The featured artist from August 5 through September 15 at the Beaufort Art Association is Carol Newsome. Carol first started painting in watercolor and that is her first love, but she has branched out to oil and acrylic. Some of each medium will be seen at her show.
Carol’s inspiration to paint comes from the beautiful surroundings of the Lowcountry.
“I can step outside and see live oaks with Spanish moss hanging from the branches, Palmetto trees, Dogwoods, marshes and rivers, not to mention the short drive to Hunting Island Beach or the Waterfront Park downtown. The Southern Magnolia is one of my favorite flowers to paint.”
Since she started painting 15 years ago, she always looks at nature and objects as a painting or determines how she can create a painting out of what she sees.
Carol takes her own photos of nature and sometimes combines parts of photos to make a painting. She also pays close attention to light and shadows and this attention to detail is portrayed in her work.
Carol grew up in a small town in Eastern Kentucky. After graduating from Wayland High School, she married and started a family. After having her first child, she moved to Charleston, and then her family grew to six. She lived in Charleston for 11 years. Her husband’s job then brought the family to Beaufort and Carol has lived here since 1975.
Carol got a job at Lipsitz department store in downtown Beaufort and worked there for seven years before getting a job at Belk as supervisor in the men’s department where she worked for 17 years. When she retired she was free to paint. She spends lots of time in her art studio. She loves teaching her grandchildren to paint and draw.
Carol has taken many workshops during the past 15 years and has had many well-known instructors including Steve Quiller, Linda Baker and Betty Carr. She has learned different techniques from each of her instructors.
Carol also gets inspirations and motivations from her family and a group of her artist friends who meet once a week and paint together.
Carol is an award-winning artist and her work can be seen around town at the University of South Carolina Beaufort, Atmosphere, Beaufort Art Association Satellite Galleries, Beaufort OB-GYN and the Lowcountry Medical Group.