Pursuing Art for a Black & White World

As of late, I have been craving a little happy color in my neutral world. I have found myself intrigued with the juxtaposition of modern art against a sophisticated, tailored neutral backdrop. I really like colorful spaces {in other people's houses} but find in my own home I like the simplicity of layering tone-on-tone neutrals and organic textures. I've been looking for just the right piece of art to add color to my world.

 I remembered reading about a Charleston artist featured in Garden and Gun - Sally King Benedict and went in search of more. I am really inspired by what I found - a talented young artist that has an amazing way with color and abstract forms.

{Garden and Gun}

A Snapshot of Sally King Benedict

Sally was born and raised in Atlanta and is currently living in Charleston; She is expecting her first child and moving to Atlanta this summer.

Sally attributes her keen artistic eye to early exposure to the Atlanta art scene by the side of her mother visiting high profile gallery openings and clients homes. She also lived with great art in her own home.

College: Studio Art Major - College of Charleston

During her college years she spent some time in NYC and landed an Internship with Chanel.

Benedict is inspired by master artists such as Helen Frankenthaler, Philip Guston, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko and Pablo Picasso. She also mentions a more recent fascination with the works of photographer Massimo Vitali.

One of my good friends just mentioned that she was looking to add a nude to her collection. 

I know she will love the one above. 

{House Beautiful; Interior Design by Kathleen Rivers}

Sally King Benedict's contemporary art is the perfect complement to this beautiful traditional interior and exactly the kind of pop of color I am looking for in my own home.

I wasn't planning to publish this post until Monday but when I checked my email and gave the new Matchstick Magazine a quick overview I noticed an awesome feature on Sally King Benedict. I thought you might like to read over the weekend. To see more click on over to Matchstick's latest edition.

{Matchbook Magazine}

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I was interested to see how growing up in the South has influenced Sally's work. The Glitter Guide meet Sally in her Charleston home for an interview. here is one of my favorite quotes from that interview:

"Being from the South and living in the South has made me appreciate the importance of keeping tradition and exuding grace. For a woman and her style, I think the most important thing is confidence. I definitely feel the most confident when I look classic and comfortable — a perfect southern combination. My artistic style encompasses the way I see beautiful things for the most part, so the influence of southern landscapes, architecture, and people are ever prominent in my work."

{Source}

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Charleston: The View from the Street

Charleston's architecture is enchanting! I took a morning stroll through the historic district's cobblestone streets with my camera so I could share some of my favorite details with all of you. Charleston is the closest thing we have in the States to a European city. It's a great pedestrian city that encourages visitors to walk the streets and discover its secrets.

I love this fountain and elegant courtyard!

Elaborate iron gates frame amazing little passageways and secret gardens.

A hallmark of Charleston architecture is the side porch. Almost every Charleston house has a porch and residents use the porch on a daily basis. It might just be the original outdoor room. Inside the original walled settlement of Charleston, the lots were narrow and long, requiring the house to be, well, narrow and long. The Single House, an architectural style that originated in Charleston, is a one room wide house featuring a porch running the length of the house. The porch faces either south or west to catch the prevailing breeze. The front door is often a facade that enters onto the porch and affords privacy. The real front door to the house opens up onto the porch itself.

 

Doorways are framed with flowering vines and accented with gas lanterns and garden gates.

Window boxes overflow with bloom and flourish in Charleston's humid climate.

A lot of the homes in the historic district have working shutters for privacy.

It's hard to see from the photo above but the homeowner lined their draperies so that the view from the street is equally as decorative as the view from the interior. The drapery panels above are lined with a large scale hand blocked linen featuring butterflies.

In the picture above you can see just a hint of the vibrant striped silk curtains that are made for the view from the street. I am assuming that the interior side has a different fabric. Two-sided curtains,what a luxury!

The cracks in the walls grow ferns.

This homeowner actually planted a variety of ferns in the ancient wall were the bricks and mortar had fallen away.

Charleston would be a great use for the new BM color app I have read about for your smart phone from Benjamin Moore Paints. It's called Color Capture. You take a picture of a color you like and it will match the color instantly to one of Benjamin Moore's 3300 paint colors. This door was such a unique and yummy color especially in combination with this crisp, clean white!

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Window Shopping in Charleston

I just returned from a few days in Charleston and took a few photos.  I thought you might be in the mood for a little window shopping. I just adore Charleston!

The blurry picture above is from the window at Vieuxtemps. Pamela Tidwell creates these lovely florals by hand in hard paste porcelain in the style of 18th century Meissen and Chinese porcelain. Her pieces are highly collectible and are a favorite of designers Charles Faudree and Charlotte Moss.

I love visiting South of Market on King Street. The displays are so graphic and fresh. I just want everything in the store, literally everything!

South of Market

South of Market

The photo above is the King Street window of Niche Interiors, the storefront of interior designer Matthew Bees. I didn't get to visit inside this store because it was by appointment only. I loved the simplicity and clean lines of this window vignette. The little silver compote held pretty white porcelain fruit.

Lunch at Husk at 76 Queen Street, the newest offering from Chef Sean Brock of McCrady’s.

A trip to Charleston is not complete without visiting Alexandra at 156 Queen Street. This lovely french antiques shop simply takes my breath away.

I always visit Circa Lighting at 426 King Street to see the latest in lighting. Although their online catalog is wonderful, I highly recommend visiting the store in person. The finishes and scale are so nice and hard to judge from online photographs. I fell head over heels in love with these two sconces.

I visited the Charleston City Market for a few gifts. I brought home a couple of these sweetgrass crosses to tie on top of graduation gifts, a sweetgrass floral bouquet and some very chic boho bags made from patchwork vintage batik.

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Here's a picture of one the boho bags I bought at the city market. I actually bought two. One for a friend's daughter who just graduated from high school. She got one of the coveted spots at the NC State school of design in the textile design program! I have been struggling trying to find just the right gift for such an artistically talented graduate as a preppy monogram just wouldn't do for her. I just know she will love it. The other bag I got for my daughter for is returning from a mission trip to the Dominician Republic tonight just after midnight. I have really missed her and can't wait to hear about her trip.

Have a nice weekend!

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