Sometimes, out of the blue, good luck just comes your way. That’s exactly how Kathy Crowther describes meeting Tom Brady a year ago. It was a chance meeting between the painter and a photographer who loves birds and nature as much as she did. Tom Brady and his wife Maureen had bought one of Kathy’s paintings and Tom asked Kathy if she would like to see his photographs.

“I immediately thought his photographs were brilliant. I loved everything about his pictures: the sharp contrast in colors, his attention to detail, and the interesting poses of the birds. Almost every photo stirred my imagination and when he offered to let me use his photographs as studies for paintings it was a dream come,” says Crowther.

She asked what she could do to repay his kindness and Tom indicated they should have a show together. The collaborative work of each artist will exhibit as “Wings” at the University of South Carolina Beaufort Center for the Arts lobby gallery located at USCB’s historic campus, 805 Carteret Street, Beaufort. An opening reception has been scheduled for Monday, November 3 from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

Tom Brady took up photography four years ago after he retired. He joined a photo interest group in Mooresville, NC, where, with his point and shoot camera, he attended monthly photo critiques and learned more about cameras and photography in general. After moving to the Lowcountry, he was overwhelmed by the variety of birds on the ponds and marshes. In last few years he has discovered and captured on film the beauty and wonder of the native bird population through their seasonal habitations and interactions in nature.

Painting has always been Kathy Crowther’s passion. She loves to take a blank piece of paper and make it come alive. Birds are her specialty. She moved to Beaufort eight years ago and found a wellspring of inspiration through her surroundings.  She has a very distinct style which she developed over the years, painting in gouache and outlining her paintings in ink. She exhibits her work in Beaufort, throughout the south, at Pinckney Simons Gallery and during Charleston’s Piccolo Spoleto Festival.

Detailed information regarding this reception and the programs of the center for the 2014-2015 season can be found at www.uscbcenterforthearts.com or by calling the center box office at 843-521-4145.