As an artist recognized for her southern landscapes and nature-based still-lifes, Carol Story normally uses a lot of green oil paint on her canvases. But the color green will be hard to find in her latest collection of work--Sans Verde--that will be exhibited Sept. 1-26 at Artists Collective | Spartanburg.

As an artist recognized for her southern landscapes and nature-based still-lifes, Carol Story normally uses a lot of green oil paint on her canvases. But the color green will be hard to find in her latest collection of work--Sans Verde--that will be exhibited Sept. 1-26 at Artists Collective | Spartanburg.

“Being mostly a landscape painter, I naturally use a lot of the color green. Tiring of this, I challenged myself to explore other color palettes,” the Georgia native said. “I put away every tube of green oil paint for the last nine months, and the few greens I have used in this exhibit have been mixed from other colors.”

The exhibition of 18-20 works will be open for free public viewing Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, exhibition hours may change without notice, and the public should refer to the facility’s website--ArtistsCollectiveSpartanburg.org--for the most current information. The Collective is located at 578 West Main St., Spartanburg. There will not be a reception for this exhibit, and the Collective is currently not participating in the city’s monthly ArtWalk.

However, the Collective supports the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce’s “Bringing Back the Burg” initiative and abides by all COVID-19 precautions. The public is invited to see this exhibit by staying socially distant from each other (six feet apart) and wearing a required face covering.

Despite the lack of green, Sans Verde (Spanish for “without green”) will showcase a wide variety of subject matter--rural scenes, travel memories, sunsets, florals, animals, marshes, and mountain vistas--presented in her characteristic representational style that leans toward impressionism. “I seek to represent what I see, as well as my response to it,” she said.

“This exhibit is the result of a self-imposed challenge, which has pushed me as a painter and taught me a great deal about the process,” Story added.

All of the work in Sans Verde was created during the past year, much of it during the pandemic when social distancing has been strongly advised. Story hopes patrons experience “the beauty and variety of color in things seen and remembered… an appreciation of the variance and beauty of color in both nature and created things.” All of the art will be for sale, ranging in price from $175 to $450, depending on the size and framing.

This will be Story’s third exhibition at Artists Collective | Spartanburg. The first two were The Role of Shadows and Contemplating the Land. To continuously display her work, she has a personal studio at the facility. “It is a privilege to have a studio for display and be able to have a solo show in the facility,” Story said. “This is my third show, and each has challenged me both to produce a body of new work and to learn from the total process.

“We have a wonderful mix of talented artists, both professional and amateur,” she said about the agency. “It has been a great joy to get to know people whose paths I would not have crossed otherwise and learn from them.” She has been a member of the Collective since 2015.

Story, a 40-year resident of Spartanburg, came late to painting. While her father headed art departments at two Georgia colleges, her genes never prompted any pursuit of art herself. Graduating from the University of Georgia with an education degree, her life’s work has been in teaching, writing, and community service. Her 50-year marriage has blessed her with three children and seven grandchildren. She is an avid reader and cook, and her love of travel provides much inspiration for her painting.

Her first instruction was oil painting classes with Claire Miller Hopkins at the Spartanburg Art Museum. She has since taken workshops with various artists and mentoring classes with plein air painter Jim Carson in Saluda, NC.

“I believe that both teachers and artists are born, not made,” she says in her artist’s statement. “There is an inner calling that prompts one to create… whether it is through the visual arts, writing, or even cooking. There are elements of painting that both educate and express emotion. My compulsive, right-brain nature leads me to faithful copying of what I see, while I struggle to show through color and contrast the feelings that have drawn me to a particular scene. While I appreciate abstract art, I am by nature a realistic painter, sometimes attempting to stretch myself to impressionism. Oils are most forgiving, and it is a contentious joy to work from a photo that speaks, to a painting that says more--hopefully, something of me.”