Charleston Living Magazine Nov-Dec 2021

BUZZ | ART SEEN
(Above): Framed Flowers, 12.5x15.5 watercolor on arches paper. Below: “Brave Spirit” 11x14 watercolor, acrylic, and goldleaf on paper.
along with her sisters and first cousins, were
heir to Mary Boykin Chestnut’s papers and
her famous Civil War diary, which is now at
the University of South Carolina and won the
Pulitzer Prize for History in 1982. My grandmother
went to Ashley Hall with Barbara Bush,
and my mother was the film commissioner of
South Carolina and spent a lot of time recruiting
films to Charleston and shutting down
streets for production of films like The Prince
of Tides, Rich in Love, The Patriot, Die Hard, and
Ace Ventura 2. I was always on set in Charleston
watching, so it was a creative place for me from
a young age. I was born and raised in Columbia
and attended the College of Charleston, where
I took several art classes on campus. I remember
walking through The Cistern hauling canvases
and dropping paintbrushes on my way to
my studio art classes.”
Understandably, Charleston has influenced
her work in subtle ways.
“I love the deep-rooted history, beautiful
pastel houses on palmetto tree-lined
cobblestone streets, and flowers that bloom
year ‘round,” she says. “It’s almost tangible.
The church steeples were one of my favorite
things I painted in college. Charleston historic
colonial, Georgian, and neoclassical architecture
transport you to a different time and
place. Charleston has such a rich culture and
it truly is a city of details, which is a lost art in
itself. Charleston is an artist’s muse.” •
Kvasnicka’s work is represented at the Scouted
Studio in Charleston as well various galleries
and shops along the East Coast. Her work is
available online at www.katekoriginalart.com
or follow her Instagram @katekoriginalart.
44 | CharlestonLivingMag.com