From staff reports
The Beaufort Art Association has named Bluffton’s John Meckley its Featured Artist for the period from June 30 through August 31.
Meckley’s show entitled “Low Country Egrets in Flight” will be on display at the Gallery of the Beaufort Art Association at 913 Bay Street in downtown Beaufort, under the black awning. An opening night reception featuring the artist will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. on Friday, July 1 at the gallery.
Meckley’s love for art began at the age of 13. Self-taught, his inspiration came from works by Rembrandt and the Wyeth family artists. He likes to incorporate their styles with soft, smooth, warm brush strokes of his own. He limits his palette to warm, earthy tones. He believes his subjects portray a sense of serenity and peacefulness.
He won his first juried art show at the age of 17 in Pennsylvania. Since then, he has won numerous juried show awards in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Florida, and South Carolina. At one time, he even had a painting hanging in the Russian embassy in Washington, D.C.
Until two years ago, MEckley’s works were mostly snapshots of life with people struggling with real life situations and conditions, such as a tear falling from an old man on a park bench waiting for the end to come.
In 2019, he moved to Bluffton and remembers taking in the impressive scenery, driving across a bridge with a light rain falling and the sun still shining. He saw a rainbow appear outside of the moving truck and he felt as if he could touch it. He noticed a flock of egrets in flight across the marsh and thought God was giving him a sign. Since then, egrets in flight have been his focus.
