Thursday, May 2nd was the night for local watercolorist Sandi Griffin to shine. The Chowan Arts Council hosted a reception and show of her works.
“She always says she’s not really an artist, but she’s a watercolorist, a stellar one,” said Arts Council President Meredith Timberlake. “She’s also a committed volunteer here at the Arts Council. She has been a volunteer for us for years.”
Timberlake said what she loves about Griffin’s work is the delicate way she paints with watercolors.
“I have always respected artists who can control watercolors like she does,” Timberlake said. “So, I beg to differ. I think that she doesn’t give herself enough credit.”
Griffin’s style is unique. She likes to paint simple images of what might otherwise be larger scenes, leaving the viewer’s imagination to fill in the details.
“They’re kind of experiments,” Griffin said. “I paint what I want and what I feel.”
Griffin said she loves to paint rocks.
“You can get so many details, but they don’t have any emotion,” she said. “I’m really trying to go for the abstract, but not ‘regular’ abstracts where you throw stuff at the canvas.”
Her concentration on just a few flowers or parts of a face is a trademark, illustrated by the painting of a man in a wide-brimmed hat. Her subject seemed to be looking at the ground, his face mostly obscured. She concentrated on other features but said she was still learning new techniques.
“I would like to learn how to do hands, which is very, very difficult to do,” Griffin said.
“She’s very humble,” Timberlake said. “And I just wanted to give her this opportunity to display her work here. She’s already sold three pieces, and it’s 6 (p.m.) So, I think it’s great.”
A few minutes into the reception, about 25 art patrons had already gathered to view Griffin’s work.
Most Popular
Comments / 0