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Wildlife Expo offers many opportunities to appreciate visual art

By Olivia Pool

Provided/SEWE

Peggy Watkins (inset) was selected as this year's Southeastern Wildlife Exposition artist. She is known for her detailed paintings of bird dogs and her painting 'Side by Side' (above) is shown here.

The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE) always brings a "wild" crowd to the Lowcountry, and as the years go by, SEWE continues to contribute to Charleston's evolving art scene. As in year's past, this weekend's SEWE promises to be a spectacular display of wildlife art and activities.

This year, they have announced Peggy Watkins as the official featured artist of the 2008 expo.

Watkins describes her signature style as "painterly" and says, "To me, art is a language ... a way of articulating an idea or event without words. I strive to not have a photographic look to my work because that method of painting would not convey the excitement or memory of the actual experience."

"An avid researcher, she spends a great deal of time in the field observing and photographing hunting dogs and wildlife. Having lived in the South for the last 10 years, she has found a great fondness for painting bird dogs and has come to the conclusion that the working relationship between a great dog and a talented owner is an art form in its own right," says Ashley Slane, SEWE marketing director.

Watkins and her husband, Todd, live in Atlanta, and also spend time in Africa each year at their private residence in the wild bush country of Zambia. The home sits directly across the Luangwa River from the South Luangwa National Park. They are spearheading a conservation initiative for the area to provide the locals an alternative to subsistence poaching.

Returning to SEWE for the fifth time, Watkins also has exhibited at the Waterfowl Festival (Easton, Md.), the Plantation Wildlife Art Festival (Thomasville, Ga.), The Bennington Center for the Arts (Bennington, Vt.), and the Reagan Memorial Library. She has been the subject of two articles in Wildlife Art and recently won that magazine's Publishers Award. In addition, she earned an Award of Merit at "Artists for the New Century."

Peggy created the image of two male lions, titled "The Bachelors," used for the official 2008 Southeastern Wildlife Exposition poster.

SEWE 'quick draw'

Friday afternoon, nearly 20 SEWE artists will participate in Southeastern Wildlife Exposition's first "quick draw" competition. Participants will set up easels in the Charleston Place ballroom around 1:30 p.m., then all will have an hour to paint a piece. The artists have the freedom to paint any subject matter they choose, from memory or using their own reference materials.

After the painting stops, the artists will frame their works and prepare for an auction that will begin at 3 p.m. Watching these talented artists' creative processes from start to finish is a unique opportunity, and any SEWE ticket or badge holder may watch the event and bid on the pieces produced.

Participating artists include Lin Barrie, Heiner Hertling, Julie Jeppsen, Gary Johnson, Mark Kelso, Janeice Linden, Ralph McDonald, Dan Meyer, Johanna Obeck, Pat Pauley, Rick Reinert, Chris Rutigliano, John Seerey-Lester, Suzie Seerey-Lester, Jason Tako, Dustin Van Wechel and others.

All proceeds will be donated to the Medical University of South Carolina's Children's Hospital.

Carving exhibit

New for SEWE '08, a sales and education exhibit dedicated exclusively to carving will be housed in the Mills House Hotel. Each of the 17 carvers will bring works that are in different stages of the carving process, and will engage attendees and help educate them about various steps and techniques, and on how they personally take a piece from start to finish.

"A large variety of carving styles will be on exhibit, including pieces by Jamie Welsh, a world champion carver from Simpsonville. A frequent judge at shows in the U.S., Jamie also is a respected teacher and enjoys sharing his knowledge and love of waterfowl in seminars and workshops. He believes wildfowl carving, which some fear is a dying art, is best preserved by introducing the art form to newcomers, young and old," says Slane.

"The carvers are excited about being a part of SEWE's new carving exhibit at the Mills House this year," said carver Chuck Robertson of Linville Falls, N.C. "There will be carvers from many parts of the country and several who will be exhibiting at SEWE for the first time. It should be an interesting venue for people to see."

For tickets to and more information about these and other SEWE activities, visit www.sewe.com, or call 723-1748.

Elizabeth Vardell at MUSC's Courtenay Gallery

The Courtenay Gallery at the MUSC Wellness Center is presenting a retrospective of vintage art and medical illustrations by Elizabeth Vardell (1896-1988).

Vardell is considered to be America's first female medical illustrator. She and her husband assisted in founding the American Society of Medical Illustrators.

The Courtenay Gallery is at 45 Courtenay Drive, MUSC Harper Student Center. The show will be on display through Feb. 28.

Stovall and Grier

The Office of Cultural Affairs presents a dual exhibition in honor of Black History Month featuring the works of Lou Stovall and Gary Grier.

Stovall's drawings and silkscreen prints make up the exhibit titled "Lou Stovall: Artist and the Landscape." Born in Athens, Ga., in 1937, Stovall studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he has lived since 1962. His works have earned him grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Stern Family Fund, as well as world-renowned success with pieces in both public and private collections worldwide.

Stovall's studio is also the location for Workshop Inc., which the artist founded in 1968. Workshop has since grown from producing community posters into a professional printmaking facility. Through Workshop, Stovall has

made an effort to build unity among artists and to encourage service in the Washington, D.C., community.

Ellen Dressler Moryl, director of the Office of Cultural Affairs, commented about the exhibit, saying, "Stovall's works bear witness to his obvious and passionate love affair with the grandeur of his subject. Mr. Stovall often uses music of Sergei Rachmaninoff with its grand, sweeping and lushly romantic melodies to serve as a harmonic metaphor for further inspiration as he creates his colorful and breathtaking images of nature."

"Gary Grier: A Room Full of Mirrors" features the paintings of local artist Gary Grier, winner of the 2007 Lowcountry Artist of the Year Award, an honor given by the Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina with financial support from the Griffith Visual Arts Fund.

Born in Jacksonville, Fla., Grier came to Charleston in 2004 through a sponsorship by the Wells Gallery. Beginning his training at a magnet arts high school, Grier then studied at the School of Visual Arts in Savannah. In 1997, Grier traveled to Paris to study with painter Anthony Palliser and concluded his studies in 1999 at the School of Visual Arts in New York, where he earned a BFA in Illustration.

According to Grier, his paintings convey "feeling and emotion, with a sense of spirituality and pure honesty." The images are derived from the artist's personal experiences, capturing the essence of life as seen through his eyes.

This dual exhibition will be on display until March 9 at the City Gallery at Waterfront Park, 34 Prioleau St. The gallery is owned by the city of Charleston and managed by the Office of Cultural Affairs. For more information, call 958-6484.

'Sea Reflections'

The John M. Dunnan Gallery is featuring sculptor Robert Basha's "Sea Reflections" exhibit 5:30-8:30 p.m. Saturday at the gallery, 131 King St.

Basha's sculptures from "Sea Reflections" echo his experiences in and on the oceans of the world. The finished works are created and designed to instill the emotions felt in the presence of the sea's majestic inhabitants. These aluminum sculptures have a brilliant reflectivity, which mirror all the light, color and movement of their surroundings. With the capability of anodized aluminum to brave the elements, his sculptures will last for generations to come, says gallery manager Josh James.

Basha explores "diptychs" & "polyptychs" representative of the sun. "Seeing the hues of a sunrise or sunset in my sculpture produces an elation that must be shared. When the viewer can sense the sun's rays and taste the salty air, my reflection is clear," he explains.

For more information, call 720-7425 or visit www.johndunnan.com.

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