| For more information about this article or gallery, please call the gallery phone number listed in the last line of the article, "For more info..." |
December Issue 2006
Lowcountry Artists LTD in Charleston, SC, Features Works by Bonnie Stabler
Lowcountry
Artists LTD in Charleston, SC, will present the exhibit, Paint
the Town Red, featuring a series of oil paintings by local
artist Bonnie Stabler, on view from Dec. 1 - 31, 2006.
The collection of urban scenes features commonplace yet distinctive structures. Included among the urban scenes are homes in Radcliffboro and 19th century storefronts on upper King Street. Strong compositions, dramatic lighting and rich colors are consistent throughout the new collection.
A Charleston native who grew up on Broad Street, Stabler knows her city well and has witnessed tremendous growth recently. "Upper King Street with its Hopper-like storefronts and shabby-chic character is changing suddenly, it seems. I feel compelled to record some of its realness before it gets too sterile. I am all for urban renewal, but as an artist a little sag and rust is appealing, along with the uniqueness of those long-standing minority-owned businesses," says Stabler. "Sadly, along with Urban Renewal projects will be gentrification as some of these businesses will be priced out of the market."
Some of the paintings in the exhibit feature working people such as a driver of a steamroller or a beer delivery truck. Stabler explains that she likes to record life; people living and working in the city, Genre. In Steamroller on Upper King, there is a strong Edward Hopper influence in color and the geometry of the storefronts. It is no coincidence that she has long been a fan of Hopper's style and also of the Ashcan school of the early 20th century. "I didn't realize how the work of the Impressionists and Ashcan artists influenced me until I found myself repeatedly drawn to common, unglamorous subjects over the more opulent tourist attractions of Charleston. This is certainly not unique to me as there is a return nationally to realistic painting," Stabler admits.
A member of Oil Painters of America and Charleston Outdoor Painters Association, Stabler describes her style as realistic. Retired from teaching high school art in local schools in 2004, Stabler explains that she is painting more frequently on location, en plein aire. It requires some measure of confidence and a lot of concentration, she notes.
For further information check our SC Commercial
Gallery listings, call the gallery at 843/577-9295 or visit (www.lowcountryartists.com).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing
Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc.
Copyright© 2006 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston
Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts
from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts
Online, Copyright© 2006 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved
by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use
without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina
Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.