Preserving Edisto project

Set up for Paint Out

Paint Out participants

Bailey House, built 1805

     Earlier this year I, along with fellow artists and gallery-mates Christian Stemkowski and Rosie Phillips, took on the project of starting an Edisto Island chapter of Preserving A Picturesque America (PAPA). The mission was to host local plein air paint-outs and plan a fund-raising exhibit. PAPA is a national organization founded by North Carolina artist Scott Varn which raises money for preservation and conservation organizations through exhibits and sales of paintings of historic views and buildings.
     My friends and I quickly came to the conclusion that the perfect organization to support would be the Edisto Island Open Land Trust (EIOLT), which has helped landowners protect over 50% of the Island’s maritime forests, marshes and rural areas from harmful types of development. There are wonderful locations for plein air painting among the many beautiful properties on the island that already have conservation easements in place, as does that of my own family. We were to seek a location that was in need of funding.
     It was fortuitous that EIOLT this year was able to gain title to a historic property on Store Creek consisting of the Bailey House and the Old Post Office building, both dating to the early 1800s and in need of considerable restoration. The property also has huge live oaks and scenic views of Store Creek and adjacent marshes. Being located on the main road through the Island, it would have been in danger of commercial development.
     Now referred to as Store Creek Corner, the site offered us a scenic location for plein air paint-outs and a beautiful venue for an art exhibit. We held paint-outs in May and July in which artists from on and off-island participated, and I planned the exhibit. The Bailey House was patched up a little and the Land Trust team worked with us to rig up additional lighting in two lovely high-ceilinged rooms and a hallway, so we had room for about 30 paintings.  Artists from Edisto and nearby parts of South Carolina submitted a fine assortment of plein air and studio artworks depicting the scenery in this location, which I enjoyed arranging and hanging. The Land Trust hosted a well-attended opening reception where there was a lot of excitement to see and purchase the art. Charleston newspaper The Post and Courier published a nice article about the project.
     As I write this, the exhibit, titled “Preserving Edisto Through the Power of the Arts”, will be up several more days and over half of the paintings have sold. Several local artists have given their expertise, time and energy to logistics and art installation, and are staffing the sales desk each day. The exhibit is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day until August 29, 2026, at 8083 Point of Pines Road, Edisto Island, SC. 

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The Old Swing behind the Bailey House, 8" x 10", oil on linen (sold)