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January Issue 2004
City Art in Columbia, SC, Features Works by Anne Hightower-Patterson
City Art in Columbia, SC, will present the exhibition, Columbia Views At City Art, featuring works by Anne Hightower-Patterson, on view from Jan. 15 through Feb. 15, 2004. City Art gallery begins the new year with an exhibit by this award-winning artist and popular art instructor presenting watercolor works that explore unusual or unexpected views of Columbia and the Midlands.
The exhibit presents Hightower-Patterson's artistic exploration of places and people of Columbia including the Adluh building at night, a downtown skyscraper viewed at rush hour, shoppers at the state farmer's market, a homeless woman in Finlay Park, and an autumnal view of the Congaree (from mid-stream). Hightower-Patterson paints the images in a photo-realist manner, but her choice of images and unconventional vantage points allow these paintings to depart from any clichéd expectation.
Close study of classic
painters has brought much influence to the work of Hightower-Patterson.
The figures of Degas and the watercolors of Wyeth were early inspirations
in her paintings. Even today, images of these painters guide her
choices of subject matters. Later, study of Winslow Homer and
John Singer Sargent has inspired her watercolors by their brilliance
in color and design. The most contemporary paintings that have
moved her are the works of Stephen Scott Young and Carolyn Brady.
Their use of light and color make powerful statements in their
works that are personal and moving.
The elements that seem to influence Hightower-Patterson's work
more that any other are the play of light and color across the
surface of the subject matter. "My work is influenced greatly
by my life experiences, my life long home in South Carolina, and
the people who have passed through my life," she explained.
Her Contemplation Series, begun in 1996, took a powerful
turn after the death of her husband in 1999. This series features
contemporary women in more classic contemplative poses evoking
the feelings of deep thought and longing.
Hightower-Patterson says, "My art is a continuous journey
into my own emotions. Each painting is a little piece of my feelings
and my vision put out there for the world to see. I believe that
my ability to paint is a gift on loan from God and I am charged
to use it to the best of my ability. It is my prayer that the
viewers of my art can see just a bit of the world as I see it
and leave feeling a little differently than they came to it."
Raised in Mt. Pleasant, SC, Hightower-Patterson began painting
when she was twelve years old under the instruction of the famous
South Carolina watercolorist, Virginia Fouche Bolton. After six
years of study with Bolton, she attended the University of South
Carolina where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Studio
Art. Her early figure study was with the portrait painter, Ray
Goodbred. She is a member with Excellence of the South Carolina
Watercolor Society and has had work selected for local, state
and national Competitions. She is also well known as a speaker
and teacher of watercolor. She proudly boasts that several of
her students have received recognition in national publications.
For further information check our SC Commercial Gallery listings,
call the gallery at 803/252-3613, or on the web at (www.cityartonline.com).
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