Last week, I submitted three pieces for a juried exhibition presented by the North Charleston Arts Festival and am happy to announce that my alligator panel won first place in the mixed media division! I had not participated in this festival before and therefore had no expectations going in. There were quite a few entries, and many beautiful pieces on display, so it was a wonderful surprise to find a blue ribbon hanging on my painting. Additionally, my acrylic hummingbird painting received a purchase award, which means that the City of North Charleston has decided to purchase it. The painting will be on display in City Hall after the exhibition has ended.

During the South Eastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston in February, I organized an event with two of my fellow up-and-coming artists, Rebecca Hinson and Kathryn Dale Barton. The show took place on the second floor of an old Charleston-single-style building on the antique portion of King Street in downtown Charleston. The space is perfect for events and shows, so we are hoping to hold more events there in the future.

Lately it seems that I can’t keep up with the demand for these smaller panels (this one is 24 x 12 in). In fact, last weekend I stocked up and pre-cut  about 32 different small-to-medium-sized panels, so that I can work on them in batches. Working in batches is actually ideal, since each panel requires a certain amount of waiting time in between printing, painting, and varnishing. I’ve found that the screen-printing ink is much blacker and cleaner than using a marker, which I did for the first series of larger panels. Since I have many of the designs already burned onto screens for my shirts, I can easily reprint them onto wood to create new compositions. This year I want to take this a step farther. I’m now using sketches to create elements that can be mix-n-matched on different panels to create multiple and complex new compositions. I can’t wait to see how far I can push them.

If you like my original art, please don’t forget to check out my hand-printed Eco-friendly t-shirt line called Forest and Fin. Click here to check out my latest post on how I transform my original art into affordable screen-printed apparel. 100% Made with Love.

www.forestandfin.com

Kate and Gleason, owners of the Alice & Daisy shop at 54 1/2 Broad Street, invited me to hang a solo show for the First Friday Art Walk in their vintage clothing and antiques shop in downtown Charleston, SC. The event took place last Friday, November 4th, 2011. Here are a few pictures that I took before the evening began.