A Summer Pairing
Works by oil painter Sue Sneddon and jewelry designer Deb Hill
August 3 – Sept. 5, 2016
Oil painting by Sneddon
Sunset River Marketplace art gallery in Calabash, NC is showcasing two new artists for the month of August. Sue Sneddon works in oil and pastel. Her paintings are fleeting moments of light in the sky, on the water or on wet sand. Sneddon says, “I had my first thought of being a painter was when I was 13 or 14. My mother and I were discussing whether the pink in a bank of oyster shells was a reflection of the pink sky or in the shells themselves. We were on the south end of Pawley’s Island, SC witnessing a glorious sunset. I said to myself, if I could paint the joy I feel in this moment, then I could be a painter.”A Durham critic has said: “Her scenes, which are so similar but so different, are about the light and the shapes; the water and the land are just the means by which she finds their essence and abstracts them into something much more than a traditional landscape….(Sneddon’s) views change with the tides and with the moon. She shows us the many infinite patterns the water makes as it moves to and from the shore. She considers it from every angle, in every light, and in many different mediums.”
The same critic earlier observed: “While dealing with familiar subjects—nature—in a realistically simple fashion, the artist leads us into new territory. Things are not as they seem. Nothing is easy. The work takes more than a quick look.”
From a show held in Hilton Head, SC a reviewer said: “Characterized as a realist, even surrealist or photorealist, Sneddon favors an approach to the re-creation of her subjects that is uniquely hers. Her special spin, her angle, her view and her interpretation amount to far more than the images in question…Sneddon offers equal doses of detail and of mystery.”
Deb Hill graduated from Coker College in Hartsville, SC with degrees in both Fine and Commercial Art. She has worked in commercial and fine art for many years, including six years as a graphic artist for the city of Charlotte, NC. She began studying jewelry-making in the 1990s and has been creating her own ever since.
Deb Hill, Hand crocheted necklace with fresh water pearls, mother of pearl, glass beads and gem stones.
Hill’s artisan jewelry features her signature hand crocheting which she incorporates with a variety of gemstones and natural objects. The multi-dimensional artist often paints porcelain with minerals mixed with flux that melts into a glazed disc during kiln firings to create a miniature piece of wearable art.
Since opening in 2002, Sunset River Marketplace has been an active supporter of performing, literary and visual arts in the area. The 10,000 square-foot gallery features work by over 150 North and South Carolina artists. Its on-site pottery studio has two kilns and four wheels for use by students. Ongoing oil, pastel, and water media classes are also provided, in addition to workshops by nationally known artists. The gallery’s Coffee With the Authors program features presentations by local and regional offers. A Paint & Party series provides a fun after-work experience for those with no previous art background. The gallery’s framing department offers full-service, on-site custom frame design.
Sunset River Marketplace is located at 10283 Beach Drive SW (Hwy 179), Calabash, NC. Regular hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit the website (www.sunsetrivermarketplace.com) or “like” the gallery’s Facebook page, which is updated daily. Reach the gallery by telephone at 910.575.5999.
image: Sue Sneddon, In the Outer, oil on canvas, 24 x 48 inches