843-793-1234
Participating Artists
8th Annual Sea Islands Chamber of Commerce
Art Walk at Bohicket
Johns Island, SC, — The 8th Annual Art Walk at Bohicket, 1900 Seabrook Island Road, Johns Island SC 29455 will be held on Saturday, March 31st from 10:00AM to 7:00PM in front of NV Realty Group.
The event is brought to you by the Sea Islands Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Deep Water Vineyard. There will be 12 local Lowcountry artists with originals on display for sale for the general public.
Come out and enjoy the beautiful scenery, browse some fantastic art work by some very talented artists and help support the programs we have in place on the Sea Islands.
843-793-1234
Jennifer Black
Jennifer Black — Jennifer started drawing at age eight. By the time she was in high school her classmates were paying her to draw for them and she was voted "Most Talented" her senior year. Free-lance artwork helped pay her way through college and a degree in art from FSU. She continued to "dabble" part time for the next 30 years, and became a full time artist when her construction business slowed down with the economy in 2001. To hone her skills, she has studied with several local and nationally known artists.
Her work has won numerous awards and her paintings are in collections across the country and abroad. "The way light falls on objects is what fascinates me and is what I look for when choosing a subject", says Jennifer. She has lived in Charleston SC on and off since 1976, taking opportunities to live on a South Pacific island and in Spain for several years.
Pat Forsberg — is an award-winning artist who lives and paints in Charleston, South Carolina. She studied art at the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida and has studied with esteemed artist, Elizabeth Bronson, for several years. Her most recent award was the Charleston Artist Guild's 2008 People's Choice Award sponsored by First Federal Bank of Charleston.
Pat Forsberg
Joyce Harvey
Joyce Harvey — lives, works, plays and paints in Charleston SC. She spends much of her time boating the lowcountry marshes or sailing the east coast from Florida to New England—the inspiration for many of her paintings.
Her art today reflects a lifelong love of the water. While she continues to develop her artistic style, she specializes in expressive small oil paintings in both palette knife and brush.
She began painting with palette knives; enjoying the energy, excitement, texture and vivid colors created with just a knife. Even as a child she was always drawn to paintings that make you want to touch them. She loves the added dimension of how thick paint captures but also reflects light, allowing one painting to create different moods in changing light conditions.
Along with energetic, vibrant-colored palette knife paintings she also captures the peaceful serenity of quiet marshes and seaside scenes. Observers new to her work are usually surprised to find the same artist created paintings with such dramatically different styles—her favorite compliment of all.
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Joyce is also an award-wining journalist; working more than 25 years in television --always enjoying the challenge of visually telling stories. This included eight years an anchor, reporter, producer for the CNN networks, and time at The Weather Channel in addition to numerous independent productions. Her writing/photography has been published in more than 300 magazines and newspapers across the U.S.
An avid traveler; she enjoys exploring art around the world, from the Galapagos Islands, to Africa, to Croatia to the premier art scenes in France and Italy.
As a University of Colorado, Boulder graduate, she still looks for every opportunity to play in the Colorado snow.
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Kellie Jacobs — has spent her life watching the seasons change among the marshes and beaches of the South Carolina Coast. After graduating from the College of Charleston, Jacobs decided to pursue her professional career as a painter. Working primarily in pastel, she paints landscapes using atmosphere and light to create mood and expression in her art. "I am fascinated with the light at the end of the day. When the evening sun is low and warm touching the tops of the sand dunes and grasses of the marsh is the time of day I love best."
Jacobs' juxtaposition of bright colors and soft textures appeals to both domestic and international collectors. Traveling to foreign locations has also enhanced her ability to manipulate her chosen medium of pastel to produce desirable and collectible artwork. Many of her works hang in prestigious corporate and private collections nationally and abroad, including Roper St. Francis Healthcare and Southeastern Publishing Company, Inc.
Kellie Jacobs
Alana Knuff
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Alana Knuff — As young as five, Alana drew. With a desire to win a bicycle, she entered a national art contest at age nine. She won second prize with her colored pencil rendering, losing the bicycle to the first-place oil. The sponsor, Kellogg, was impressed by her talent.
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Both the analytical and the artistic shape her life. Her mother, a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art, and her father, an engineer from Case Western Reserve, influenced her studies. She excelled in life drawing and then graduated with a degree in mathematics in 1966. Following a career outside the field of art, as Capital Project Manager, Alana directed the design and construction of buildings for Harvard University and the University of Texas. Time away from work and family was often spent creating pastel portraits or pen and ink renderings. In 2007, Alana joined a group of artists plein air painting in Ravello, Italy. The experience reawakened her desire to paint. She retired in 2008 to focus full time on art. In 2011 Alana completed a portrait workshop at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy, under the instruction of Maureen Hyde. In 2013, Scottsdale Artist’s School awarded her a scholarship with which she took a portrait workshop under Romel de la Torre. Later that year she completed another portrait workshop under the instruction of Michael Shane Neal.
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Art is now a daily passion and second career. A sense of urgency has accelerated her art development. In a short period, she has received numerous awards, completed commissions, exhibited in galleries, hung a solo show and recently exhibited in museums. Her artwork is often auctioned at charitable events. Her paintings reside with clients in Italy, Canada and throughout the United States. Alana demonstrates painting, tutors private lessons and teaches portrait workshops. She is known for her portraits and maritime paintings.
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Primarily self-taught, Alana’s artwork displays remarkable draftsmanship with a composition intentionally leading the viewer. She develops harmony with a limited palette creating a wide range of values and hue intensities. She calls her style romantic realism. Her medium is oil.
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Jennifer Koach — Jennifer has been trotting around the world for decades–with her paintbrush in hand–capturing the backward glance of a mother eyeing her son in a Senegalese market, an elderly Italian women sitting on her front stoop or children playing on the beach. “I’ve always been drawn to the figure as I’m drawn to people more than scenery. I’ve had the good fortune to live in beautiful places like Switzerland and Hong Kong, but it has always been the people that have captivated me,” she explains.
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Her career started by studying studio art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She worked as an interior designer and antiques dealer after studying at Sotheby’s in London. She always continued to paint – theater sets, wall murals, wall textures, fabrics, as well as on canvas. After living in Switzerland for more than a decade, she has come home to the south and makes her home in Charleston, S.C.
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She often will paint a series. One such series is called The White Towel Series. Using a palette knife and a paintbrush, she depicts nudes in oil on newspaper in multiple languages. A white towel is always present, but it’s not used to hide behind. “I want to celebrate the acceptance that women have of their own bodies and their confidence. This is a very important subject in today’s world.”
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In another series–Homes with Attitude—Jennifer breathes life into the architecture of Charleston. Her paintings reflect the beauty and personality of the city in her own distinctive style.
Boobs and Booze captures the friendship of woman as they sip their favorite cocktails in their favorites places.
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Nowadays, you will frequently find her in her gallery in Charleston or in New York, where she often studies at the Art Students’ League. For inspiration, she likes to secretly take pictures of people going about their everyday life. You may be her next subject!
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She a juried member of the Charleston Artist Guild, the Guilds of both Seabrook and Kiawah Island, S.C., Oil Painters of America, American Impressionistic Society, and Women Painters of the Southeast.
Jennifer Koach
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Bob LeFevre — a resident of Seabrook Island and Salem, South Carolina, retired from a successful career in business at the age of 55 to pursue his passion…oil painting. Since he was a child, he loved the water and everything related to it. It was natural that his paintings from the beginning would depict scenes of life on and near the oceans and lakes he would visit throughout his life.
Bob’s painting career began when, at the urging of his 4th grade teachers, he was enrolled in private art classes. Here, at this early age, he began to develop his perceptual skills as an artist learning the fundamentals of rendering and depiction of values in a representational way.
Throughout his elementary and high school days, Bob continued his private lessons. He joined every art club and organization he could and began winning awards for his talents. One of these was a sculpture scholarship at a local academy. He enjoys sculpting and carving to this day. At the age of eighteen, Bob took private lessons from a retired sea captain in Cape Cod, Mass. where he painted his first clipper ship. It was at this moment in his life that his passion for painting scenes of the sea was born.
Bob attended Colgate University where majored in business taking art as a second major. He earned extra money drawing caricatures of his classmates and selling paintings to teachers and the local town’s people.
Following graduation, Bob elected to pursue a business career knowing that he would eventually return to art on a full time basis. After 33 years as an executive with Procter and Gamble, PepsiCo and as an owner of The United States Playing Card Co., he retired to pursue his dream...painting full time!
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He is driven to continually develop his skills to a higher level through life drawing lessons including nine years at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, plein air workshops and also by teaching both drawing and painting classes to teenagers and adults. He is president of the Seabrook Island Artist Guild and a long time member of the Charleston Artist Guild.
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Bob maintains studios at his Seabrook Island and Salem, SC homes, the former right off the ocean and the latter right on Lake Keowee. He is President of the Seabrook Island Guild with over 100 members. He is represented by the Spencer Art Galleries in Charleston (see "Galleries, links" for more information).
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Judy McSween —
Judy McSween’s abstract paintings— with a touch of the familiar— emphasize color and texture and are defined by a thought or action. Judy is an exhibiting member of Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Artist Exhibition, and she actively sells work and accepts commissions though her social media sites. Judy embraces and welcomes the global reach Instagram and Facebook, as well as her online gallery provide. Her collectors and fans enjoy videos of her painting process and photos of work in progress as well as her reflective and educational monthly newsletters.
A native of Warren Ohio, and a graduate of Bowling Green State University with a BFA specialization in painting, Judy has drawn and painted as long as she can remember—and she has been gaining recognition and a loyal following since she moved with her family to Charleston in 2008.
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Last Spring, Judy was selected as the 2017 Design Winner of the The City of North Charleston Arts Fest Design Competition. As the winner of the statewide contest, McSween’s abstract oil painting, titled Scraping the Sky II, was used to promote the
2017 North Charleston Arts Fest. According to McSween, Scraping the Sky II evoked the exuberance of a new day and the anticipation of discovery. “It parallels how I approach a blank canvas – with a simple plan and with excitement to see what I’ll
uncover along the way.” The artist received a purchase award, and her painting became part of the City’s permanent Public Art Collection.
Judy’s paintings have been included in exhibits at Fabulon Gallery, Park Circle, and Trumbull Art Gallery In Warren Ohio. Additionally, Judy had a month long solo show, “Take Me With You” at North Charleston’s City Gallery in May 2017 and a month long solo exhibit, “Wash Over Me,” in January 2016 at the Saul Alexendar Gallery in Charleston.
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She’s been a juried participant of Atalaya Fine Arts Festival as well as The Art Market at Honey Horn and Clermont, Florida’s Celebration of the Arts where she received an Award of Excellence in painting.
Her work was selected for 2010 Piccolo Spoleto's Juried Art Exhibit and Judy was awarded Honorable Mentions in North Charleston’s Festival of the Arts both in oils and acrylics. Judy’s paintings have graced the covers of the Charleston County Parks and Recreation Program Guide and the 2015 baseball novel, Dreaming .400.
Judy McSween
Sara Jane Reynolds
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Sara Jane Reynolds — lives on Johns Island, SC. Sara received an AS degree from Harcum College, Bryn Mawr, PA. Advanced studies in fine arts at Pacific Asia Museum, Art Center College of Design and Otis/Parsons School of Art. Recent workshops: Scott Christensen, Calvin Liang, Rick McClure, Jove Wang, Kim English.
Artist’s Statement
As a plein air painter, I carry my easel and paints into the marshes and islands of the low country. Inspiration springs from the beauty and richness of this untamed landscape. I grew up in Pasadena, California: My father a a Civil Engineer/Architect and mother a Musician/Poet/Painter. We spent part of every summer in Yosemite. The visual impact of the valley, trees, rocks and the core of artists and writers who journeyed there impacted me greatly. I developed a deep love of nature, self expression, passion for our great country. On canvas I write love letters in gold and green.
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Sandra Roper —Sandra Roper grew up in South Carolina where she developed a great appreciation for the history, architectural features, and beauty of Charleston. She explains, “No matter how many times I visit Charleston I never cease to be intrigued by the splendor and the history embossed in each building, portico, and garden.” Sandra graduated from the University of South Carolina in Studio Art. She is a member/owner of “Lowcountry Artists Gallery” , 148 East Bay Street, Charleston, SC. Sandra’s work is displayed in numerous galleries and corporate locations throughout the southeast.
Sandra Roper
Colleen Wiessmann
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Colleen Wiessmann — I have been active in arts my whole life. After studying at the school of New York Botanical Gardens, I worked as an Interior Landscaper for 25 years, which transformed into a love of texture and design.
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I like to tell a story in my abstract paintings, through words, lines and symbols. I create abstract paintings with acrylics, inks, wax, oil and various textured materials. I use collage and layering techniques to create dimensional artwork to capture the viewer's eye and viewer's emotion.
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The inspiration for my artwork comes from memories deep inside of me, experiences and spirituality. By channeling my energy into the creative process, my work becomes both a part of me and a reflection of life as seen through an artist's eye.
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As an Artist, my goal is to make you look beyond the surface and feel the emotions hiding within each painting.
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I was born and raised in Northern New Jersey and currently live on Seabrook Island, S.C. I was president of the Seabrook Island Artist Guild, for 8 years. And have won many awards, including best in show. My work is in private and corporate collections.
Lisa Willits
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Lisa Willits — moved to Charleston nearly 30 years ago from her hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania. While working as a technician in a research lab by day, she began taking evening art classes at the Gibbes Museum School in Charleston. After experimenting with several different mediums, Lisa chose oil painting because it best captured her love of color. With the encouragement of family and friends, she “took the leap” and began working full-time as a painter in 2005. Lisa is most inspired by the natural beauty of the South Carolina coast and strives to capture its enchanting atmosphere. It is little wonder that glowing skies, tranquil waters, and towering pines are among her favorite subjects.
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Lisa is an exhibiting member of the Charleston Artist Guild, an associate member of Oil Painters of America, and past coordinator of Charleston Outdoor Painters Association (COPA). She was also a past Director of Artistic Growth for the Charleston Artist Guild. Lisa has studied with many instructors in Charleston over the years, and taken workshops with nationally-known artists. She and her husband Jeremy reside in downtown Charleston with their yellow Lab, Clyde, and cat, Zeus.