Abstract Art - The Continuum

Is all art abstract? Are there varying degrees of abstract? Can one thing be more abstract than another? Hmmm...A look around the gallery might indicate, “yes”.

Let’s start with Al’s work. The images of the low country are beautiful, vibrant in color, and represent real places. Is it one hundred percent real? Close but there are still some abstract elements to it.

Photo of Morris Island Lighthouse

Al's Morris Island Lighthouse

Now moving on to David’s work. He captures forests, trees and palms. Some of his work looks almost like a photograph. Real or abstract? One could argue abstract elements are present due to the fact that they are mostly black and white. In reality, the world is not void of color. Perhaps that’s an abstract element that David intends for his viewers to see in order to find another perspective on the world.

Next comes the wall of Roosters and Cows, otherwise known as Anna “The Magic Maker’s” wall. Clearly, there are abstract elements here with a blue cow on a red background. There’s also a wheat field with a red stalk in a sea of golden stalks.

Finally, we arrive at Kealy’s wall. To her, these paint strokes represent certain thoughts, emotions, and objects but are in no way an attempt to NOT be abstract. One could argue this is TRULY abstract art. 100% abstract. Forced into this style of painting, she brings to life symbolism that only the observer can assign meaning to for themselves - circles that can either defy corners or cause spiraling; explosions that can either mean pain or freedom; primary colors that can show peace or conflict or even both.

“Art that can be explained is not art, it is an illustration of an explanation.” - Walter Darby Bannard

Explore your inner artist! Enjoy YOUR art in your own way.

Paint your day.

Palette Knife Private Party

You may or may not know that we WELCOME private parties at the Gallery. Friday night, we had a fantastic group that came in to paint the palette knife Roosta' led by our palette knife queen, Al Fowler.

If you haven't tried the palette knife technique yet, it's a MUST. This is what a palette knife looks like. 

You use the palette knife instead of a brush to paint your masterpiece. The most common praise we hear when using the knife is, "This is so freeing!" 

Painting with a knife is similar to frosting a cake or smoothing out concrete with a trowel. A palette knife provides a different result than painting with a brush. You can easily add texture to a painting and leave thick coats of paint just as well as small details that are hard to accomplish with a brush. 

For those of you that might be interested in some more technical terms, a palette knife allows you to produce "impasto" work. Impasto is a method of applying paint where the marks made by the palette knife are visible. In other words, it makes your painting look like Vincent van Gogh's!

Back to Friday night...There were some newbies (people that have never painted) in the room, but no one seemed intimidated in the slightest. After the food was spread and the wine was uncorked, each artist found an easel for an evening of scraping, cutting, and spreading paint into their own rendition of the Roosta'. By the way, scraping, cutting and spreading are all very technical palette knife terms. 

After painting the background of a fence and the ground for the Roosta' to scratch on, we took a break to let that layer of paint dry before chalking on our yard birds. 

The music was upbeat with Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue filling the air as this group of friends and family shared hugs, laughs, and stories from their week. 

All progressed through the painting with ease, and by the end, some had made plans for dinner after, for Halloween, and, my favorite, for a return trip as a group to paint again! 

For more pictures, please visit facebook.com/grapesandgallery

Thanks Garnet Noblet and Tom Watson for coordinating the event!

Paint YOUR day