"Boathouse - Poinsett State Park" by Brenda Hofreiter

This painting was created during my Artist-In-Residence stay at Poinsett State Park in Wedgefield, South Carolina in May, 2008. I created several paintings during my week long stay and this one was chosen for the State Park's permanent collection.

The park is located where the midland sand hills meet the coastal plains. After driving through the coastal flatlands, it was quite a surprise to come upon Poinsett Park and drive through it's hilly terrain. The park has 15 miles of trails and during my stay; I had the pleasure of hiking Coquina Trail that goes around Old Levi Mill Lake and the Hilltop Trail that climbs up through the hills and along Shanks Creek. Both were truly pleasant experiences that brought back many wonderful memories of hiking in the mountains with my dad as a kid. Another of my favorite beautiful spots in the park can be found at Overlook Shelter. From its hilltop vantage point, you can view the distant plains and feel the gentle breeze as you picnic. It was where I painted my first painting of the park.

Poinsett State Park has a long and interesting history. The park was constructed by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) in 1935 and opened to the public in 1936. It was named after Joel Robert Poinsett, a famous native Charlestonian who among his many other distinguished accomplishments, brought back from Mexico the Christmas Poinsettia which was also named after him. The CCC built the park facilities out of the native porous shell stone called Coquina. The retaining wall around the boathouse in my painting above is built out of this rock, and it remains in evidence in the carefully preserved buildings, shelters and foot bridges throughout the park. My favorite examples of these stones can be found in the remains of an old mill, waterfall and spillway, which were the subjects of other paintings I created during my stay in the park.

I would like to extend my thanks to Thomas Zabo McCants, Park Manager and Hardy Lee Collier, Jr., Ranger I at Poinsett State Park for making my stay so thoroughly enjoyable.