27 Feb Meet The Artist: Edith McBee Hardaway
Q: Explain the process you go through for your work. What draws you to the mediums you 
choose?
My work is realistic abstract. I enjoy the excitement of pouring paint on canvas or paper and using whatever is at hand to produce wonderful textures and forms. I use any medium necessary to get the desired result: plastic wrap, tissues, sand, glass, oil paint, acrylics, charcoal, and ink. I even use natural items like ferns, leaves, tree bark, or grass. I never know what I will end up with; I let the paint guide me. In fact, I find that if I try to control the piece, I am usually disappointed.
Q: What peaked your interest in art?
I come from a family of artists. My father, Roy McBee Smith, taught all 6 of us the art basics. We entered the county fair art shows and painted around the dining room table. There was always “art stuff” around. My sister Ella McBee Cart is a professional artist in Georgia. My mother does watercolor and pastels; a younger brother paints in oils.
Q: How would you describe your style of art?
My work is realistic abstract. My natural tendency is to see things others may miss, to discover unconventional possibilities in the conventional.
Q: Where do you gather most of the inspiration for your work?
I am deeply influenced by my surroundings. I am an Upstate artist of South Carolina, so the mountains and scenes of the Piedmont are a tremendous influence. I love Greenville and with its constantly changing skyline, the history and energy of this southern city is always an inspiration.
Q: What’s your favorite piece of your own work?
I have loved this Textile Series. I am continuing to paint the Textile Mills and the people that earned their living in them. My favorite is always the one I am working on.
Q: What’s an interesting fact about you or your work?
I never know what a painting will look like when I start. I pour the background first and then see the painting in the textures of the poured paint.
Q: What famous artist do you most admire?
Jackson Pollock.
To learn more about Edith Hardaway visit her website
Edith’s art will be on display at the Main Street Real Estate Gallery from January 1-March 31.
