John Meckley featured at the Beaufort Art Association Gallery

John Meckley’s love for art began at the age of 13. Self-taught, his inspiration came from works by Rembrandt and the Wyeth family artists. He likes to incorporate their styles with soft, smooth, warm brush strokes of his own. He limits his palette to warm, earthy tones. He believes his subjects portray a sense of serenity and peacefulness.

John won his first Juried art show at the age of 17 in Pennsylvania. Since then, he has won numerous Juried show awards in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Florida, and South Carolina. At one time, he even had a painting hanging in the Russian embassy in Washington, DC.

Up until two years ago, John’s works were mostly snapshots of life with people struggling with real life situations and conditions – for example, a tear falling from the eye of an old man on a park bench ,waiting for the end to come.

In 2019 he moved to Bluffton. He remembers taking in the impressive scenery, driving across a bridge with a light rain falling and the sun still shining. He saw a rainbow appear outside the moving truck and felt as if he could touch it. He noticed a flock of egrets in flight across the marsh and thought God was giving him a sign. Since then, egrets in flight have been his focus.

Join the artist for an opening night reception at BAA Gallery on Friday, July 1, 5-8pm, at the Gallery of the Beaufort Art Association, 913 Bay Street, downtown Beaufort, under the black awning.