17 Jul Augusta Art Adventures: Sacred Heart Art Show – Michael Reibel
Augusta Art Adventures: Sacred Heart Art Show – Michael Reibel
By Brenda Durant
Michael Reibel and Brenda Durant
I didn’t have to travel far for my Art Adventure this week. Sacred Heart held an Exhibition Open House on July 9th so I donned my mask and walked ALL THE WAY… around the corner from my office to the Art Hall. It is a beautiful show; Michael Reibel is a talented painter and a gracious host. All his paintings come with a story card. These are his notes on where it was painted or what each painting represents. His paintings in the show are coastal – who isn’t ready for a trip to the coast right now? Even if we can’t travel to the coast in person, this show is a great visual escape. Best of all we can even bring a painting home for a ‘view out’ from the comfort of our home.
Michael lives in Seabrook SC, close to Beaufort. He spent about 30 years working as a CPA and in senior management for a health care company. A chance visit by an artist, who saw one of his paintings and encouraged him to take classes, changed his career path completely. Michael, wife and child left Louisville KY to move to the coast and pursue art full time—with a detailed plan. He told me, as we chatted in the Art Hall, that he exceeded his first-year plan of making a living on his own. I am not surprised. His work is beautiful, bathed in a light we find only at the beach… soothing and evocative. I am such a fan.
Shrimpin’ by Michael Reibel
We posed in front of one of my favorites, “Shadows of the Fallen”, a 30×40 oil on linen painting of what looks like petrified trees at Hunting Island State Park. Fortunately, Michael captured this image before the Corps of Engineers removed the trees in order to bring in sand and reclaim the beach. The full story is next to the painting in the Art Hall, so you not only bring home a painting but a wonderful tale too. I look forward to upcoming visits to the show, on my long trek to check my mail.
The show is up until August 28. Sacred Heart Cultural Center is open Monday-Friday 9am to 4pm. The door is locked, so call or knock upon arrival. Masks and hand sanitizing are mandatory.