The rain came down and cooled down a hot and muggy night, but the heavy drops drove the easels and brushes off the lawn and under the covered porch. One, two, three. Three canvases displayed across the aged wooden boards as the giant Magnolia tree caught the summer deluge in its leaves. Tick, tick, tick sped up to pitter-patter, pitter-patter, pitter-patter as the drops fell harder and fatter in a true summer downpour.
The resident artists of Eight Legs Gallery didn’t seem to mind the weather, however. They worked amicably despite the cramped conditions of the veranda, visiting one another’s canvases with chattery banter. Guests occupied the bright wooden rocking chairs, pushing them to life with their quick feet. Children surrendered to the rain, running barefoot and drenched in the grass with heads tilted back in laughter.
As quickly as the cooler temperatures changed to clinging humidity, the pure white canvases changed to spreads of color. Oil paints filled the spaces with talented strokes, applied so skillfully that it looked effortless. It was only when the artist paused for a moment that a surprising image would reveal itself from the intentionally layered colors.
David Hunt, Belinda Muth and Kristin Mitchell channeled magic through their fingers on the cozy shelter of the porch. Like a sorcerer casting a spell, they moved their enchanted brushed across their canvas until each had completed their works of art. The results were three breathtaking mountain scapes, sucked directly from the imagination of the wand-wavers to stand in striking juxtaposition to the sticky southern surrounding in which they worked in.
As the sun sank lower in the August night sky, David Hunt, owner of Eight Legs Gallery and a man of jovial and kind character, gathered his smallest guests from the wet lawn to offer them a chance at collaborating with him on his piece. Few magicians will teach their secrets to others, but even fewer still who allow their wand into the hands of an amateur. Yet, Hunt ever so graciously allowed the animated little sprites to leave their handiwork on his art. It was incredible to see the patience and gentleness with which he guided his apprentices; not flinching a mite, as they fumbled across his carefully crafted picture.
The evening was sopped in the lighthearted giggles and good company of a late summer night. By the time the conversations had waned and the easels had completed paintings, the gallery was lit with a soft orange glow and the dusk had swallowed the grass and the giant Magnolia tree. It’s nights like this that contribute to the charm of a little corner of North Carolina that we call home. It’s nights like this that birth community, creativity, and companionship among our constituents. Its businesses like Eight Legs Gallery, and the ART BOX, run by people like Jane and David Hunt, and Kristin Mitchell, and supplied by talent like Belinda Muth that turn the quiet outskirts of Charlotte, far down the path of Highway 16, into a charming and coveted place to live and thrive.
