Principle Gallery to Present Solo Exhibition by Carmen Drake

Principle Gallery Charleston will next month host a special exhibition featuring a new painting collection by contemporary impressionist artist Carmen Drake (right). This solo show will be on exhibit from September 2nd through 30th, 2022.

Drake says that she works almost exclusively from life, which stems from her classical training with teachers such as Paul S. Brown, Jeffery Mims, Colleen Barry, and Kamille Corry to name just a few. She works in her north light studio, the 1901 original homestead located on her farm in North Carolina, that is surrounded by antiques, flower gardens, farm animals and nature.

“Emotional connections are the basis for all of my work,” Drake said. “It’s captured moments that I experience while spending time in my gardens, taking in the sweet scents of the flowers, finding a sleeping bee tucked deep into a bloom, delighting in the passing of butterflies or getting lost in the reflections of a dew drop on a petal. Or perhaps it’s the captured moment when I find a young child’s shoes or a torn and tattered umbrella in a corner of an antique shop, and I wonder what stories could these forgotten items tell? This past year I have explored the art of portraiture. Here I find myself connecting to the nostalgic elegance of a young woman at a local frame shop, the sassy expression found in the eyes of a friend’s child and the humbleness of a young grocery clerk. I hope when the viewer visits the exhibition and looks at my paintings, they too can share in some of these quiet moments, have their imaginations stirred or connect through a muse’s expression.”

About Carmen Drake

Painter Carmen Drake (1964) was born in Lincoln, Maine and grew up in Meriden, Connecticut. 

Since childhood, she has had a passion for drawing and painting, winning numerous awards as a young artist.  In 1984 she attended the Paire College of Arts until she moved to North Carolina in 1986.  With a child on the way, she put her focus on family and filled any extra moments with creating decorative pieces and custom work for a boutique shop, Rosemary Etc. of Pinehurst, NC. In 2003 she decided to combine her love of art and antiques and opened C.R. Drake Mercantile, a shop specializing in primitive antiques and reproduction furniture, where she sold her painted pieces.  In 2008 she received the Special Operations Fund Scholarship making it possible for her to attend the Academy of Classical Design and study with D. Jeffrey Mims. After attending the school for nine months she became a student teacher, continuing her education at the atelier for nearly three years before studying under the direction of Paul S. Brown. During the summer of 2012, Carmen studied at the Grand Central Academy in New York City.

Carmen resides on a small farm in Carthage, North Carolina finding inspiration for her paintings by surrounding herself with antiques, her flower gardens, farm animals and nature. She operates Oak Hollow Studios out of the renovated 1901 original homestead to the property. Not only does the studio serve her for creating her paintings, she also offers lessons and hosts nationally known artists such as Robert Liberace, Colleen Barry, Katie Whipple, Michael Klein and Amaya Gurpide for workshops.

Carmen has exhibited her work at Ann Long Fine Art in Charleston, SC, East Oaks Studios in Raleigh, NC, Campbell House Gallery in Southern Pines, NC, Arcadia Contemporary Gallery in Pasadena, CA and Collins Galleries in Orleans, MA.

You can learn more at carmendrakefineart.com and principlegallery.com.

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