In Common offers a delightful glimpse at each artist’s style as they approach some of the same compositions, showing their unique, individual perspective. At each end of their style spectrum, their painterly interests begin to gravitate toward what they share in common: Landscape and Still Life Painting.  The show will be on display for the month of November.

Mary Hoffman
Since the age of three, Mary L. Hoffman has been drawing and painting and knew without a doubt that when she grew up she’d be a professional artist.
As her artistic skills developed over the years, Mary became best known for her portraiture art.  Portrait commissions helped finance her college studies at The Cleveland Institute of Art in Cleveland, Ohio where she earned her BFA in 1989.
For the past 20 years, CEO’s, universities, and collectors from all over the world have commissioned Mary for her elegant oil paintings and charcoal portraiture.
Some of her well-known portrait clients include the University of Dayton, actress and model Andie MacDowell, and NHL hockey legend Mark Messier.

Madeline Dukes
A South Carolina native and Charleston area resident, Madeline Dukes, studied studio art and political science at Winthrop University. Dukes’ work has been selected for several juried group and solo shows at museums and cultural centers in North and South Carolina, including the Etherredge Gallery at University of South Carolina-Aiken, Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Juried Art Exhibition, Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, the Spartanburg Museum of Art, Lincoln County Museum, Sumter Museum of Art, McElvey Center, Mooresville Art Center, Pickens County Museum, the Rauch Gallery at Gaston College, and a traveling show with the South Carolina State Museum.  Her work has also been featured in Fine Art Connoisseur and can be found in private and corporate collections throughout the U.S.
Landscapes, “nature portraits,” and the figure are the subjects of her paintings. Although Dukes completes most work within her studio, she does employ an interactive process of observation in nature to capture color, form, and, most importantly, light. For her, this is where the painting begins – outside or from the live model. A connection with the subject must happen. Once this connection is made, she sketches, paints, photographs, and makes notes of her experiences. While some work is completed on location, she usually brings these observations into the “indoor” studio.