SOBA Board Members

Marie Burgeson

President

Mary Ann Burgeson (Marie at SOBA) was active in the Art world from a museum perspective while living in the Chicago area. She was on the auxiliary board of the Art Institute of Chicago and a founding member of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in 1981. After moving here she took painting and drawing classes at SOBA and now exhibits at our gallery. She says the talent and friendliness of the members are what makes leading the board such a pleasure.

Cynthia Van Nus

Vice President

In addition to being SOBA’s Vice President, Cynthia Van Nus is a member of the display committee. She is committing to ensuring that SOBA grows to become a leading art gallery in Bluffton as we enter the decade of 2020. Cynthia paints from her own photographs and experiences, usually scenes or objects of interest from the Lowcountry, New England, and Michigan (where she lived much of her adult life).

John Kenney

Treasurer

Art allows us to look at the world around us differently. The relationships between shape, line, color and tone come to life and are constantly changed by light. John Kenney’s oil paintings are about the manipulation of light and geometric shapes. The direction and intensity of light controls image and texture. He finds inspiration in the every day. John’s art is an expression of what he sees and feels, whether as an abstraction or as modern expressionism. To see more, visit his website.

Jeanne Francisco

Recording Secretary

Jeanne Francisco and her husband, Bill, recently moved into the Low Country via Keuka Lake, NY and Siesta Key, FL. Jeanne got involved with SoBA through the many great classes she took (and still takes) at The Center for Creative Arts located next door to the gallery. Although she loves dabbling in any creative endeavor, she has focused in on oil painting as the perfect mindful pastime. She serves on the board to help support the efforts and talents of local artists.

Karen Richards

Membership Chair

Formerly from Southampton, then Warwick NY, Karen Richards moved to Bluffton, SC in 2021. Active in the SOBA community she now produces the monthly newsletter and is membership chair. “Volunteering has allowed me to get to know a very welcoming and talented group of artists”.

With nature as her inspiration, Karen Richards’ paints in a style varying from impressionistic realism to abstraction. Combining her love of nature and concern for the environment with her passion to create, Karen regularly donates a portion of her sales to local and national environmental organizations.

Sandy Utsey Rhodes

Community Relations Manager

Sandy is a native of S.C. and attended Winthrop College. Starting at the age of 12 with oils, she continued with her art degree by teaching art in school and giving private lessons to adults as well. Her style has changed over the years but her favorite is the loose impressionism of the Old Masters. Sandy paints a lot of low country scenes on anything that will hold still-even furniture! She has completed many commissioned pieces. Murals and large screen dividers have also been a part of her art repertoire.

Barbara Pecce

Director SOBA Art School

Barbara Pecce is a watercolor artist and teacher who has recently moved to South Carolina from Puerto Rico. During the 47 years she and her family lived in San Juan, she was a founding member and long time president of the Asociacion de Acuarelistas de Puerto Rico. She also taught watercolor at the Lisa de Arte in Old San Juan and at the Museo de Arte. Barbara is now an active member of the Society of Bluffton Artists ( SOBA) and currently volunteers as Education and Workshop Coordinator at the Center for Creative Arts.

Lin Hilts

Staffing Manager

As the staffing manager, Lin Hilts’ duty is to ensure that the gallery is open to the public every day (except for national holidays). Thanks to the tireless efforts of member artists who display their artwork each month, the SOBA gallery’s exhibit changes regularly — the first Monday of each month or on the first Tuesday if the Monday is a holiday. Our artist members volunteer 3.5 hours on a day of their choosing. Staffing is critical to the success of the gallery to be open for business.

Kim France

Marketing Manager

Kim France came to the Lowcountry via Raleigh, NC and Cincinnati, OH. When she arrived, she had never held a paint brush. But, the Bluffton and Hilton Head scenes inspired her to try her hand at oil painting. Primarily self taught, Kim has nurtured her desire to improve artistically through workshops at The Center for Creative Arts which is run by SOBA Gallery and is located next door to the gallery. She serves on the board because she values the exposure that SOBA gives to her art and enjoys the camaraderie of the Bluffton Art community.

Pat Diemand

Gallery Display Manager

Pat Diemand began her journey as an artist as a young child, guided by her desire and natural ability. She was a member of the Western New York Artists’ Group in Buffalo, NY and the WA Project for the Arts/Corcoran in Washington, DC.

Diemand’s work has appeared in a variety of exhibitions over the years, including the Albright Knox Sales/Rental Gallery, Buffalo, New York; the Artful Gifts Exhibition at Art Dialogue Gallery, Buffalo, NY; and the Cumberland Valley Artists’ Exhibition in Hagerstown, Md. Locally, her work can be seen at Alexander’s Restaurant in Palmetto Dunes. She also teaches the Summer Art Camp for kids at SOBA.

Janet Stevens

Gallery Manager

Specializing in fine art, Janet has a BA in Studio Art

from Framingham State College, MA. She completed a

wide and varied range of study including painting, 3-D

design, Intaglio, photography, and ceramics. Her

pieces are in acrylic, water color, pastel, and pencil, but

the majority of her work is in oil.

Though artistically diverse, Janet’s style can best be

described as figurative expressionism, striving to create

visual representations of concepts and emotions, and

finds inspiration in physical, metaphysical, and human

nature.

Workshops & Classes

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