Southern Charm by Abraham Hunter

I’ve kicked around the ideas in my mind for years, debating with myself how to paint the grand homes and mansions of the south. It’s hard to paint buildings because so often they lose all emotion and become 2 dimensional unless they’re placed and lit just right in the painting. To express how much I love those humid evenings in the low country, swamps and bayous; I decided to make the painting about the wildlife, plant life, gardening and romantic culture of the south as well as the magnificent architecture. The riverboat chugs it’s way along with its decks full of passengers taking in the glowing sunset. The lightning bugs and bunnies emerge for the night just as the herons and egrets are retreating to the safety of the giant cypresses draped in a lazy blanket of Spanish moss. There seems to be a hot date in progress. The horse is hitched for an evening carriage ride and the boat with a bouquet of flowers is awaiting under the light of the waterside gazebo for a row under the moonlight when they return. The palmettos, azaleas, irises, and lilies seem to reach out and hug the viewer, hold them and walk them up the steps. As you venture up the steps of the great mansion, you can imagine going inside and walking up the giant staircase to find a place to sit on the balcony, complete with mosquito resistant shutters! Sometimes a paintings greatest moments come at the very last brushstrokes when small details get to tell hidden side-stories. A bunny is curiously chasing a giant bullfrog, and a fox squirrel is sneaking up on a grey squirrel to steal his tasty snack. This painting took me a long time and is one of my most heavily textured oil paintings! I wanted to really challenge myself and up my game. I think it is one of my best! I hope y’all enjoy it!  Southern Charm 24x36 oil on stretched canvas 

~ Abraham Hunter