Artcetera: Sneddon sisters dazzle at J Costello Gallery

Sometimes, a friend from a long time ago, re-enters your life, and, in seconds, the long time friends are engaged in familiar conversations on familiar topics as though no time had passed at all.

That was the case at J Costello Gallery where I met up with my long time friend, the artist Nance Lee Sneddon, who was in town from her home in Charleston, and whom I had not seen for 25 years. She had come to begin installation of the upcoming exhibit "Shine"... recent works by the sisters, Sue Sneddon and Nance Lee Sneddon," in the Red Fish Building on Palmetto Bay Road.

The collection will focus on Nance's highly regarded stylized contemporary tapestry and textile pieces and the very collectible oil and pastel landscapes, seascapes, sunsets, sunrises and abstracted pieces of her sister Sue Sneddon.

The sisters have created new work for this exhibition and have collaborated on a painting, "Blue Dream of Sky" as a kind of homage to their mother, the artist/designer, Lil Sneddon.

"Blue Dream of Sky" in mixed medium and on canvas, and 44 x 34 x 2 is really two canvasses by Sue and Nance. They are framed as one in silver toned wood moulding and shadow frame. This piece was prepared and dedicated to their mother, and named from a line in one of her favorite poems by ee cummings.

The recent pieces -- in addition to honoring the memory of their mother, her artistic spirit and her impact on their lives -- clearly celebrate their earlier life experiences, particularly those of enjoying the natural surroundings near their family home in Port Royal.

"Our artist mother nurtured our creativity and encouraged a reverence for our natural setting," said Nance. "She would see to our artistic activities, help us appreciate life's moments in the most impactful, good humored way, and Sue and I, who learned by example, now are living the artistic life so ideal for both of us ."

Nance Lee Sneddon greeted me at the entrance to the gallery, and whisked me around to see the work in place. Careful piles of folded textiles awaited attention, while the paintings, in oil or pastel of Sue Sneddon, who now lives in Shallotte, N.C., rested against the walls.

"Our work is really different ... from each other's," said Sue, with a laugh. "Clearly we have different artistic styles. But for both of us, color and composition are what drives us and the outcome of this collection, when you view it all together, reflects a complementary painting style."

"I've just recently started producing a series of mixed medium canvas tapestries based on sand patterns, water reflection, waves, and the flora that grows along the beach paths and dunes near Port Royal Sound," said Nance.

"Wet Sand Patterns," created in mixed medium, is fiber on canvas and 43 x 32 inches. The color, the shapes, the texture and the complex layered applications are right on the mark. Her process, based on years of working with painted or batiked fabrics, when viewed close up, reveal not only the stylized imagery of nature, but the importance she places on texture, pattern and light.

Nance's process is fascinating. More than a flat design, she often adds the artistic impact of block prints, of linoleum or soft blocks, acrylic brushwork, collage, oil stick applications, hand stitching, jute, waxed cord and even bead work.

Later, when I asked Sue about the paintings she creates, and her life as an artist, she was quick to respond that she is thankful she is living the life she lives.

" I paint for a living. I could not love it more," said Sue. "I spend almost every moment thinking about color and design."

When I asked her about her decision to become an artist, she told me a story about a day spent with her mother.

"...There's a story I always tell. It was the day I decided to become an artist. I must have been around 14. My mom and I were fully engaged in a conversation about the source of the pink we both saw as we stood looking to the end of Pawley's Island. I'll never forget how I felt on that day ... and if I could paint the way that I felt at that moment, then I absolutely would become an artist. (It was) not only memorable, but for me, life changing!"

Not long after graduating from college, Nance Sneddon moved to Hilton Head, and in 1990 she, with partners Ann Light, Morgan Kuhn and Carol Rothrock, developed the Moonshell Gallery in Sea Pines. The gallery helped to launch and expand the careers of some 25 artists. In 1997, her move to Charleston expanded her artistic impact and she continues working daily in her studio.

Sue Sneddon, who moved to Hilton Head and was an early associate at Moonshell, moved to North Carolina where she paints everyday in her studio looking out to the marshes of a tidal river.

Artist, musician, teacher and writer Nancy K. Wellard focuses on portraying and promoting the cultural arts, first in Los Angeles and, for close to 30 years, in the Lowcountry. Email her at nancykwellard@gmail.com.

IF YOU GO

• WHAT: SHINE: Recent Work by sisters Sue Sneddon and Nance Lee Sneddon
• WHERE: J Costello Gallery, Red Fish Building, 8 Archer Road, Hilton Head Island
• WHEN: Sept.18 - Oct. 16, 2015. An Artist's Reception is from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 18.
• DETAILS: 843-686-6650

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 4:12 PM with the headline "Artcetera: Sneddon sisters dazzle at J Costello Gallery."