words: Stacy Huggins
published in Charleston Art Mag, Spring 2012 Issue

Artist Kevin LePrince has been enjoying himself a lot lately. He and gallery partner Rick Reinert recently celebrated their first year in business together on Lower King Street. He has also embarked on a new theme, which is; making him a better painter. Last, but certainly not least, he’s doing exactly what he loves.

In the late 90’s, LePrince began painting on Saturdays with local artist John Carroll Doyle. After 12 years in the financial world, he gave it all up to paint full time in 2004. The Wells Gallery brought him on for one show, a kind of ‘see how it goes’ duo show with photographer John Michiels called Brush and Lens. It went very well.

LePrince knew it would really work out as an artist a year or so later when he was on a trip to Taos, New Mexico. He pulled up the gallery’s website and saw that almost all of the 10 paintings he had given them before he left were sold.

LePrince, well known and loved for his impressionistic oils of wildlife and landscapes, particularly birds, has been traveling down a new path. In an effort to improve his landscapes, LePrince began painting in monochromatic tones to master value. “Color can be deceptive. It may look bright and cheerful, but not actually be bright,” he says. After doing 40 plus paintings in black and white, which he says has been a fun and educational experience, it is apparent he’s hitting a new high in his artwork.

Come by the gallery for a Piccolo Spoleto preview May 22 at Reinert LePrince Fine Art on King Street, and make sure you visit them at the Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition in Marion Square, May 25 – June 10, 2012!