‘Loving the Low Country’ exhibit featured at BAA Gallery

The work of artists Joseph “Big Joe” Abell and Anne M. Jennings will be featured at the Beaufort Art Association starting July 2 and running through Aug. 27.

The theme of their exhibit will be “Loving the Low Country,” dedicated to the marshes, ocean, people and wildlife of the area.

An opening reception will be held from 5 to 7:30 p.m. July 7 at the Gallery at 913 Bay St. in Beaufort. Light refreshments will be served. The public is invited.

There also will be on exhibit the work of 65 other local artists, who are members of the Gallery.

Both Abell and Jennings love to be outside participating in the natural world. Through their art, they bring their wanderings and adventures to life, inviting the viewer to share in their love of the Lowcountry.

A native of Lebanon, Ky., Abell is a graduate of Lander College. He has lived in Beaufort with his wife and two children since the early 1970s. An avid outdoorsman who enjoys hunting and fishing, he specializes in scenes of the area. Working with acrylics, his recent works depict the Port Royal Rookery, egrets, wild turkeys, alligators, Coffin Point Plantation, seagulls and the Old Seabrook General Store. He also accepts commissions and paints portraits of people, pets or the family home. To find out more about Abell and his art, visit the Starving Artists Market in Port Royal on Saturday mornings or call 843-812-6985 to visit his studio.

Jennings graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in art and English. She retired after working 27 years as an elementary school art teacher and school counselor in Wilmington, Del., and moved to the Lowcountry in 2011. She is a photographer/illustrator.

“I specialize in nature photography and animal illustrations,” she said. “My goal is to tell a story about nature. I often paint or draw on my photographs using bold colors.”

Jennings has been active in the Beaufort Art Association since moving to the Lowcountry and has participated in shows in Beaufort, Port Royal, Bluffton, Allendale and Savannah. Her poetry and photographs have been published in the “Bluffton Breeze” magazine and local newspapers. She also helped organize the Starving Artists Market, a weekly open-air market. You can also view more of Jennings’ art on her Artist Facebook page at Anne m jennings.

For more information, call 843-521-4444 or visit www.beaufortartassociation.com.

This story was originally published June 22, 2017 at 11:39 AM with the headline "‘Loving the Low Country’ exhibit featured at BAA Gallery."