Make plans now to visit us on Thursday, October 13th for the Upper King Design and Discover walk. More than a dozen art and design businesses will be open until 8 p.m. We're just across the street from Circa Lighting - so stop in!

Obviously, as evidenced by the rabbits and mysterious gentlemen above, we have a treat for you today, boys and girls.

Vanessa Grebe is our studio tour this week. Her medium is oil on canvas and linen Of interest: She prefers Gamblin paints. "I love working in oil because of the richness of the paint. It is a bit more difficult to work with, but oil produces fantastic deep colors," Vanessa says.

Vanessa creates all of her paintings free hand (no grids). "I think they have a more authentic look when done freely. Besides my brushes I often use my father's old t-square to get straight lines right (when I want them to be straight - which I often don't)." We love that.

Vanessa finds inspiration in vintage found photos of ordinary people. "When I come across a cache of old photos in a bin in an antique store or thrift market I always find something that speaks to me. I love painting people and animals doing ordinary things and I will often throw in a whimsical twist. I often pause after working with a painting a while and let it tell me where to go. I love that "a-ha!" moment when it fits together," she says.

"This year I am exploring the use of monochromatic works with pops of color. I am injecting more of a story into my paintings...I feel they make people pause and reflect. I continue to work with vintage and nostalgic images. I like that my paintings make people remember a time in their lives or a special person," Vanessa says.

Vanessa's current work on display at Art Mecca reflects a light mood. "The paintings you see are rich in colors - I tend to use Norman Rockwell's palette. He used colors that today come across as vintage in feel and light. I think you see that in my work. My highlighted work at Mecca is Birds of A Feather, which is a great example of taking many old found photos, putting them together and then adding in color and whimsy," she says.

Vanessa is one of our artists who will be featured in our October Group Show. Come out and meet her, but if you like her work - don't wait to come in. They don't last long!

September is when Charleston goes from awesome to really awesome. Temperatures start to cool enough that you can start hanging around outside again, plus it's oyster season! Here are some of our favorite upcoming September events: