TEIL DUNCAN
Teil Duncan loves painting the human figure. She also loves Charleston’s beachy lifestyle. Her love for both join forces in her newest series of paintings, aptly titled Bask. Duncan has planned a very special, one-day only show on April 10, at Stems floral boutique in downtown Charleston, where these new works will be unveiled.
Duncan is a native of Columbus, Georgia. She attended Auburn University, where she graduated with a BA in Studio Art, with a focus on painting. Like most college graduates, Duncan has found that the learning process lasts long beyond the four years of academia. After graduation, she moved to Charleston and began the quest of what to do with a degree in art, which led her to Redux Contemporary Art Center.
At Redux, Duncan saw a group of her peers making art their career. Since that day, she’s been hard at work, painting daily in her studio at Redux, using her website and social media to promote her work. Her loose, slightly abstracted nude series, with large blocks of color framing a beautifully rendered figure, has been a staple for the young artist.
After a long day of painting, she would head to Folly Beach, where she found a whole arena of figure models. The dense display of patterns, from swimwear to beach blankets, umbrellas, coolers, and more, inspired her. The nude series has organically evolved into her beach series.
Duncan paints with a loose brushstroke, most often using acrylic on birch panel. She painted in oil for two solid years, but found the medium’s lengthy drying time restrictive. In early 2013, she transitioned to water-based paint, finding the quick drying time and forgiving nature to be well suited to her technique of layering colors.
With this new body of work, Duncan seeks to evolve her palette—“take it up a notch, while taking it down at the same time,” she says. She’s examining colors carefully. Do they make sense? Would I hang this in my own home? Would I wear those colors and patterns together? Her careful consideration demands more time, but it’s definitely worth it. See for yourself on April 10 at Stems, or any given day of the week at her studio at Redux!
words: Stacy Huggins
