Outer Banks Art: Come and Discover What the Outer Banks Inspires
I asked Kimmie Robertson to write about Outer Banks Art. I had the good fortune to meet Kimmie Robertson during our first trip to Salvo after our house was built. There was an art gallery at the end of our street called
Pea Island Art Gallery.
I am not much of an "art"” person, but Janet and I were intrigued by some of the things we saw outside the store. Perhaps the only thing more intriguing than the art was the owner of the store, Kimmie Robertson, a vivacious personality who clearly had a passion for what she is doing. If you are on Hatteras Island, make sure you visit the Pea Island Art Gallery. If for nothing else, meeting Kimmie will be worth the trip … and the Outer Banks art is pretty good, too.
In 1987 I had the good fortune of visiting the Outer Banks and discovering Hatteras Island. For me it was instant connection and a deep knowing that I wanted to be here. It was a raw closeness to nature that I had never quite experienced. A beautiful and passionate landscape but tough and unpredictable, a wildness and quietness that was indescribable. A paradox, I was enchanted.
It took me a while but the meandering of my life eventually unfolded my desire to be here and I found myself living in the tiny village of Salvo NC on Hatteras Island. Much to my surprise, I discovered I was an artist and had met and befriended a large community of artists who had made their way to live on the Outer Banks. As I would come to discover, the passionate thread of the Outer Banks runs deeply through every one of us. It is an incredible community, one that sends it’s sparks of creativity flying in all forms and directions! It is one of the most talented, diverse and cooperative groups of artists I have ever encountered.
Meeting these folks and the others I had met along my way doing art shows inspired me to want to share what they were up to so I decided to build myself a home and make a place within it where people could come to learn about and explore creativity in the form of 2 and 3 dimensional art.
The Outer Banks is abundant with art galleries and rightfully so as the magnetism of this place begets a fountain of creativity. I now own and operate Pea Island Art Gallery which represents the works of over 100 local and regional artists and recently 2 international artists. Some of the folks are well known and highly awarded and others are quietly, sneakily, hiding behind the auspices of mother, teacher, surfer, husband, metrologist. (Yes, we have a metrologist in our midst.) The Outer Banks art works are done by family and friends and each person has a unique way of expressing themselves. Some even work in more than one medium and I am surprised by their diversity of creations.
If you are anything like me, I love to gallery hop and check out what people are up to. I am forever astounded by the creations folks come up with. If you are in the area and are interested in perusing the local Outer Banks art galleries, be sure to stop in and pick up a brochure with a list and directions to many of the studios and galleries in the Outer Banks. I also recommend keeping an eye out for The Island Breeze, which is a Hatteras Island Community Newspaper, it lists events and features artists of all kinds on Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands.
My focus is on 2 and 3 dimensions art forms but the area boasts a wide variety of performing arts as well. There is an abundance of local musicians like Molasses Creek from Ocracoke and renowned theatrical performances like The Lost Colony in Manteo. Whatever form of the arts you may be interested in exploring, there are many cool things worth checking out while you are in town! And best of all, it’s all laid back and casual, so you can wear your flip flops. Sweet! :)
