A UNIQUE APPROACH TO TONALISM

Questioned by collectors or curious viewers of their work, artists can find themselves presented with teachable moments — for the inquisitors and the artists themselves. One such opportunity presented itself to South Carolina (by way of Rhode Island) artist Stephanie Marzella, when it was suggested that she paint fewer marsh scenes. As she set out to explain the whys and hows of her painting process, she also clarified something significant about her work.

You see, when Marzella moved from Providence to Charleston, she felt immediately at home in the swampy, gothic landscape, thanks to the region’s similarities with Rhode Island. “Both have a lot of marshes, but South Carolina’s Lowcountry has vast, open skies,” she says. This type of landscape suits the artist well, because she loves to showcase an abstract design in the sky, grounded by a bit of land.

So, as she explained to her