Bernie Horton

A native of rural North Carolina, Bernie Horton attended the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida. In 1989, he moved to Pawleys Island, SC, leaving a successful 28 year career in advertising. He began creating prints of his own, mainly antique golf images. The golf prints were so well received, they drew the attention of the largest print producer in America, Bruce McGaw Graphics, which marketed them worldwide. Now, anywhere you find golf, you find Bernie’s signature images.

He opened a location in Pawleys Island, The Bernie Horton Studio Gallery, selling his popular golf prints as well as original paintings. After 3 years of growing success, he opened the Bernie Horton Gallery in Charleston in 1997 on scenic Church Street, where his work was received with enthusiasm. Soon his art was selling into more than 40 states and numerous foreign countries.

After 8 years, Bernie conveyed the gallery to his brother, Mark Kelvin Horton, which now goes by the name Horton Hayes Fine Art. He reopened in Pawleys Island, in conjunction with Calk Havens Gallery, which features the work of Jim Calk and Betsy Havens of Georgetown, SC.

On February 25, 2009, he opened a new gallery in Charleston, SC at 43 Broad Street, which is now his primary location.

Bernie has studied and is accomplished in many different art mediums including charcoal drawing, watercolor, egg tempera, and acrylic. His medium now is exclusively oil. His subject matter has been as varied as nudes, portraits, still-lifes, rustic items and houses, antique golf and sports paraphernalia, and even abstracts. He finds abstract painting to be one of the most exhilarating and relaxing processes.

Living at the edge of the marsh, he paints fine art originals of the beauty of his surroundings. He is most recognized for his light-filled lowcountry landscapes. Showcasing the beauty of the marshes, beaches and people; he captures in his paintings the various moods and emotions of all the different seasons and times of day. He is intrigued by the pluff mud, the ever-changing colors of marsh grasses, and the egrets, herons and visiting waterfowl that frequent the marsh. He approaches each painting from an impressionistic standpoint, yet to the eye, they have a realistic quality because of his concentration on perspective, proportion and attention to detail.