Show Preview | Southeastern Wildlife Expo

Charleston, SC
Charleston Place Hotel, February 16-19

Jen Starwalt, Sumatran Tiger, pastel, 20 x 30.

This story was featured in the January 2017 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art January 2017 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

Charleston, SC, becomes an outdoor enthusiast’s mecca in February as the Southeastern Wildlife Expo takes over venues throughout the historic southern city. Three days of wildlife and sporting events include hunting, fishing, and cooking demonstrations; duck decoy exhibitions and auctions; and a world-class fine-art show featuring the work of 100 painters and sculptors. Artwork is on display and for sale throughout the weekend with artists in attendance. “We’re celebrating our 35th year,” says marketing director Mary Roberts. “We’re so proud to be here and so grateful to our attendees. It’s not often you find this amount of quality art in one place.” Participating artists include Luke Frazier, Mary Garrish, Chris Maynard, Kyle Paliotto, John and Suzie Seerey-Lester, and Kathryn Turner along with guest artists Richard Loffler and Van Marshall.

This year’s featured artist is Colorado painter Ezra Tucker, whose painting MATERNAL MANNER appears on the show poster. Tucker, who took an interest in animals early on in life, has studied wildlife—anatomy, movement, habits, and relationships—ever since. “I just want to educate people,” he says about his work. For instance, in his featured painting, Tucker conveys the intimacy between an elk cow and young fawn. “There are subtle movements that are transferred from the cow to the fawn,” he says. “There is a gentleness. My challenge is to capture that.” Of the show, Tucker says, “There’s a legacy of quality and talent here. I am very pleased to be a part of that,” and, he adds, “very honored to be chosen as the featured artist.”

: Thomas Brooks, Dawn Arrival, Wood Storks, acrylic, 36 x 48.

: Julie Chapman, Glimpse 1, scratchboard, 14 x 11.

: Ezra Tucker, Woodland Sphinx, acrylic, 21 x 40.

: Henry Von Genk, Afternoon Flight, oil, 40 x 40.

: Chris Wilson, Emerging Cormorant, heart of pine/oil, 10 x 24 x 10.

: Michelle Decker, Presence Scent, acrylic, 31 x 31.

For VIP ticket holders, fine-art events begin on Thursday, February 16, with a private preview and black-tie gala complete with live exotic animals, an art auction, wild fare, and cocktails. The Expo opens to the general public on Friday morning, with exhibits in and around the city’s historic French Quarter and outdoor events and demonstrations at Brittlebank Park.

At 3 p.m. Friday, eight to 10 painters and sculptors participate in a one-hour Quick Draw immediately followed by an auction of the works. Duets and Quartets begins at 2 p.m. Saturday, with two painters and two sculptors teaming up to create two pieces of original artwork while the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Quartet performs. Both works are auctioned off after the event.

Montana artist Julie T. Chapman returns this year, bringing works in two media that act as point and counterpoint to each other, she says. GLIMPSE 1 is an example of Chapman’s hyper-detailed scratchboard art. “Coyotes are quick little animals. They don’t pause for more than a split second,” she says. Chapman’s title is ambig-uous: Does it refer to the viewer’s split-second glimpse of the coyote or the other way around? After working intensely on such a piece, the artist says, “I need to loosen up. Play with color and be really free with it.” And for this she’s experimenting with fluid acrylics on synthetic paper, exploring equine images with high-intensity colors. “Even if you don’t have or ride them,” she says, “horses have a universality and appeal.” —Laura Rintala

contact information
843.723.1748
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