"Dueling Studios: Two Friends Feature Their Favorites -€“ Flora & Fauna"€ is the name of the next Beaufort Art Association (BAA) show, featuring the artwork of local artists Marilee Sartori and Dusty Conner. The show opens August 27^th and runs through October 29^th.

An opening reception with the artists will be held on Friday, September 1st, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the BAA Gallery at 913 Bay Street in Beaufort. The public is invited to join in for a fabulous evening of friends, frivolity, food and fun art. Also on exhibit will be the artwork of other local artists who are members of the Gallery.

Marilee Sartori, whose mother was a noted Kentucky artist, has had no formal training. After being sent to several schools, her mother, Nell, was told to save her money; her daughter was not an artist. As a result, her training came from watching her mother. In later years, Marilee dabbled in paint to help a friend, and her painting career started in the early 1990€™s. Acrylics remain her favorite medium, with occasional mixed media thrown in for some of her whimsical paintings.

Dusty Conner is a self-taught painter who started painting in his early teens. After years of dabbling in painting, he has expertly settled into capturing nature's beauty with flowers, fruits and nature scenes. Having tried many different media, acrylics remain his favorite. Recently retired from heading the Department of Cosmetology at the Technical College of the Lowcountry, Dusty hopes to devote full time to pursuing his art career.

Chartered in 1957, the Beaufort Art Association is a tax-exempt membership organization. Currently, about 175 local artists belong, with about 65 of them exhibiting their work in the Gallery. To find out more, go to www.beaufortartassociation.com, or call (843-521-4444.