The City of North Charleston has named a former Stall High School student Quintin Chaplin 2019 artist-in-residence and is mounting an exhibit of Chaplin's work this month in tandem with a Summerville photographer's collection of aerial coastline photographs.
The exhibit is on view throughout December and January at the North Charleston City Gallery inside the Charleston Area Convention Center at 5001 Coliseum Drive.
Amble says he captures a scene as it originally exists without much manipulation of the results.
Photographer Richard Amble's collection is somewhat a preservation project.
"After capturing some images along the South Carolina Coast, I realized that these new images could be the documentation and perhaps a start of a preservation project to record the state of the land and, of course, the ocean," he says. "The places where the land meets the sea have been the subject of many photographers since the invention of the process. The aerial view allows a closer examination that a quick flight by plane might miss. ...The audience will see the shoreline from a different physical viewpoint and perhaps a social and political viewpoint as well."
Amble currently is finishing an MFA from the Academy of Art in San Francisco.
Amble's "Continents"
Chaplin's collection of 25 paintings is called "The Culture." Many of the pieces combine imagery from politics, fashion, music, sports, movies, race, childhood and religion and explore their evolution through time.
For instance, one of his pieces features the "shoe trend" throughout eras, from Chuck Taylors to Yeezys. Another portrays a child and elderly woman praying together and conveys the message that you are never too young or old for prayer.
Chaplin also paints the portraits of a lot of the people with whom he has crossed paths, inspirational figures in his own life.
Quintin Chaplin's portrait of "Mrs. Stinson," his librarian's mother. Chaplin paints many of the people who have influenced him throughout his life.
Among those are Phillip Hyman, a well-known Lowcountry artist, who Chaplin first met when he was 12-years-old. Hyman took Chaplin under his wing for a bit, when the younger artist struggled to figure out his own unique style.
"At that time, I didn’t know how to paint the way I wanted to," Chaplin said. "I was mostly sketching, but I wanted to try to paint more. (Hyman) saw I had capabilities, but he told me to stick with what I know rather than try to chase something else."
Chaplin stopped painting for five years.
Chaplin credits his Stall High School arts teacher, Dayton Colie, for helping him return to the medium.
"He told me to just pick up a paintbrush and paint," Chaplin said. The advice stuck.
Chaplin has a heavy focus on portraits.
Chaplin says Colie was both a major influence in his artistic journey and a big help in landing him the artist-in-residence position.
Colie also inspired Chaplin to pursue another avenue: teaching. He is now an art teacher at Jerry Zucker Middle School and he will soon teach an animation class at the School of the Arts.
To him, it's about more than just the instruction.
"I teach young students how to be productive citizens within modern society," Chaplin says. "I teach them how to save money and pursue their dreams while fighting self-esteem issues and how to stay positive during disappointing times."
Though this exhibit features acrylics and watercolors, Chaplin also has a strong passion for animation. He was invited to Pixar Animation Studios in Los Angeles in 2015, where he got to meet and work with the head storyboard artist and recruiter there, Matt Roberts. He received a certificate of recognition for his character design and storyboarding.
He was invited to interview for a Pixar job, but a horrific 18-wheeler accident that left him walking with a cane for several months prevented the trip. Chaplin still created art during his recovery, including a 58.5-foot-long wall mural at the Charleston Courtyard Marriott that he finished in just one month.
Chaplin will continue his North Charleston residency through the summer. He says he has a lot left to learn (and teach) here in the Lowcountry.
