Folly Beach Sunset

Folly Beach Sunset
Charleston, South Carolina
June 99
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The fifth, and final, installment of my Folly Beach series. Hope you enjoyed the views!

Every Sunday I post a new painting and story behind the watercolors I made while touring as a singer songwriter. Follow the stories behind the paintings of these serialized posts by working your way up from the bottom.

Be sure to visit my other blogs where you can see my current paintings, sketches and posts on art and life.

My songs and CDs

Folly Beach Marsh

Folly Beach Marsh
Charleston, South Carolina
June 99
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The fourth installment in my Folly Beach series.

Folly Beach Inlet

Folly Beach Inlet
Charleston, South Carolina
June 1999
NFS

The third installment in my Folly Beach series.

Folly Beach Wash

Folly Beach Wash
Charleston, South Carolina
June 99
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The second installment of my Folly Beach series.

Every Sunday I post a new painting and story behind the watercolors I made while touring as a singer songwriter. Follow the stories behind the paintings of these serialized posts by working your way up from the bottom.

Be sure to visit my other blogs where you can see my current paintings, sketches and posts on art and life.

My songs and CDs

Folly Beach Rocks

Folly Beach Rocks
Charleston, South Carolina
June 1999
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Before I left Charleston, I made sure to put in some time with my paint kit at Folly Beach. Beginning today and for the following four Sundays, I'll post the sketches I made wandering down the south end of the beach and around to the inlet.

Colonial Lake

Colonial Lake
Charleston, South Carolina
17 May 1999
Watercolor on hot press Lana paper
6 x 4", archival mat +; backing to 10 x 8"
US $195  (includes USPS Priority Shipping)
Email me to purchase

If I had a nickel for every time I walked along Colonial Lake, I'd be rich! I've said it before, and I'm saying it again, one of the great pleasures of living in Charleston was being able to walk just about everywhere. On my way to and from the post office or almost anywhere in a certain direction I would make a complete round of the lake almost daily. The lake is hedged in by pink and white Oleander and often, someone would be fishing in the lake, though God knows for what. One time I saw a man reel in a giant eel. After asking him if he planned to eat it (no), I suggested that he might want to put the eel back in the water. I'll never forget the look in the eel's eyes as it was being yanked out of the lake.

One of my favorite stops between the lake and the post office on Broad Street at Savage was Burbage's Self-Serve Grocery where Mr. Robert Burbage was usually having a smoke at the register or making use of the broom. Because that man always had something really interesting (or funny) to say, I would often just go in to say hello and gab with him a while then buy one of his extremely rich broccoli cakes to eat for no good reason except to add a bunch of calories to my system.

I'm not sure if I burned enough calories walking around the lake to burn off my Burbage treat but I enjoyed the walk and made this painting as a memento for myself.

St. Phillip's Steeple

St. Phillip’s Steeple
Charleston, South Carolina
1 May 99
Watercolor on Legion Aquarelle
6 x 4", archival mat & backing to 10 x 8"
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Charleston, South Carolina is known as the Holy City because, if you look across the city skyline, you'll see an inordinate amount of steeples — all distinctive — sitting atop an abundance of churches. St. Phillip's Church is a national landmark and the oldest Anglican congregation south of Virginia.

The Four Corners of Law

The Four Corners of Law
Charleston, South Carolina
23 April 99
Watercolor on hot press Lana paper
6 x 4", archival mat & backing to 10 x 8"
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For the life of me, I cannot remember where I sat when I painted this but I must have wrangled my way into someone's upstairs window though I seem to remember sitting outside. In any event, this painting depicts an unusual view of the Four Corners of Law (named by Robert Ripley as in, Believe it or Not!).

The Four Corners of Law describes the intersection of Broad and Meeting Streets where you can pick up your mail (at the Post Office), pay your taxes (at the County Courthouse), buy your marriage license (at City Hall) and get married (at St. Michael's). In this painting you can see the roofs of all but City Hall, which sits to the left of the picture plane.

Because I had a mail box at the Post Office, I walked to this corner almost every day — one of my daily delights of living in Charleston.

Every Sunday I post a new painting and story behind the watercolors I made while touring as a singer songwriter. Follow the stories behind the paintings of these serialized posts by working your way up from the bottom.

James Island

James Island
South Carolina
21 November 98
Watercolor on cold press Lana paper
6 x 4", archival mat & backing to 10 x 8"
US $195 (includes USPS Priority Shipping)
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As I had several good friends who lived on James Island and had to drive down the island to get to Folly Beach, I spent a lot of time there. It is, after all, part of Charleston proper anyway.

This painting is a glimpse of what I passed on a stretch of Folly Road on my way out to the beach. I must have pulled the car over one day around sunset when I had my field kit with me.

Every Sunday I post a new painting and story behind the watercolors I made while touring as a singer songwriter. Follow the stories behind the paintings of these serialized posts by working your way up from the bottom.

Sullivan's Island

Morning Storm near Fort Moultrie
Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina
16 July 98
Watercolor on cold press Lana paper
6 x 4", archival mat & backing to 10 x 8"
US$ 195 (includes USPS Priority Shipping)
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During the summer of 1998, I volunteered to scout for Sea Turtle nests on Sullivan's Island. I think I spotted one or two new nests over that summer. Sullivan's Island, Isle of Palms, Folly Beach and Kiawah all have Sea Turtle protection programs. Click on the link to learn more about Sea Turtles and the protection programs.

I brought my field kit out with me one day and sat down near Fort Moultrie to paint this after my scout walk as a storm was coming or going.

Every Sunday I post a new painting and story behind the watercolors I made while touring as a singer songwriter. Follow the stories behind the paintings of these serialized posts by working your way up from the bottom.

Kiawah Island Nature Center

Kiawah Nature Center
Kiawah Island, South Carolina
Summer 98
Watercolor on cold press Lana paper
6 x 4", archival mat & backing to 10 x 8"
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I made this painting after class one day in the heat of a summer afternoon. This shows the back entrance of the Heron Park Nature Center at Kiawah Island where I first taught my Basic Drawing and Watercolor classes.

Another painting with no pencil. During this time in Charleston, I was also teaching after school classes in architectural drawing, watercolor, and guitar at Ashley Hall where I eventually taught a sixth grade music class for one year. I did a couple of watercolors of the beautiful campus that the school purchased, alas, before scanners were readily at hand. But I will show below one more painting I made on Kiawah as a demo in class that demonstrated my release from pencil and signified a development in my ability.



Every Sunday I post a new painting and story behind the watercolors I made while touring as a singer songwriter. Follow the stories behind the paintings of these serialized posts by working your way up from the bottom.

Kiawah Island Beach

Kiawah Island Beach
Kiawah Island, South Carolina
Summer 98
Watercolor on cold press Lana paper
6 x 4", archival mat & backing to 10 x 8"
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I can't remember exactly how it all came together, but I was hired to teach weekly drawing and watercolor classes to guests at the Kiawah Island Resort. I could not have asked for a better way to workshop a class. The guests ranged in age from 10 years to 80+ with as wide a variety of backgrounds. We had a wonderful variety of scenes to draw and paint including this scene looking south from the board walk.

I looked forward to the beautiful and serene drive each Wednesday, down to Kiawah Island from Charleston. My two hour drawing class began at 8 AM at picnic tables on a deck surrounded by Cabbage Palms. Often, an entirely new group would meet for watercolor class from 10:30 to 12:30. After four hours of teaching, I'd eat some lunch, make a little painting (if I had it in me) and then take a nice swim and walk north of the stretch of beach shown in this painting.

One very important thing about this painting is that I left the pencil out of the equation. This was a natural result of my teaching and doing demos in class. For the longest time, I'd felt as though I was leaning way too hard on draughtsmanship in my paintings. Finally, I'd learned to fly solo with watercolors.

Every Sunday I post a new painting and story behind the watercolors I made while touring as a singer songwriter. Follow the stories behind the paintings of these serialized posts by working your way up from the bottom.

Be sure to visit my other blogs where you can see my current paintings, sketches and posts on art and life.

My songs and CDs

Charles Towne Landing

Charles Towne Landing
Charleston, South Carolina
18 January 98
Watercolor on cold press Lana paper
6 x 4", archival mat & backing to 10 x 8"
US $195 (includes USPS Priority Shipping)
Email me to purchase

During the time I lived in Charleston, my friend, Carol, was the educational director at Charles Towne Landing so I made more trips to this destination than I might otherwise have. On most of my visits I spent the majority of my time at the Animal Forest which is where I made this painting of a crippled Great Blue Heron. Like this heron, many of the birds in the forest were injured, rescued, rehabilitated and given this safe home where they live out their natural lives.

In the Animal Forest I witnessed one of the most magical things I've ever seen. As I was walking along a wooded path, I watched a group of Black Bears lumber up to the fence that separates their area from that of the Red Wolves. As I came to the fence line, I saw a group of red wolves walking up to the same spot on the other side of the fence line. I paused and watched as the leader of each group walked up to the fence and sat down, very calmly on their respective sides of the fence, facing each other. The rest of the bears sat behind their leader as the wolves sat behind theirs. Observing the scene, I sensed a tremendous emanation of intelligence and nobility. I don't know how the interaction of wolves and bears works in the wild but this scene was remarkable and one I will always remember.

I noticed that the red wolves are no longer listed in the Animal Forest at Charles Towne Landing. I also noticed that Sewee Center at the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge in nearby Awendaw is a refuge for the Red Wolf so maybe they were relocated there.

Every Sunday I post a new painting and story behind the watercolors I made while touring as a singer songwriter. Follow the stories behind the paintings of these serialized posts by working your way up from the bottom.

City Hall

City Hall
Charleston, South Carolina
4 January 1998
Watercolor on cold press Lana paper
6 x 4", archival mat+ backing to 10 x 8"
US $195 (includes USPS Priority Shipping)
Email me to purchase

Living on the Charleston, South Carolina Peninsula was a very pleasant experience, especially because I love to walk and could get myself almost everywhere necessary on foot. Charleston City Hall is across from the downtown Post Office (another historic building) where I held a mail box so I looked at the pale pink marble edifice almost every day.

While I lived in Charleston, Carol Ezell-Gilson, a very dear friend and wonderful painter, managed the art gallery of historic paintings in the Council Chambers on the second floor of city hall so I often tromped up the exterior and interior flights of stairs to visit her. Just across the hall from the art gallery sat Mayor Riley in his office. Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. has now been the elected mayor of Charleston for 33 years. Really, that must be the record in the U.S., if not the world! If you click on the link via his name, you can see a photo of City Hall, the interior of the gallery my friend managed and a photo of Mayor Riley.

Another pleasant feature of life in the Charleston was the weather. I stood outside and painted this in early January with no uncomfortable memories whatsoever.

Every Sunday I post a new painting and story behind the watercolors I made while touring as a singer songwriter. Follow the stories behind the paintings of these serialized posts by working your way up from the bottom.


Be sure to visit my other blogs where you can see my current paintings, sketches and posts on art and life.

My songs and CDs

Folly Beach House

Folly Beach House
South Carolina
23 December1997
Watercolor on cold press Lana paper
6 x 4", archival mat & backing to 10 x 8"
US $195 (includes USPS Priority Shipping)
Email me to purchase

It's been a long time since I was last in Charleston so I'm not sure if this house is still standing. When I lived there, this was one of the last beach front houses on Folly Beach remaining from the pre-Hurricane Hugo era. it seemed like a very comfy, old-timey place with the last stand of palmettos on the beach front. The house was my personal Folly Beach landmark because there was a small public parking lot along side it with a board walk leading to a good spot on the beach. Each time I pulled into the lot, I had a feeling of coming home. Part of that was arriving at the beach but part had to do with the feel of the house.

As you can see by the date, I painted this two days before Christmas. At some point in the painting, I dropped my tiny brush into the sand between the open steps leading down from the boardwalk and spent considerable time digging around for it. Found it, rinsed it off and got back to work.

I never saw anyone going in or out of the house and was never quite sure if it was used and, if so, how often. I am sure that in it's heyday, it housed some happy campers with sandy feet and salty hair. If I continue to muse on the place, I'll start longing for the beach...

Angel Oak

Angel Oak
John’s Island, South Carolina
17 November 1997
Watercolor on cold press Lana paper
6 x 4", archival mat & backing to 10 x 8"
US $195 (includes USPS Priority Shipping)
Email me to purchase

Back to Charleston after the tour. I was finally able to get the keys to the apartment, paint the interior and, wonder of wonders, move in. Once settled, I started hustling work performing in restaurants and hotels and making short excursions to perform elsewhere. My idea was to try to work locally as much as possible. It had been clear for some time that touring was not good for my well-being.

In the meanwhile, I took Charleston to heart, examining every bit I could.

Early on, I visited Angel Oak Tree with paint kit in hand. A massive structure, I remember sitting back a bit, trying to take it all in. But no matter how many times I started the underlying drawing, I could only seem to capture a section of the tree so finally surrendered and painted just that, a section. After having looked at the painting over the years, I feel as though I must have been sitting just under the tree within its branches.

Touted as the oldest living thing east of the Mississippi, maybe the venerable magic of the tree naturally envelopes its visitors.

Be sure to visit The Tree if you're ever in the Charleston area. It's a one of a kind experience.

Dunes in Bloom

Dunes in Bloom
Isle of Palms, South Carolina
28 August 1997
Watercolor on cold press Lana paper
6 x 4", archival mat & backing to 10 x 8"
US $195 (includes USPS Priority Shipping)
Email me to purchase

There is nothing quite like coming upon sand dunes in full flower. These dunes lined the path to the Isle of Palms beach where the little pink house sat.

All things considered, even though my life was in flux and I was making do out of a suitcase in strange temporary quarters preparing for another European tour, I was a quick drive to a very nice beach and that alone made all the difference. That, and my little box of paints.

Every Sunday I post a new painting and story behind the watercolors I made while touring as a singer songwriter. Follow the stories behind the paintings of these serialized posts by working your way up from the bottom.

Isle of Palms

Isle of Palms
South Carolina
17 August 1997
Watercolor on hot press Lana paper
6 x 4", archival mat + backing to 10 x 8"
US $195 (includes USPS Priority Shipping)
Email me to purchase

From about 1985 through 1990, I painted architectural portraits on commission, mostly of homes. I take a lot of pleasure in drawing and painting houses.

In 1985, beginning with a study made for a mother's day card, I painted the small Mediterranean Revival house where I lived in Sarasota, Florida. That became the prototype for a larger project over the following year. I selected twelve examples of different historic residential architectural styles from the city's master site file, hunted them down, made a watercolor of each, did research on the buildings, architects and early residents, then wrote up my findings. All this just happened to coincide with Sarasota's centennial celebrations so I was able to conclude the project with a show of the paintings and research blurbs at City Hall and later, at Northern Trust Bank. Within a year of my project, three of the buildings were demolished.

During my limbo period in Mount Pleasant, as I explored the stretch from my temporary quarters to the nearest beach, I scouted good painting subjects and spotted this brand new, pretty little house on the beach at Isle of Palm. This was the first house built on a particular stretch of beach that had been decimated by Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Soon, it was hemmed in on both sides by other new houses.

Snee Farm

Snee Farm
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
16 August 1997
Watercolor on cold press Lana paper
4 x 6", archival mat & backing to 10 x 8"
US $195 (includes USPS Priority Shipping)
Email me to purchase

I had to move from Tamworth, there was no question about that.

At some point, early in 1997, I was performing a gig or two in Charleston, South Carolina and was invited to give a presentation on songwriting at the Charleston Writers Conference. I did a lot of walking around Charleston and fell in love with the place. Who wouldn't?

During the conference I met an administrator at the College of Charleston who rented out the semi-detached back section of her home on the Peninsula and suddenly there was a plan in place. We agreed on a date. I packed up and drove down only to discover that my new landlord had changed the date and arranged for me to rent a room from a friend in Mount Pleasant. So I unloaded my U-Haul into said friend's garage and moved into a small room with a bath in a lovely home with a lovely host. From there, I would head out to my second European tour but in the meanwhile, suspended, unsettled, I explored and connected as best I could.

The house where I stayed in Mount Pleasant was in a development on what was once the Snee Farm Plantation where the early American politician, Charles Pinckney built a house in 1754.

After recovering from the landing and unloading and having somewhat oriented myself, I threw my paints in the car one day and pulled over not far from the house and made this painting on a part of Boone Hall Creek as an afternoon storm rolled in. The longer I worked on it, the darker the sky, the more I had to work to capture the darkening sky until I finally realized that the painting would turn black if I didn't quit while I was ahead. That or be drenched by the storm.

Every Sunday I post a new painting and story behind the watercolors I made while touring as a singer songwriter. Follow the stories behind the paintings of these serialized posts by working your way up from the bottom.