Painting Charleston

It's always funny how pre-conceptions become merely tiny pieces of our realities. This realization has become increasingly evident in my daunting task of describing Charleston to those who are not fortunate enough to fall asleep to the sound of palmetto bugs, and awake to the smell of Southern low tide.

These preconceptions have given way to daily authenticity's that have helped me to paint the South-east landscape on a North-east canvas. Without these timely interactions my canvas would undoubtedly showcase google images of the Charleston landscape with footnotes referencing the many blogs of both natives and travelers alike, and their interpretation of the ambiguous makeup. Ultimately I have forced my readers to fall in to the very predicament I found myself in only four weeks ago; the ramblings of a traveler trying to make a home, (see the next few paragraphs) and an image of Downtown Charleston, (google downtown Charleston, if you feel so inclined).

Through my daily adventures I have begun the task of painting that very canvas with hopes that the outcome would represent a grand portrait of a postbellum town full of charm and history. Unfortunately, it has only rendered chaos, an indescribable mess that can only be interpreted in pieces. The pieces have will take form in the conversations with the subjects that make up my interactions in this beautiful municipality.

These pieces all seem relate in two ways, the most obvious of these being that they are Southern in nature. However, the not so apparent factor that seems to carry across these pieces is the ubiquitous pride that is injected in the subjects stories of their youth and the love for their home town of Charleston.

The greatest thing about Charleston is that it is an "American City" in every aspect of the term. Charleston is a melting pot of cultures from every corner of the United States. Despite the different backgrounds each person carries with them the appreciation for palmetto trees, good barbecue, and great conversation. However, the biggest linking factor is this pride which spews across every corner of my my canvas. The state flag and "Native" bumper stickers that litter the cars on the James Island Expressway, the South Carolina Gamecock flags waving in the front yards in Mount Pleasant, the "Follywood" shirts scattered across Folly Beach. But mostly, the ability of these subjects to paint a perfect picture of a youth somewhere, and the story of how they came to call Charleston home.

The blue-eyed Belle downtown at Henry's insists that Mississippi is the greatest place to go to school, "may lose a game, but we never lost a party" she'll insist with her strong Southern draw. "Home of Faulkner, you know, Oxford is the most beautiful place on earth" she'll say. And with the way she paints it, I can't disagree. Her portrait makes it's way on to my canvas, next to the man over at The Pour House whose stop in Charleston seems to be the perfect hiatus between the Moonshine of Boone and the retirement homes of Sarasota, he swears there is something in the water. I guess it's just the Charleston bug, symptoms include happiness and and an ability to enjoy the little things. And the Charleston native, her story peers up over the bottom left hand side of my canvas, encompassing a youth of Friday night lights, Saturday night fever, and Sunday morning Mass.

To someone living it, the chaos is soothing, a start to a masterpiece. It's through these individual experiences that I'm able to piece together my own present day realities. I've just started my portrait, and I've left plenty of room for future stories and experiences. But I haven't forgotten about my own, just ask anyone one of my subjects about growing up in New Hampshire, I'm sure they could regurgitate an earful. I've still got room for any of my friends and family down here in the Low Country, I just ask that you bring a paintbrush and an open ear. I've learned the most important part of painting is listening, learning to invite anyone in to help me paint. Charleston, together, we can make beautiful chaos.