Chaffin describes her paintings as “haiku poetry, rather than novels. The paintings are responses to a specific time, place, or person; for instance, the mood of being by the Colleton River one day.” In her new series at Charles Street Gallery, the paintings are made up of cross-hatches, which are indirect ways of mark-making. “I began using the cross-hatch marks when I began painting oil over tar,” she said, “I liked the physicality and texture of marking through the oil and revealing the underlying tar.” Chaffin lives and works on Spring Island, South Carolina, in a variety of media including painting, collage, photography and sculpture.

Charles Street Gallery is an established source for Lowcountry and International art, presented within a carefully renovated house surrounded by a lush garden in the middle of Beaufort’s historic district. The reception with Betsy Chaffin on Friday, Nov. 2nd is lavish, fun, and open to the public. 914 Charles Street, 521-9054, www.thecharlesstreetgallery.com

Charles Street Gallery, Beaufort SC, Nov. 2-Nov. 24, 2007
Reception with the artist on Friday, Nov. 2nd, 5:30-9:30