Artists featured in a new exhibition at Arts on the Coast explore the connections, contrasts and unexpected similarities found in parallel experiences.
Arts on the Coast will host its quarterly art show Friday night, with artists exploring how art can create parallel perspectives.
Justin McBride did not have to go far to find inspiration. He owns a 25-acre property on the south end of Richmond Hill. One day as the sun was setting, McBride witnessed the reddish, orange skyline, with some trees reflecting in the lake on his property. He turned that moment into a piece of art that he will show at Friday's ArtNite.
"This strange red cloud came in - everything turned pink and if you weren't there in the moment, two seconds later it was gone," said McBride.
"It just looked like a blue sky again in normal day. So you have to be there in the moment with photography."
Over the last two years, McBride began painting, drawing portraits and picked up photography. He said creating art has been therapeutic. Whether he is painting or spending hours sketching a portrait, his mind escapes to a place of solace.
"I lost everything and I just showed up to the art group," he said. "You try to escape in your art, and let that be an outlet to quiet everything down for a moment."
He also gives credit to his fellow artists who have wrapped their arms around him, helping him embrace his true artistic self.
"I've always loved art, so I started hanging out with the most amazing group of people you can even think of," said McBride. "When I started painting, everybody said I should paint more because of how good it was."
Copper Disco and Violet Sky
Josh Baluh said his love for art began in kindergarten. Now, he is sharing that passion with students at Richmond Hill High School where he works as an art teacher.
Baluh specializes in linear and mechanical drawings. A member of Arts on the Coast since 2020, Baluh spoke to the significance of the arts and how they are used every day.
"Whether it be drawing, painting, metal working, interior design and decorating the inside of your home, or laying out a design for your favorite charcuterie, there is something very human about the creative process," he said. "Academically, art is connected to every single other subject area of study and is not an island unto itself. It allows students to make interdisciplinary connections and serves as a bridge to better understand educational content and the world around them."
He will be showing three pieces in Friday's show, one that depicts all the parts related to an internal combustion engine, another that focuses on heavy machinery and another titled Copper Disco and Violet Sky, where he photographed the remnants of a storm at a Double Tree Hotel while in Orlando, Fla.
"It began storming quite heavily," said Baluh. "After it passed in the evening, I went outside into the parking lot to call my wife and saw the sky filled with the golden yellow and rich orange of the sun so low in the sky, while at the same time surrounded by what remained of the deep, heavy violet clouds. I turned around and saw a kaleidoscope of those colors reflected in the facade of the hotel and felt compelled to take a picture with my phone."
Want to go?
ArtNite will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Richmond Hill City Center Friday, Sept. 18. Entry is free and eventgoers can enjoy live music and light bites. Art will be on display there until mid-December.
Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Richmond Hill artists reveal new works at ArtNite | Exclusive
