Gardens of Dreams

Every year Magnolia Plantation and Gardens and the Charleston Artist Guild will award a top prize of $3,000 to the best painting that embodies the impressionistic style of painters during the Charleston Renaissance.
The nationwide contest, called Gardens of Dreams, is open to original artwork created and conceived by the entrants that depicts a scene at Magnolia Gardens.
Other cash prizes are: $1,000 second place; $500 third place; and five honorable mentions, $100 each.
The entry fee is $25 for the first entry and $15 for each additional painting. There is no limit to the number of entries.
Sept. 10 is the deadline to enter. Show dates are November 10-24, 2013. Art selected for the judging will be displayed at the Charleston Visitor Center and The Carriage House at Magnolia.
This year, the Guild celebrates its 60th anniversary. It has grown from its seven founding members to more than 500 artists. The Guild organizes workshops for its members and lectures for collectors. The Guild’s gallery at 160 East Bay St. exhibits for sale the art of about 70 artists.
The competition is the brainchild of John Drayton Hastie Jr., who sits on the seven-member board that owns Magnolia. Hastie is supporting the competition to encourage artists to paint scenes of Magnolia’s gardens in the style of Charleston Renaissance artists Elizabeth O’Neill Verner and William Halsey, who in 1953 were among the Guild’s founding members.
Ron Gibb, the Guild’s president, said “Magnolia Plantation is truly a garden of dreams and each artist in this competition will bring the romantic Renaissance era to life on their canvas for everyone in the country to enjoy.”
Tom Johnson, Magnolia’s executive director, said the Garden of Dreams competition “presents an excellent opportunity for us to attract artists from around the country and pay homage to a historic period in Charleston’s art history.”
 
Details on how to enter Garden of Dreams is posted on the Guild’s website: www.charlestonartistguild.com.