Capturing the Spirits
by Gail Lang

Madeline Carol is a South Carolina artist adapt at capturing the essence of spirits in her paintings. This unique talent helped her find her place in life. The people of the South Carolina Lowcountry love her romantic images that so wonderfully capture the spirits of the past. Each painting tells a unique story, each captures a unique spirit of the region.

After a lifetime of extensive travel, Madeline settled in the historic city of Charleston, South Carolina, recognizing its endless supply of material and ideas. She walks the streets looking at the old lampposts and wrought iron gates, envisioning the spirits that a century before once walked the same cobblestone streets. Charleston, the holy city blessed by the angels and filled with an abundance of charm and romance, encourages the artist's soul.

Madeline's ghostly images weren't part of her earlier paintings. She began, as other artists, searching for the key that would unlock her fingers, the one element in life that would touch her and unleash the talent yearning to come out. She studied under many artists and learned many styles. She even worked for the Charleston Naval Shipyard creating a variety of drawings and paintings on demand. This creativity on request helped build her talent and stamina. Even though this wasn't art as she wanted to express it, it gave her the chance to learn, grow, and have art in her life in some way. Still deep down she knew somehow she would find her key.

Madeline was born in Douglas, Arizona on April 15, 1944. Her father's service in the Air Force meant she traveled a lot as a child. Her familymoved from Arizona to California to Tennessee to Alaska and finally out of the states to England. Each new place left its mark in her memories and on her life, but the move to England was the turning point that lead her to art. While stationed at Bentwaters Air Force Base in England, herfamily lived in one of the several nearby castles that had been sectioned into housing for the military in the area. She felt lucky to have spenther early teens growing up in an English castle. With so much beauty and history surrounding her, art became a natural part of her life. When hermother began taking art lessons, Madeline modeled for many of the classes, eventually taking art classes of her own.

When Madeline moved to Charleston, she fell completely in love with the city because it was so full of romance, charm and beauty. Every place she turned there were buildings and scenes to capture on canvas. She spent much of her free time painting Charleston as many other artists had before her. She painted images of Rainbow Row, Hampton Park, Two Meeting Street Inn, White Point Garden Gazebo, and other Charleston landmarks. Even though she was a talented artist and people loved her work, her paintings were not particularly unique and the income was not enough to sustain her. So she held her day job, and painted hour after hour in the evenings and on weekends, devoting her life to her love, determined someday her art would sustain her.

As her devotion to her art grew, so did her talents, and destiny began to work in her favor. Throughout history great artists have been "born" by tragedy and pain. Madeline suffered from a twofold pain that shaped her into the artist she is today. It wasn't just the normal pain of failed love, although that played a strong hand. Mother Nature contributed to her pain as well. Fate dealt her the pain that stirred her soul.

Madeline suffered through a painful divorce and devoted her entire life to art. She painted for the Navy by day and came home to paint from her soul by night. She fervently painted the city of Charleston on canvas. All the hours with the brushes, paint and canvas still didn't quiet her pain and yearning. Her final painting in this period of searching was "The Atlantic House". It went to print in 1989. Then came the change.

With great fury and rage Hurricane Hugo bore down on Charleston, hitting land on September 21, 1989. Along with all Charlestonians, Madeline anxiously waited, watching as it approached, a category four hurricane headed straight for the holy city of Charleston! The storm hit with the fury of an enraged god, its eye passing over the Charleston area, ravishing the coast of South Carolina, plowing through the beautiful city of Charleston, and leaving destruction in its path throughout the state. Madeline had no way of knowing the change it would bring to her life.

After the storm past, Madeline picked up the pieces and got on with her life. The emotional drain of surviving such a storm and its aftermath was unimaginable. She began looking around, noting the damage, and looking at her beautiful city. So much destruction, so much gone forever. Among other things, the storm had completely washed away the Atlantic House, the site she had just painted. She did not realize it at the time, but the pain that gripped her soul then actually set it free. She picked up brushes, paint and canvas again, but this time it was not to paint the historic sites. This time it was to paint the pain and memories of what was lost. Her brushes created the beachfront and the ocean, and her soul painted the memories of the Atlantic House lost in the storm. This painting would change her life; this painting freed her soul.

Prints of "The Atlantic House" sold almost as quickly as they hit the street, and Madeline realized that in her pain she had reached out and touched the pain of others. They too envisioned the memories of what had been lost, and they cherished her prints. She painted more buildings and sites wiped away by the hurricane, and they too sold almost as quickly as she printed them. She had found the key and was began to realize what she wanted to do.

The pain inside eased, and the desire to paint what had been destroyed by the storm diminished. Yet, the good feeling Madeline got from capturing the memories was something she wanted to continue. Then it began, the final change that turned her work to its present focus. She thought about the Battery and envisioned all the people who had walked along the street over the centuries. She realized it wasn't the hurricane's destruction that had come out in her canvas, but the memories of what used to be. Her soul began to paint again. This she did not just paint the Battery. She continued dreaming of those who had walked down that road, painting them as ghostly images, memories of spirits caught forever on canvas.

Madeline now felt peaceful and contented. Initially, she did not realize it, but this was what she had been searching for all along. It was years later before she stepped back, looked at her life, and realized she had finally reached her goal. Not only was her art fully supporting her, but her soul was at peace because her art came from there and not just her hands.

As we stood talking in her son's art gallery, Madeline realized the worst things in life often bring about the best things. This has been so true in her life, as well as in others, but do they ever realized it? Probably not. So many people are so caught up in pain they cannot look beyond it to see the rainbow when it comes.As we talked, her face glowed. A new vision took hold of her soul, a vision of a woman clutching a piece of paper bearing unknown tragic news that leaves her feeling totally devastated, yet, in the window behind her is a rainbow.... showing there is good to come from this bad. She has only to get through and find it. I think this will be a lovely painting straight from Madeline's soul, one that I personally would like to own because my worst pain has also brought about my most cherished treasures and moments.

Madeline Carol Art Gallery