Another Art Walk is Behind Us

Participation in the Broad Street Art Walk is always interesting.  You do see a lot of repeat visitors.  Many of them live in the neighborhoods close by or may be artists themselves.  Some come for the enjoyment of seeing new works, others just enjoy the art.  Some come for the wine and food, others come for the buzz of the crowd.

One thing that you can depend on is that you can never tell how they are going to turn out.  If you have high expectations of selling your work, you might be disappointed.  If you come with low expectations and make sales you can be pleasantly surprised.  The two times this year I have set up for the Art Walk was at the Hamlet Gallery, 7 Broad Street.  Stephanie Shuler Hamlet is quite a wonderful painter and a welcoming host.  She has been very kind allowing me the use of her back garden which was recently redone.  I know she has put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into her gallery over the past dozen or so years.  She drives back and forth from Jamestown each day which is probably close to 100 miles round trip.  You only do that if you love your work.

Listening to the weather report the night before, I was glad to hear it was not expected to rain Friday evening.  I knew it was going to be very cool and windy.  At least her garden area has some protection to cut down on the wind.  I set up early and walked around the garden looking at all of the  frogs as well as the funky chickens.  If you get a chance to stop by and visit her gallery and garden.  I guarantee it will bring a smile to your face.

When the clouds started to dissipate and the sun came out, I knew it was a good sign.  Shortly after I set up people started filtering through the gallery and into the garden.  As the day got shorter and the shadows longer, the crowd started to build.  It was a steady stream of lookers and buyers.  You could hear the laughter and feel the energy.

Artists would stop by and make comments about my work.  That is always reassuring.  It is always pleasant when the first sale of the evening is made.  Then you become more relaxed and begin to enjoy yourself more. The best part of the evening was when a woman and her friend stopped by and began looking at some of my wildlife shots.  I am by no means a wildlife photographer but I did get a wonderful shot of a Great Egret.  She had been looking for just the right Egret for three (3) years.  Well, folks, her hunt ended last night.  My Egret found a new home and she left with a big smile on her face.  I could tell that the Egret would get a lot of love.

You know folks, it just don't get no better than that.

Michael Kaynard is a local photographer who lives in West Ashley.  His photos can be seen at http://kaynardphotography.webs.com.  He can be reached at mkaynard@gmail.com or 843-412-2299.