Sumter Gallery of Art, Council of Garden Clubs of Sumter present 'Bathed in Light - The Mary Hinson Flower Show' featuring the paintings of Charles Basham

Sumter County Gallery of Art, the Council of Garden Clubs of Sumter and the Deane and Roger Ackerman Family Fund are pleased to present Sumter's first exhibition-based flower show: "Bathed in Light, The Mary Hinson Flower Show," featuring the breathtaking landscapes of Ohio-based artist Charles Basham, on Friday, April 12, from 6 to 8 p.m. It will be an evening of stunning beauty with 16 regional floral designers responding to Basham's paintings in the Ackerman Gallery. This will be a judged flower show. Delicious food will be created by Crawford Pressley and Loosh Culinaire (who cooks for S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster), with Twist bartending. An original Stephen Chesley painting, "Clouds, Twilight," will be raffled.

Basham is attuned to the subtle changes in weather and atmosphere in his pastels and oil paintings. The energy and impact of light are realized in harmonized color whose saturation and temperature have been pushed and raised beyond previous limits. In doing so, he has captured dramatic and compelling moments of morning and evening light over the farmlands of the Midwest and the marshes and beaches of the Lowcountry in South Carolina. Basham received his B.F.A. and M.F.A. from Kent State University in his native state of Ohio, where he still resides on the family farm where he grew up. He has been making art for 30 years and as a result has enjoyed much acclaim for his visually stimulating and emotionally charged landscapes.

Sumter County Gallery of Art Director Karen Watson notes that the "Bathed in Light" team searched for just the right artist to provide the "creative canvas" for the floral designers to respond to. She thinks the Sumter audience, with their reverence for the land, will gravitate to Basham's work. SCGA worked closely with Jerald Melberg Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina - one of the premier galleries in the Southeast - to bring the art of Basham to Sumter. Jerald and Mary Melberg and their team were a dream to work with. In the Levi-Barnett gallery, SCGA is presenting "Mildred and Elizabeth," featuring the paintings of Sumter artists Mildred Moffatt White and Elizabeth W. White. Many Sumterites took art lessons from White when the gallery was on North Main Street. We are excited to present the beautiful paintings of two of Sumter's finest artists.

The floral designs and horticultural entries in the Patriot Hall area will only be available for public viewing on Saturday, April 13, and Sunday, April 14, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. because as cut flowers tend to do, they wilt and die.

Another flower show-related event will be a talk and book signing by Jenks Farmer in the Booth Room of Patriot Hall on Saturday, April 13, from 1 to 3 p.m. - "Garden Disruptors: New Plants, New Styles and New Attitudes for Southern Landscapes." Farmer was one of the pioneering horticulturists who designed Riverbanks Botanical Gardens and Moore Farms Botanical Garden in Lake City. It will be an interesting and lively discussion for the many avid gardeners in Sumter.

Watson further notes that 90% of what we do in our community is free - from admission to our off-site community partnerships. We are committed to making creative opportunities and art accessible to all in our community. This elegant event is unique for Sumter and a significant outlay for the gallery. The SCGA and Council of Garden Clubs of Sumter have worked hard to make this exhibition-based flower show a reality. We hope your interest will be sparked and you will purchase tickets and support the Sumter County Gallery of Art.

This special event would not be possible without the significant support of our community sponsors, first and foremost, The Deane and Roger Ackerman Family Fund, which was the result of Roger Ackerman's innovative ideas, especially for his beloved Sumter Gallery of Art, Thompson Turner Construction Group, Bank of Clarendon, Dr. Deanne and Elielson Messais, Patricia and Michael Fernandez, Elizabeth Britton, The Carson Family, Mrs. Wendell Levi and Jay Schwartz.

The gallery is at 200 Hasel St. in Sumter.

To purchase tickets, visit sumtergallery.com/bathed-in-light or call (803) 775-0543.