Spartanburg artist Garry Turpin, one of the founders of the Artists Collective | Spartanburg, will exhibit his oil paintings of flowers Sept. 2 through 27 in “Visual Fragrance” in Gallery II at the Collective.
An artist’s reception will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, as part of Spartanburg ArtWalk. The reception and exhibition viewing are free and open to the public.
“The exhibit is of a collection of flowers of the summer, primarily from our country home, in varying formats,” says Turpin, a native of Sylva, North Carolina. “The paintings are done in an impressionist style in a variety of sizes, mostly originals with a few giclee.”
Turpin’s inspiration for the works is simply the flowers – “their colors, the intricacy of the structure, the evolution of their growth, their unrivaled beauty, their close kinship to so many parts of our everyday life. Who doesn’t love flowers?”
He wants visitors to see his interpretation of the beauty and structure of the flowers his works depict. “I hope the viewer received as much joy as I did from painting these flowers,” he adds. “I cannot replicate their perfection – only try to give a rendition of their wonder.”
Turpin, who grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, has worked for printing companies as prep foreman, magazine publishers as art director and started GT Graphic Studios in the mid 1980s. He managed the company until 2000, when he closed the company, and he started oil painting full time. In addition to helping establish the Artists Collective | Spartanburg, he also helped create the Artist Guild Gallery in Greenville.
Of his art, Turpin says, “I try to give the best rendition of what I see; to let the viewer understand why I painted a particular view in a landscape or expression in a person, place or thing. Painting water and the elements around it is always exciting. The blend of colors in a fall leaf, movement in the clouds, dogs running, people walking on the beach. Inspiration is everywhere you look.”
He adds that he carries a camera “when I’m hungry to paint. I look for compositions that are visually interesting or information driven. In many instances, my paintings are time travelers for me, in that they’ll take me back to the time and place where the image first caught my eye and the joy of the site or person that I have rendered hopefully will be captured by the viewer in a similar or different way, kind of paying it forward.”
As a founding member of the Collective, Turpin says he is proud of the group’s direction and growth, “giving opportunities for anyone with the desire to grow in the arts in Spartanburg and surrounding counties. My hope is that ACS’s shining light will only grow stronger for those who love and appreciate the arts.”