3:30 pm Dorian Update: 9 '19

The center of Dorian is currently about 100 miles South of us -  approximately even with Jacksonville, Florida.  She is still a Cat II with 105 mph winds at the center and is moving north along the coast at 8 mph.  We are expecting the heaviest rain and winds to hit our area around midnight, and stay with us all through tomorrow (Thursday).  Even so, we are already getting some pounding bands of rain in our area.  As you can see from the forecast, the eye is likely to pass very close to our home so things are going to get worse for the next 24 to 48 hours before they get better.  By Friday,  Dorian will have moved on to North Carolina and the Outer Banks. 

Exploring the Holy City and Beyond: 11'15

No matter how many times we go there, we never get tired of visiting Charleston.   The variety of things to do and see, ranging from the photographing antebellum architecture to strolling Patriots Point, keeps us coming back to the Holy City over and over.

Today We had a great time in Charleston  shopping at the  Marion Square's Farmers Market, and exploring  some of  the interesting shops on Kings Street .

Afterwards, we headed across the Ravnelle Bridge to explore the western end of the  Patriots Point Park.   Then we headed over to the Mt Pleasant Harbor and had some sea crab soup at the Fish House,.  Both locations  certainly provided some great views of the USS Yorktown .

Charleston Series on Exhibition 8 '15

Charleston Series

Got my new Charleston Series hung in the SAG gallery today. I am pleased with how it looks.

Charleston Series Complete 8 '15

"The Good Life" 10 "w' x 8 "h pastel

I've  finally finished all of the  paintings of Charleston's landmarks that I started working on at the end of May.  My goal when I began this project was to have eight paintings completed, framed and ready to exhibit by the middle of July.  

St. Phillips on Church Street 8"w x 10 h pastel

I had four of them completed before we went to our family reunion in Sedona,

Chalmers Charmers  10"w x 8"h pastel

and had plans to paint another four by the first week in July. 

The First Red Dot 8"w x 10"h pastel

 Add another week in for getting them named, framed, and all the paperwork ready for the gallery and I should have been right on schedule for delivery some fresh new artwork to the gallery right at the peak of the summer tourist season. 

Pineapple Fountain 10"w x 8"h pastel

 Well you know what they say about the best laid plans.    I hadn't thought about what a strong impact the trip to Sedona would have on me.   

The Museum on Meeting and Market

Not only was I terribly homesick for the West, I couldn't get the images of Sedona out of my head.

St Michael's on Broad Street 10"w x 8"h pastel

Five paintings of Sedona later, I've finally worked most of Sedona out of my system.  Bruce and I took a day trip to Charleston so I could refill my mind's eye with all of that city's unique charm.  It worked.

Midday in Philadelphia Alley 8"w x 10"h pastel

I was able to  complete the paintings had begun in June, and added four new ones to complete the set. Of course, I will be delivering them to the gallery  a month later than I planned., but the good news is that I have rediscovered how much fun it is to work in pastels.

Day 2 Visit with Kathy Campbell Charleston 7'14

Bruce and Kathy  in Carriage House

 No trip to the low country would be complete without a tour of Charleston, and what better way to see this historic city than  on a horse drawn carriage tour.

Our tour guide

There are five carriage tour company's operating in Charleston, each with multiple carriages,  giving hour long tours. To keep the more popular areas from being overwhelmed, the city  has been divided into five distinct routes; before each carriage departs, they must stop at a city managed tour station, which randomly assigns that carriage one of those routes.  As a result, one can never know in advance what one will see on these tours.  

Rainbow row

We lucked out and drew Rainbow Row and all the beautiful historic homes along  The Battery.

A Charleston House in  the Battery Area

Next, we stopped for sweet tea and  lunch at Poogan's Porch, before going on a self directed walking tour  to take a closer look at Charleston's

courtyard  gardens

window boxes and

cobblestone streets 

and the historic architecture of the "Holy City"

Day 1 with Kathy Campbell

Kathy's first visit to the Atlantic Ocean was at Litchfield Beach

CC's Sister-in-law, Kathy Campbell has come for a short visit.  She'll only be with us for two and a half days, but we are determined to show her as much as possible of  of the low country. 

The  very first stop  had to be the Atlantic Ocean, which Kathy has never seen in person..

As soon as she arrived we whisked her off  for some lunch at the The Litchfield Ocean Inn.  Their Cabana Cafe might not have the best food in town, but it is  the only ocean facing restaurant  in this area so we could all sit out under an umbrella facing the beach  while looking at the waves and sea oats and sipping sweet tea..  The cool thing about this stop is that the last thing that Kathy said she did on the West coast, before boarding her red eye, was dip her toes in the Pacific Ocean.  

Then it was onward to our house to unpack ,and let her take a quick nap, followed by a trip to Huntington Beach State Park 

HBSP Anhinga

for some birding and her first view of  fresh and saltwater marshes.

HBSP heron

And again we took a walk down the beach  so she could see the Atlantic Ocean, then we  jumped to the opposite side of Hywy 17 so that Kathy could see the Intercoastal  Waterway..

Hagley Landing on the Intercoastal Waterway.

By then the thunderheads were building for the usual afternoon showers, and thunder could be heard in the distance, so we decided to head home, and let Kathy rest up for the full day we had planned for her on Tuesday.

Anniversary Trip Dinner at Poogan's Porch 3"14

Poogan's Porch

For our anniversary dinner I had asked Bruce to take me to Poogan's Porch. ,Tucked away on a charming downtown street, Poogan's Porch is one of Charleston’s oldest & most reputable culinary establishments, serving upscale Lowcountry cuisine daily.  Housed in a 1888 Victorian  home The resterant  Poogan’s has been a favorite of well-known celebrities, politicians, tourists & locals alike who rave about the food, the service, and its low key charm ever since it  opened in 1976.  

Poogan's Lounge

First stop, the  low key but elegant Lounge where Bruce had a Long Island Iced Tea and CC had a peach Saki Sangria. OMG so light and refreshing and so Southern Tasting. 

Downstairs porch seating

 One can request to be seated either inside or on the front porch or upstairs balcony.  I had my heart set on being on the upstairs balcony,  but as the temperature continued to drop during the day, we were both very happy to find ourselves seated by a window in one of the elegant rooms upstairs.

We both liked the light southern summery atmosphere and the house itself, and we loved the food.  I had high expectations for this restaurant surely and it definitely surpassed them.

PS  Poogan's reportedly even comes with its own resident ghost. The Charleston police receive so many calls about a distressed woman dressed in black trapped inside this upscale Southern restaurant that authorities disregard new reports. The woman is believed to be the ghost of Zoe St. Armand, who owned the house in the early 1900s. ( You can learn more anout Zoe at:
http://scaresandhauntsofcharleston.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/zoe-st-amand-ghost-of-poogans-porch/ )

Anniversary Trip: Sullivan's Island Light House 3 '14

Next stop  on the tour was the Sullivan's Island ( AKA Charleston) Lighthouse which is located just down the beach from Fort Moultrie

The modern monolithic Sullivan’s Island Lighthouse, Is a strange sight to behold.  It is  the last major lighthouse built by the federal government, and more closely resembles an air traffic control tower more than a traditional lighthouse. The tower's unique triangular shape, with one point directed towards the ocean, allows it to withstand winds of up to 125 miles per hour. 

When first activated on June 15, 1962, the lighthouse featured an amazing twenty-eight million candlepower light, produced by carbon arc lamps costing $900 apiece, that was the second brightest in the western hemisphere. This powerful beam proved dangerous to its keepers and bothersome to its neighbors. In order to access the lantern room when the powerful lamps were lit, keepers were required to don an asbestos welding suit. To pacify neighbors, plate steel was installed in the landward side of the lantern room. The beacon was downgraded a decade later to a light of just over a million candlepower.

On May 29, 2008, Charleston Lighthouse was  transferred from the Coast Guard to the National Park Service, which is committed to protecting the historic nature of the property and to prevent commercial development on the site. The Coast Guard will continue to maintain the light, but the Park Service will be responsible for the upkeep of the tower. 

Beautiful Day in Charleston 2"14

CC had a lovely day in Charleston

 

 showing her new BFF, Cheryl  the city

Adventures in an Asian Supermarket 2 '14

The icy roads have kept us housebound for nearly a week, and we have both been feeling a bit stir crazy.  CC had some errands to run in Charleston today, so  we decided to take advantage of the travel with a side trip to an Asian Super Market that has opened up in that area. This little market can't hold a candle to  the ones we had known in Southern California, but still provided us with a delightful time investigating all of their different sauces, spices, and specialty items.  (It took us a full half hour just to check out all their different kinds of soy sauce.)

We came home with a large bag filled with different kinds of dry exotic mushrooms and another full of fresh Asian veggies that aren't available in our local market.  Mmmmm Mmmm are we gonna have fun cooking this week.

Birthday Dinner and Bentos and Noodles 1 '14

The evening before we left for home we took Laura and David and the boys out to celebrate Laura and David's  birthdays at Bentos. The place makes the most incredible sushi dishes. It was a feast for the eyes and well at the stomach. It was a lovely way to end the trip.

Bentos Dragon Roll

American Impressionist Society (AIS) 14th Annual National Juried Exhibition 10'13

Bruce and I  went to see the American Impressionist Society (AIS) 14th Annual National Juried Exhibition in Charleston.  Outstanding artwork.  All the big guns were there.  So nice to see their artwork in person.  This is definitely a "must see" exhibition if you are anywhere in the area. 

The exhibition is scheduled to run through October 30

 For more information please contact M Gallery of Fine Art at 843.727.4500, m@mgalleryoffineart.com, www.mgalleryoffineart.com, or stop in 125 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29401.

Come on Down 7 '13

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens (Charleston, SC) is a short detour off Highway 17 - so if you're a history buff, you should check out their History Fair scheduled for 6 July 2013. I'll be there with the Charleston Artist Guild. Look forward to seeing y'all. It looks wonderful! For more information: http://www.magnoliaplantation.com/history_fair.html

Magnolia Gardens Photo Shoot 4'13

  The Charleston Artist Guild is collaborating with Magnolia Plantation on a  exhibition of paintings of Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.  Even though the exhibition won't happen until next Fall, I though it wise to visit the plantation  to start scouting out painting locations and to collect some additional reference photos .

 

Bruce volunteered to come along as chauffeur and part time equipment caddy.  ( He is incredibly patient about pulling off the highway for me to take a photo of something I've spotted along the road, and very helpful in holding my purse and camera so I have both hands free to do a quick sketch).

The fact is I enjoy his company and he is a good photographer in his own right..

 

 He introduces  interesting and different perspectives often pointing out  subjects I would have overlooked had he not been along.  e.g. it was his idea to visit the plantation's  slave village where I got this and several other  interesting photos

It is a good thing we went when we did.  Most of the camellias were already spent, and this years rains had knock off many of the azalea blossoms.  Still we did get  some very good classic shots of the grounds in bloom taken this one taken near the Administration Center Pond.

 I  have numerous reference photos of Magnolia Plantation from visits made in the Fall and early Spring but   the  none were in quite the same weather conditions.   Today was very gray and overcast, giving an entirely different look and feel to the grounds..

.. some spots were almost ethereal and others very stark compared to the exuberant photos I had taken of the same scenes  bursting with color in fall and early spring of previous years. ( see 11/20/10  "Magnolia Plantation and Gardens Photo Shoot 11 '10")

We both got some really beautiful photos.

Brian Koury at CAG 4 '13

Charleston Artist Guild's Featured Artist for April is Brian Francis Koury.

Despite rainy weather, an art exhibition by the master of photography, Brian Koury,
 is drawing in hundreds of art lovers to the 'CAG' Gallery at 160 E. Bay St, Charleston SC

Brian's Photography is eye-catching and revealing.  It challenges the viewer to pause and explore beyond the realm of color into shades of gray from the deepest blacks to the brightest whites.  His bold use of black and white  with  an occasional highlight of  a single vivid color encourages us  to look deeper at the form and rhythm of the world around us.

You can see more of Brian's Beautiful work at:

http://www.briankouryphotography.com/