Amiri Geuka Farris is the winner of the Art League of Hilton Head’s 2012 RBC Heritage Poster Competition. The poster, celebrating the island’s 44-year old PGA golf tournament, depicts a young version of the event’s mascot gentleman golfer Sir William “Willie” Innes. Dressed in vintage Scottish plaid, Innes stands mid-swing at the 18th fairway overlooking the Hilton Head Lighthouse.
Farris, who lives in Savannah, is renowned for his exuberant Gullah/Geechee-style paintings that incorporate original imagery, collage, photos and computer-aided graphics. His highly collectable work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally as well as shown locally at the Art League of Hilton Head and Four Corners Art Gallery in Bluffton. The graphic designer and illustrator, who holds undergraduate and masters degrees from the Savannah School of Art and Design, has taught fine arts at Georgia Southern University, the Savannah State University and The University of South Carolina Beaufort.
The Heritage Golf Tournament takes place April 9-15, 2012, at Sea Pines Resort’s Harbour Town Golf Links. In 1969 Arnold Palmer won the first year’s event on the Jack Nicklaus-Pete Dye designed course. Last year Brandt Snedeker beat Luke Donald in a three-hole playoff. Once again, this year the Heritage’s own Tartan-clad Sir William Innes will be on hand to greet the crowds.
Farris’s original mixed media Heritage artwork of the beloved tournament ambassador is priced at $2000 and will be on view at the Heritage Foundation (71 Lighthouse Road, #4200) from March 21-April 6 and at the Art League of Hilton Head’s Walter Greer Gallery from April 9-15th.
The original poster will be on display in the lobby of the Heritage Foundation’s office two weeks prior to the tournament and then it will be at the Gallery from April 9-15th, along with the other original entries works.
A limited edition of the poster are available for sale at $20 a copy and $40 for a signed copy at the Art League’s Academy and Walter Greer Gallery, Pink House Gallery, Island Ideas, Camellia Art and Harbour Town Crafts and other venues around the island. Proceeds benefit both the Heritage, whose foundation supports Lowcountry charities, and the Art League of Hilton Head, the creative hub for the visual arts on the island.
The Art League’s Walter Greer Gallery, located at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, is a showcase for original paintings, drawings, photography, printmaking, sculpture, jewelry, woodturnings and 3-D arts. The Art Academy offers classes, workshops and lectures throughout the year at 106 Cordillo Parkway, off Pope Avenue.
For information: call 843.681.5060 or www.artleaguehhi.org
