLERY OF FINE ART!

Here’s a blip about Stuart from his website:

Born in North Carolina in 1953, painter and sculptor Stuart Roper moved to Manhattan in the mid-1970s to attend the Art Students League of New York. There, he studied anatomy and figure drawing with Thomas Fogarty and portraiture with John Howard Sanden. Following New York, Stuart made a brief move to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he studied color theory under the direction of Gerry Wright. In 1980, he moved to St. Simons Island, Georgia for a year, prior to settling in the state’s capital, Atlanta. Over the next ten years, his work included various commissions, both private and corporate, as well as a number of solo and group exhibitions. In the fall of 1991, Stuart moved to France, west of Paris in the small Normandy village of Pressagny l’Orgueilleux. There, he settled in the guest cottage of the Château de la Madeleine. Only minutes away from the home of Claude Monet in Giverny, the place and its artistic precedent guided Stuart’s own paint handling; through plein-air work, he found the approach of the Impressionists, which has since characterized most of his painting. Normandy offered Stuart myriad tones of gray amidst the often-foggy landscapes, however, the frequent inclement weather made plein-air work difficult. In 1993 Stuart moved to the small hilltop village of Fayence in southern France where he would remain for the next five years working under “a glorious sun.” During this time, his work took him to Italy, Corsica and back to Normandy, all the while enchanted by the light, and concentrating on the development of his limited three-color palette. In 1998, Stuart made the decision to return to the United States, where he settled in Asheville, North Carolina. The Grove Arcade Public Market commissioned Stuart to recreate the original 1920s finials that adorn the top of the building, and the City Parks and Recreation Department also commissioned him on the development of “Grove’s Vision”, a station on the city’s historical Urban Trail. He may be spotted almost anywhere, as he continues his love of capturing the landscape and developing his artistic vocabulary. 

Ran across this on his website… if you’re thinking of coming to Charleston May 30- June 1, 2012 this would be a fabulous time for a visit!

PLEIN AIR PAINTER OF THE SOUTHEAST 
Returns to Charleston for a Four Gallery Show 

Opening Reception: June 1st 2012 6-8pm 
Show Closing Date: June 22nd 2012 

Show Locations:

Galerie on Broad 29 Broad Street, Charleston, SC 29401 

Hagan Fine Art Gallery and Studio 27 1/2 State Street, Charleston SC, 29401 

Horton Hayes Fine Art 30 State Street, Charleston, SC, 29401 

Smith Killian Fine Art 9 Queen Street, Charleston, SC, 29401 

Participating Artists: 

Scott Boyle 
Loryn Brazier 
Anne Blair Brown 
Roger Dale Brown, OPA 
Katie Dobson Cundiff 
Dee Beard Dean 
Beverly Ford Evans (New Member) 
Trey Finney 
Paula Frizbe 
Karen Hewitt Hagan 
L. Diane Johnson 
Andre Lucero (New Member) 
Diane May 
Kevin Menck 
Larry Moore 
Gwen Nagel 
Richard Christian Nelson 
Richard Oversmith 
Lori Putnam 
James Richards 
Stuart Roper 
Junko Ono Rothwell 
Shannon Smith 
Hodges Soileau

Sue Stewart

Brett Weaver

Dawn E. Whitelaw 

Attending artists will paint on location in the vicinity of the gallerys (Queen Street, State Street, and Broad Street) starting Wednesday, May 30, 2012 through Friday, June 1, 2012. 

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Cooper River Bridge Run… March 31, 2012. Inspiration and Registration… (& Bridge Run RESULTS!)

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME, THOUGHTSLeave a comment

Bridge Run 2011 {Image}

Hello again… Here’s an update to this post… the bridge run is over… click HERE to get the results. It’s a searchable site, so you don’t have to scroll through 43,00+++++++ names!  Just click whether you want to see the wheelchair results or the Searchable site to check results… Great job everyone!

Yes. The March 31, 2012 Bridge Run in Charleston, SC IS. SOLD. OUT. Well… almost… you still have a chance for a ticket, but it’ll cost you! The flip side of that is that it’s for a good cause… the money goes to charity. This year they capped the regular registration at 43,000 people (good grief that’s a lot of people!), it sold out 23 days before the race (according to an article in the Post and Courier). I went to the Bridge Run’s website and indeed they have sold out, BUT for $150 (that you can raise for a charity) you can buy a Charity Connection Registration (mail/fax or in person only). There is a cap on the number of Charity Connection Registrations, it’s set at 1200! So it’s still possible to participate! From the BridgeRun.com website… this is the info on the Charity Connection Registration:

Charity Connection 

Along with registration, the Bridge Run offers participants the opportunity to help raise money for 12 charities.  It can be scary choosing a charity to donate to.  In this economy, every dollar counts. You want to be sure your hard earned donations are going to the cause described, and not squandered.  The bridge run has done the research for you.  We’ve found, among many, 12 well deserving charities.  Along with the larger, more reputable non-profits, we’ve found other smaller less exposed ones, that also, need and deserve your help. Just one dollar can make a difference!  What do you get with your donation, large or small?  Each participant who donates to one of our charities receives an additional, specialized bib, showing your support, of a good cause. Here’s how… click HERE for a list of charities, visit the Bridge Run website for details…

  • Now, you can leverage your run to raise money via crowdrise.  It’s super easy to join and all the money you raise will contribute the charity.
  • Choose your donation amount with regular registration. Register online or via paper registration, for $30 (before 2/01/12) and donate any amount from $1 up.  You may also donate separate amounts to multiple charities. For example, you may choose to donate $1 to charity x, and $20 to charity y. 
  • Register through a specific charity, for $150, set fee.   When donating $150 or more to the Charity of your choice you will not only get the delight of making an impact, but you will also receive a specialized Cooper River Bridge Run Charity Bib, free entry into the Race, and free packet mailing before 2/23/12.
 There was another article in the Post and Courier (newspaper) that told an inspirational story of two men who lost weight the hard way. Exercise and healthy eating. It’s a must read, if that won’t get you off your duff nothing will! These two guys are doing the bridge run… Clinton Terrill who started at 500 pounds and is now down to 238 (and still dropping) and Bryan Ganey who started at 577 pounds and is at 287 and still dropping… KUDOS TO YOU GUYS! If nothing else the bridge and the bridge run inspires people to M O V E! You’ve got to admire hard work!
Catch you back here tomorrow!

Featured Artist… Gene Costanza!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART2 Comments

Gene Costanza, artist at M Gallery of Fine Art {image}

Isn’t this a fabulous Charleston scene? I remember many years ago it seemed like so many of the paintings were the same… most of the Charleston paintings were pastel in color and all the same in subject matter… things have been changing for years now. The paintings are more modern even though they’re not contemporary… I think it’s the influence of working plein air for many artists. There is nothing like that quick loose style, it’s fabulous. This painting was done by artist Gene Costanza. Happened to see on Facebook that he’s in town painting right now…  (as I write this)… that’s one thing about our city. You can be walking around downtown and run into artists set up on the street painting. I still marvel at that. I love to watch someone paint. Everyone approaches it so differently. There are truly SO MANY GREAT ARTISTS it blows my mind. We are very fortunate to have such a strong art community. We support the arts and all the different events… our galleries work hard here in Charleston to keep the public involved in the art… art walks, receptions, they get very creative, and we are very lucky indeed!

Gene Costanza is an exceptional artist, and I’m thrilled to know that he’s being shown here locally at M Gallery! Check out his work, or his website (or both!)… catch you back here tomorrow!

Image and blip from the artists website:

GENE COSTANZA
American, b.1954 
 
Gene Costanza is a contemporary realist painter of traditional subject matter, focusing primarily on landscape and man’s interaction with it and nature. Equally at home painting “en plein air’ as well as in the studio, Costanza orchestrates paintings that engage the viewer to enter the subject with him by capturing the light and atmosphere.
 
Over twenty-five years of his life was spent in Law Enforcement in such specialties as SWAT, K9 Handler, K9 Supervisor, Patrol Supervisor and Detective.  About mid career, the desire to return to artistic endeavors surfaced after having been abandoned in his early twenties.  Though dormant, there was a constant underlying desire to again delve into the mysteries of paint, light, and subject matter.  Costanza believes it took a decade and a half of discipline to mold his personal tendencies so that he could study and work as hard as one needs to in the very difficult endeavor of making a good painting.  Costanza retired from law enforcement to become a full-time painter.  
 
Primarily “self-taught,” he has studied with a number of great contemporary artist/teachers including; Kevin McPherson, Matt Smith, Jeffery Watt, and has a long standing close personal as well as professional friendship with Scott L. Christensen.  It is Christensen whom Costanza credits with most of his growth.  Frequently these two can be found painting, fishing, hunting or just enjoying the fellowship of intimate friendship.
 
His work is in collections from coast to coast and is included in the permanent collection of the Academy Museum in Easton, Maryland.
 
Costanza is married and has two grown sons and makes his home in Eugene, OR.

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!

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!

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 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

Featured Artist… Elizabeth Pollie!

On By Barbara StroudIn ART, Featured Artist1 Comment

“No Bull” by artist Elizabeth Pollie

Elizabeth Pollie is one artist that I hold in high regard. She’s very talented and has such a sense of style. Her paintings are very different from the norm, if she were on the show “X Factor”, she would have “it”, the “IT” factor… there is a mystical almost angelic-ness to her paintings. It helps that she paints places that are near and dear to my heart, Mackinac Island, MI being one of those places. I featured Elizabeth last year and showed one of those paintings… amazing… this year I’m selecting something different. Cows… “NO BULL”, ha… great name. Check Elizabeth’s work out, you won’t be disappointed. She’s in several galleries throughout the country, and her work is perfect for each location. Each slightly different, but all amazing! This image is from the RS Hanna Gallery located in Fredericksburg, Tx.

Here is a great article about Elizabeth from MyNorth.com – fascinating! Here’s a blip about the artist from her website…

Elizabeth Pollie’s exposure to the arts came at an early age. Taken to museums, enrolled in classes by her parents and influenced by her father’s love and practice of art and architecture, she was always clear about her path in life. “Working within the field of visual arts never seemed like a choice, but rather a place of true belonging”. She enrolled in college art classes while still in high school and went on to receive an education at a formal Art School. She earned her B.F.A. at The College For Creative Studies where she later taught.

Harboring a deep love of travel and art history, Elizabeth has combined her travels with her painting practice. The images that she creates are imbued with a sense of poetry, mood and depth. 

The artist paints full time and teaches from her studio, West Wind Atelier in Harbor Springs, Mi.  Her paintings reside in both public and private collections here and abroad and have received much national recognition.

Elizabeth has found a deep sense of place within the rekindled practice of representational painting in America.  Of this movement Pollie reflects, “ It is celebration, an homage and in many ways a joyous homecoming. I am pleased to be a part of it.

Check out her website, she has some FABULOUS paintings that she did while in China as well as her many other paintings! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Circa Lighting… the Reed Hanging Light… a gorgeous addition to the room!

On By Barbara StroudIn HOME2 Comments

Isn’t this a gorgeous light? We have fought with ourselves over which chandelier to use for, well… years. So until we could make up our minds for sure we hung a ceiling fan which served its purpose in the interim. The Reed Hanging Light is one classy light, simple and elegant, not fussy in design. We ordered the hand rubbed antique brass finish with the natural paper shade which we LOVE. There is nothing like a shade from Circa Lighting. It gives off the most eloquent warm light. It makes every room look positively radiant! There is a diffuser on this fixture so you aren’t blinded by bright light. We also have it on a dimmer so it can be as bright or as romantic as you would like… If you’re searching for a fantastic light fixture, check this one out! Our house is an older house (1930’s), our furniture is a mix of antiques (mostly pine), and new (mostly slipcovered) furniture. So we have an updated look, with more modern lighting. This was perfect. Remember, you can always order from Circa Lighting online. If you’re in the Charleston, SC area stop in and see Matthew McLaughlin, the manager. He’s a very cool dude who knows EVERYTHING about lighting. Remember, you can order online and it’s FREE SHIPPING (in most cases), and you only pay tax if you’re located in one of the three states they’re in (SC, GA and TX). Lots of good reasons to order from Circa Lighting! Nice to know you don’t have to be near a store to take advantage of their beautiful lighting!

Catch you back here tomorrow!