Gallery to feature a family of artists

The Johnson family – Dale, Mary Ellen and Seth – are the featured artists in The Gallery at Black Creek Arts Center at 116 W. College Ave. for the month of September, beginning with an opening reception 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday.

Dale and Mary Ellen met at the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Fla. Mary Ellen was from New Jersey. The couple has two children, Seth and Greyson.

Seth is a student at Coker College pursuing a degree in arts and communications. He hopes to continue in graduate school with a degree in film-making and incorporate his art in film.

Seth said he started drawing when he would go to his grandmother’s art shop downtown after school. His grandmother is Christine Johnson, owner of The Art Shoppe and Giverny’s Gallery. He said he started out with pencil and charcoal.

“She had all the materials,” Seth said, “That was my hobby.”

Mary Ellen said she has been painting and drawing as long as she can remember. It was her grandfather that encouraged and inspired her artistic endeavors.

Mary Ellen said he would keep her when she was little and have her draw him pictures to keep her busy. An engineer and gifted artist himself, her grandfather recognized she had talent as a young child.

Mary Ellen said she mostly preferred figurative and still life pastels but is teaching herself to work in different mediums. She is currently interested in doing “daily paintings” which are small works that could be accomplished for the most part in a day. Many of these pieces are part of the Black Creek show.

In addition to the gallery showcase, Mary Ellen’s artwork can be seen and is for sale at Chameleon Art Gallery, 26 Public Square, Darlington.

Dale said his and Seth’s are large and different from Mary Ellen’s work. Dale inherited his interest and talent for art from his mother.

“Mom has been an inspiration in more ways than I can imagine,” said Dale.

From sending care packages when he was in school to providing encouragement in his work, Dale’s mother has always been supportive. As a young boy, Dale started to draw. As early as the seventh and eighth grades, he learned that he could earn money from his work. During that summer, someone saw him drawing a portrait and paid him to do one. As others saw his work, they requested portraits.

“I did 40 portraits that summer,” Dale said. “I was also fortunate to have a good art teacher in high school. I was the first person in Darlington County to go to the Governor’s School for the Arts.”

In his job with the Darlington County School District as a network administrator, he is able to use his art background.

“I do a lot of graphics and artwork for Web pages,” Dale said. “I get to use some of my artistic talent there.”

“I primarily paint with oils,” Dale said, but his work for this show will be a hodge-podge of things he has done over the years.

Their youngest son, Greyson, will not have work in the gallery. An energetic elementary student, Greyson enjoys dabbling with art and is good at giving an interpretation of his family’s art.

When the family isn’t working or having family art session, they enjoy cooking. According to her family, Mary Ellen is a fantastic cupcake baker, and she utilizes her creative bend in decorating them. In fact, she has painted her cupcakes.

Greyson says his dad is the barbecue king of the house.

Visit the Black Creek Art Gallery opening reception on Thursday to view some of this talented family’s artwork or stop by during the month of September.

Info: (843) 332-6234 or www.blackcreekarts.org.