Southport Magazine

What: Artist Reception: Karen Casciani
Part of First Friday Gallery Walk
When: Friday, April 5th
5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Where: Howe Outrageous
307 N. Howe St., Southport
Cost: Free!
Info: (910) 363-4811
www.howeoutrageous.com

Often times, creative spirits possess more than one talent. Actors may have stunning singing voices, while poets may be excellent pianists. In the case of Calabash, North Carolina-based artist Karen Casciani, photography is not only a cherished hobby but a way to arrest beautiful images, stowing them away as later inspiration for painting.

“I have always been an artist,” Casciani shares, “but didn’t have much time for art while raising a child and having a career. It wasn’t until after I quit working that I learned to paint.”

One Christmas, Casciani’s husband presented her with a set of paints and suggested she take a class. “The main thing I remembered about my art in high school was that I enjoyed doing detail in my work,” she describes.

The Cascianis travel immensely; they’ve visited spots all across the United States, parts of Europe, and many islands. “I’m never without my camera,” the artist, a photographer before she became a painter, says. “It gives me the advantage I need to get a good shot. When I get home, I turn the best shots into paintings.”

Casciani’s process is called photorealism. She uses her camera to gather the visual information that makes a scene stand out, and then she creates paintings to match in watercolors, pastels or acrylics. Photorealism began as an American art movement in the late 1960s, characterized by artists such as Ralph Goings, Charles Bell, and Audrey Flack.

Her works spring to life as she transposes every bit of movement, such as the frolicking of palm fronds in the wind, as seen in her painting “Tropical Breezes.” Shadows delicately placed support the essence of the palm. “I like adding all the details that make the subject look real,” she notes. “If there’s a bee on a flower, I add that to the painting.”

Her creations vary in subject, from sea creatures and shells to Italian architecture. Flowers, however, are Casciani’s passion. “Flowers are, to me, one of God’s greatest gifts,” she tells. “Nothing compares to the beautiful colors, shapes and textures. I try to take a close-up with a unique angle or perspective, then blow it up into a really large painting.”

Casciani even has crafted tribal works, such as “Fire and Brimstone” and “The Gatherer.” The pieces, while not falling into the photorealism genre, feature characters adorned with feathers, animal hides, and antlers. “During a trip to Arizona, I fell in love with Southwestern art,” Casciani explains. “I love watching the colors of the mountains change as the sun rises or sets over the Grand Canyon and in Sedona. The petroglyphs I saw on cave walls inspired me to do a series of Spirit Catchers. I made abstract backgrounds, then added the primitive figures.”

Casciani previously resided in McDonough, Georgia, for 30 years before she and her husband relocated to Calabash last July. She has been showing her paintings since 1999 and has won over 120 awards and ribbons, including a third-place prize for “Pincushion Flower” in the 2013 Spring Show at Southport’s Franklin Square Gallery (130 E. West St.). She will be the featured artist at Howe Outrageous Art Gallery and Marketplace (307 N. Howe St., Southport) for April.

There will be an opening reception for Casciani at Howe Outrageous as part of the First Friday Gallery walk on Friday, April 5th, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

“My theme for the opening at Howe Outrageous is ‘Beaches,’” Casciani tells. “I have a variety of paintings to show, [including] ‘Tropical Breezes,’  the Bodie Island lighthouse, and a big ‘Nautilus Shell’ will be the centerpiece. I have some boats and tropical fish; I think [guests will] find my exhibit to be eclectic and colorful.”

Though the Howe Outrageous show will hang only through Saturday, April 27th, Casciani undoubtedly will continue to travel, pursuing her photography and paintings along the way. “There is nothing more relaxing than to sit and work on a painting and watch something beautiful unfold right before your eyes—it’s like watching a flower bloom,” she describes. “I’m inspired by beautiful things in nature;  I find beauty everywhere I go.”