June 2013

Real Estate Studio in Charleston Offers Works by Mary Sayas, Brenda Orcutt, Patricia Huff and Marty Biernbaum

The Real Estate Studio in Charleston, SC, is presenting Dawn and Dusk, A Group Interpretation, featuring works by Mary Sayas, Brenda Orcutt, Patricia Huff and Marty Biernbaum, on view through July 1, 2013.

What does a mud bath in Calistoga, CA, have to do with an art show? As four Charleston artists relaxed in the famous Calistoga Spa, they thought about doing a show together that would capture the beautiful dusks and dawns they had experienced during their art journeys together. Mary Sayas, Brenda Orcutt, Patricia Huff and Marty Biernbaum have developed an “artist circle” similar to historical artist groups that traveled together to paint and support each other. Artistic and creative strength created by the generation of ideas and positive critiquing, encouragement and, of course, just plain fun in painting together, have forged the basis of this show’s work.

Each artist brings her own uniqueness: Biernbaum’s risk-taking, Orcutt’s cohesiveness, Orcutt’s inquisitiveness and Sayas’ effervescence. These distinctive qualities are reflected in each artist’s interpretation of the special light of evening and morning at favorite places the four of them have visited together. From viewing elk at dusk in a back mountain meadow in North Carolina to a sunset-reflecting, gurgling brook in Taos, New Mexico, these four friends have painted plein air in morning light under trees with babbling magpies, to late afternoon light in a field of lavender, to golden evening light in the vineyards of Napa Valley. Using a variety of oil painting techniques, including palette knife and glazing, the show gives the viewer many interpretations of the radiance of light and color at these special times of day.

Each artist also brings with her the history of her artistic journey. Jousting with windmills is mild compared to the multi-media madness that Marty Biernbaum explores through her art. Painting, sculpture, and pottery have been her professional occupation as well as her passion for the past thirty-three years. In her oil paintings, she uses bright and bold palette knife strokes to express her surreal view of the world.

Patricia Huff has studied and painted for over thirty years. She has studied with such well-known artists as Delores Kennedy, Ouida Canaday, Albert Handel, Doug Dawson, Judith Carducci and Susan Sarback, to name a few. She has also studied at the Atlanta College of Art. Huff has honed her yin and yang impressionistic interpretation of serene to vivacious landscapes using many different oil painting techniques, including palette knife and glazing. Her pastel and oil works have won awards in local and Atlanta shows.

Brenda Orcutt draws collectors to her modern art with the fresh and exciting feel of thickly-applied paint and the pureness of color in her textural oil paintings. Her boldly-rendered palette knife work is the result of focus and diligence that are obvious in her paintings, yet her paint strokes and use of color show movement and spontaneity. This award-winning artist’s aim is to not only produce a scene with precision, but to develop new visions of time-honored subjects with her energetic approach with paint and knife.

Mary Sayas has been painting for about twenty years, studying with many local and nationally known artists. Most recently, she has studied with impressionistic colorist artists Susan Sarback and Camille Prezwodek, who both studied with the renowned American Impressionist, Henry Hensche. Sayas has found her passion by painting with their unique methods, both very different which produce paintings with luminous, glowing color. She has a passion for travel and has set up her easel in Mexico and the south of France, as well as in many different locations in the US.

All four of these artists are members of Oil Painters of America and exhibit at the Charleston Artist Guild Gallery. The soup of this show is flavored with the history of these four artists’ backgrounds and their special blend of friendship. Come see and enjoy the tapestry of Dawn and Dusk, A Group Interpretation.

The Real Estate Studio is the downtown office of Dunes Properties, a boutique real estate, vacation rental and property management company serving the Charleston area since 1989. The Real Estate Studio supports Charleston’s thriving art community by highlighting a new artist or organization every six weeks. The Studio routinely hosts special events and receptions for area non-profits and artists.

For further information check our SC Commercial Gallery listings, contact Susan St. Hilaire at 843/722-5618 or e-mail to (ssthilaire@dunesproperties.com).

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