I painted this on an unusually cold day in February. Yet, while I was freezing, the house radiated in warm glowing orange reflections; and my surprise in the beautiful blooming azaleas made me very happy. Fate led me to Savannah over a decade ago, and I couldn’t be more thankful for my good fortune.
Read MoreThe Rogers duplex was built in 1858 in the Greek Revival style for the family of Reverend Charles Rogers, a Presbyterian minister, just before the outbreak of the American Civil War and located at 423-425 Bull Street next door to the Mercer-Williams House. The cast-iron porticoes and the covered balconies are among its more unusual design details.
Read MoreOn one of our recent walks, I stopped to draw this sketch of the Old Chatham County Jail. Also known as SCAD’s Habersham Hall, the building currently houses a small private Christian high school. Another in a long line of architectural restorations by the Savannah College of Art & Design, the Old Chatham County Jail was originally built in 1887 and began operations in 1888. It was a model jail in its day, and continuously housed prisoners in its 117 cells, each measuring five-by ten feet, until 1978.
Read MoreMadison Square. To my eye, the entrance side of the building is fully illuminated, as if it were a lightbulb itself, while the oval-like corner is hidden slightly in the shadows; reflecting a blue-haze directly above the tea room’s corner entrance
Read MoreI will always be grateful that it was a generous offer of a fashion scholarship from SCAD that initially brought me to Savannah — while it is the incredible beauty of the city that entices me to remain.
Read MoreThe Owens-Thomas House is a delightful challenge. I’ve painted it a couple of times en plein air prior to this attempt, but haven’t taken it on — yet — as a larger work. (But that I plan to do later this year!)
Read MoreI have painted the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist several times. When painting this magnificent structure en plein air, I prefer an alternative to the normal full-frontal view. In this case, I am positioned well behind the building. And, as a result, I am less overwhelmed by the enormous structure, and can instead focus mainly on the two spires piercing into the clear sky above.
Read MoreClearly, there is always ‘something to talk about’ where ever you go in Savannah. And the Six Pence Pub on Bull Street, located in the heart of Savannah’s Historic District, is no exception. I have sat in front of this pub countless times, usually enjoying my favorite salad — sometimes with brush in hand.
Read MoreI painted City Hall while standing at the northern end of Johnson Square. Directly behind me looms the centerpiece of the square, a large stone pillar monument in honor of Revolutionary War hero General Nathanial Greene, who had been awarded the nearby Mulberry Plantation as a special gift for his valued military service. His remains, along with those of George Washington Greene, his son, are interred beneath the monument.
Read MoreIn this painting, I have viewed the bridge at dusk from Savannah’s infamous River Street; as usual, the river is busy, so the painting reveals the continuous round-the-clock active bustle of Savannah as a pivotal American port city.
Read MorePlein air painting is always a spontaneous study of color. On this day, Columbia Square was saturated with blues. I was virtually sitting in the dark from all the shade of the trees; it was as if I were looking out into the light from a dark tunnel. The columns on the house were kissed in shadows with each window reflecting a hue of blue. The building was glowing orange, enwrapped with complimentary turquoise.
Read MoreThe Wormsloe Plantation Site originated as the fortified colonial estate of Nobel Jones, who traveled with James Oglethorpe on the ship Anne to set in motion the formation of the English Colony known as Georgia beginning at Savannah in 1733.
Read MoreSteamboat Gothic architecture originated in the American South, and was particularly employed in the design of the mansions located on sugar plantations situated along the Mississippi River.
Read MoreHabersham used the house as one of his residences until his early death in 1802. Soon thereafter, it became a branch of the United States Bank and later the Planters Bank of Georgia, the first bank set up in Georgia. At the bitter end of the American Civil War when General Sherman occupied Savannah, the house served as headquarters to General York, one of his aides. Today, the still-existing cast-iron vaults are used as a wine cellar for one of my favorite restaurants. (At The Pink House, the Duck is to die for!)
Read MoreThe Confederate Monument that is located in Forsyth Park was completed in 1879. Like most such monuments built throughout the South—beginning just after the Civil War all the way through the 1920s—it was built to honor those who lost their lives defending the Confederate States of America.
Read MoreWhen I first took a good long hard look at The Mansion on Forsyth Park while I was walking my three Jack Russells across the street in what once was the parade grounds of Savannah’s most fabulous park, I got the same eerie feeling I’d experienced when I read Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables for one of my English classes while attending The Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD).
Read MoreIn his hit song, Too Marvelous for Words, Savannah-native Johnny Mercer wrote about a man who couldn’t find the right words to describe the girl he loved. And that’s exactly how this girl feels about Savannah’s beautiful Forsyth Fountain and the marvelous park that surrounds it.
Read MoreIt took “The book” to reenergize the city’s allure the neglect of time had impaired. Like the man who lived its story, I fell in love with Savannah the minute I stepped onto Monterey Square.
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