The Charleston Artist Guild announces Susan Trott and Jane Hart as the Featured Artists for the month of May. Their exhibit, The Beauty of the Ordinary, is a celebration of the beauty of everyday places and objects in landscape and still life.

Commonplace details that are worth remembering but are sometimes taken for granted, things with a history or personal meaning, and landscapes that provide us with a sense of place are the subjects that these artists.  Take a new look at the scenes we pass by every day – a gas station, a storefront, a steel mill, or the changing marsh – and see the beauty of the ordinary. 

Susan Trott lives in Charleston.  She attended the art school at Virginia Commonwealth University and graduated from Winthrop College where her mentor was American Precisionist painter Edmund Lewandowski. Her current influences are contemporary painters Catherine Kehoe, Ken Kewley, Elizabeth O’Reilly and the Perceptual Painters. After a career in the local school system, she now paints full time and is particularly interested in architecture and most recently vintage themed still life. Susan’s website susantrottpaintings.com and her blog “Charleston Close Up” feature her latest paintings and notes on local subject matter.

Jane is inspired by the landscapes in the Charleston and coastal areas near her home on Johns Island.  “I enjoy painting outdoors.  I am drawn to subjects where the atmosphere or light provides a sense of time and place.  Although painting on site doesn’t always produce a successful painting, the knowledge I gain from this effort influences the light and color in my studio paintings.”  Jane’s work is held by private collectors throughout the U.S. and has been exhibited in both juried and invitational exhibitions, including the Piccolo Spoleto Juried Art Exhibition in Charleston, SC and the Southeastern Pastel Society Exhibition.  A retired systems analyst and business manager, she works with both oil and pastel. Jane has studied with such noted contemporary artists as Doug Dawson, Alain Picard, Judi Carducci and Rick McClure.  She credits her teachers with introducing her to the concepts that have allowed her to develop her skills. Visit her website at www.janehartart.com. 

Please join Jane and Susan from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, May 5^th for the opening reception, which is free to the public. The gallery, located at 160 East Bay Street, is open daily from 11-6pm. Sales made at the gallery support the nonprofit Guild’s community outreach work. The show will be on display from May 1 through May 31, 2017. Gallery:  843-722-2425.