A Charleston Sunset

by Whitney Lee September 20, 2017 0 Comments

Andrew and I lived in Anderson, South Carolina when we were first married. Andrew was a product designer for Home Depot brand tools like Ridgid and Ryobi. If you're wondering why Andrew may be familiar to you, and you don't know why, I'm here to solve the mystery:

Oh yes m'am. Those are his hands on the package of the router table designed by the multi-talented artist himself. If I'm not mistaken, there's also packaging floating around Home Depot with Andrew wearing safety googles maneuvering some leaf blower he also designed. When he sees himself in Home Depot, I try to keep him humble by grazing past those products that we don't need, albeit well-designed, and focus on what we came for: things like brackets and energy efficient light bulbs because that's what people in their 30s seem to buy.

Anderson, SC is about 3 hours from Charleston. We had the best of intentions of making frequent trips to the low country. Can you believe we never went together during our few years in Anderson?

I know what you're thinking. And I'm disappointed in myself too.

Since Andrew and I met, we have talked at length about Charleston, the low country, and what we love about it. What is it about that place. Some reasons are obvious, some are more subtle. But our shared love for the area is something that spurs us on.

Instead of actually going to Charleston one night in 2009, Andrew taught me how to paint, and my subject of choice was a low country sunset with a white heron. It was a fun night of doing something I didn't know how to do. He committed to help me because I didn't have the first clue of how to get started, what brush to use, what paints to use, or how to mix them.

I recall this being an entertaining experience for me, and that was the first time we painted together. I must note, it was also the last. I think the "mixing of colors" thing prohibited him to embark on teaching me again. Or my not wanting to be taught again. Whichever way you look at it.

I thought about this "First and Last Time Andrew and Whitney Paint Together Night" when I was browsing the website, and I came across Andrew's Charleston Sunset Landscape.

I love the marshiness, and it's simplicity and calm. That's what I feel when I'm out on the water; tucked away somewhere at sunset.

While I am regretful for the opportunities I did not take in visiting Charleston when we lived in closer proximity, I am comforted by reminders of my time there. In this case, Andrew's capture of the low country sunset. I seem to have misplaced my rendition of the sunset on canvas. I asked Andrew to paint the heron for me because I didn't want to ruin it. I think we set it aside somewhere, moved 4 times, and I haven't laid my eyes on it since.

So until this beauty sells to the fellow Carolina lover, the jewel-tone watercolors of the low country sunset will get me through till my next awaited visit to our beloved landscape.

Well, that and Kim Graham's Instagram.

Whitney Lee

Author

Also in Blog

Best hostess gifts, trust me.

by Whitney Lee December 15, 2017 0 Comments

The Day James Stopped By

by Whitney Lee October 31, 2017 0 Comments

A Spirit of Service

by Whitney Lee September 26, 2017 0 Comments

BIO

Andrew Lee is an Alabama Maker whose art gives second life to the state's flora, fauna from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

Andrew G. Lee, b. 1982

Having lived in Tennessee, South Carolina, and Louisiana after college, Andrew has planted roots back in his hometown of Auburn, Alabama with his beautiful wife, Whitney, and two sons, John Henry and Matthew.

Andrew is a graduate of Auburn University with a degree in industrial design and has worked in a wide range of industries and design capacities in product design, graphic design, advertising and marketing.

Andrew works full-time for Auburn University, primarily digital media in web, graphic design, marketing and online education. Outside of his role at Auburn is where he is able to unplug and focus on what has come to define the Andrew Lee Design brand: the fine art, the handcrafted design in printmaking, woodworking and leather work. It's a creative balancing act--utilize cutting edge technology to produce dynamic content for online learning, then switch to the tradition and pace of the handcrafted that endures generation after generation.

Follow

     ✉

© 2018 Andrew Lee Design. All rights reserved. All content and images on this website are copyrighted and may not be downloaded or reproduced in any way. The use of any image or content from this site is strictly prohibited unless prior written permission from the artist is obtained. For more information about licensing imagery, please contact us.
Powered by Shopify