Christy McEvilly presents ‘Coastal Colors’

The Society of Bluffton Artists (SoBA) welcomes featured artist Christy McEvilly — who will present “Coastal Colors” from March 6 through April 2 at the SoBA gallery. The Gallery Opening Reception with wine, cheese and art is from 5-7 p.m. Friday, March 10 at the SoBA gallery, located at 6 Church Street in Old Town Bluffton.

Christy McEvilly is passionate about color. She finds the luminous transparency of watercolor to be an excellent vehicle for portraying vibrant color. A lifelong artist and art history enthusiast, McEvilly has spent the past 10 years exploring and experimenting with this challenging, fluid medium.

“I feel compelled to capture the radiant light, reflections, shadows, colors, forms, and ever changing atmosphere of the coastal areas where I live,” McEvilly said of the “Coastal Colors” show. “I am struck by awe-inspiring landscapes that surround me and those new ones I discover when hiking or traveling.”

McEvilly has studios in Bluffton and in Lewes, DE, her home state. Her work almost always begins outdoors where she pursues an endless variety of subjects, looking for interesting effects of light and form. She begins with photographs, sketches, studies of value and color, and many notes.

“Finding the heart and soul of a place or subject is what I strive to reflect in my work,” she said.

She has studied with and been inspired by nationally known watercolorists and spent 5 years in the Brandywine Valley studio of her mentor, internationally known Sarah Yeoman, a signature member of the American Watercolor Society. She has also studied with American watercolorists Ken Hosmer, Julie Pollard, John Bayalis, and Susan Avis-Murphy.

Her formal training in the arts included studio art classes at Centenary College, the University of Texas, the New York School of Interior Design, and the University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA. McEvilly has worked in many mediums including oils, acrylics, printmaking, and various drawing mediums.

McEvilly’s work has been exhibited at juried shows and galleries throughout Delaware and Pennsylvania. She is a Signature member of the Delaware Watercolor Society as well as a member of the American Watercolor Society, the Southern Watercolor Society, and the Georgia Watercolor Society. In South Carolina, Christy shows her work at the Society of Bluffton Artists, the Art League of Hilton Head, and the Art Association of Beaufort.