The spark that ignited Charles Cashwell’s passion occurred at age 9, when he lived in Aiken, SC. Rather shy at the time, Cashwell was so intrigued by a neighbor’s art studio that he boldly knocked on her door and asked if she could teach him to paint.
Those classes proved to be the foundation for an ever evolving career in art.
“She would set up a still-life, and we would paint it, learning about composition, values, color theory, and drawing,” he said. “That’s how I paint today, except as you get older, you copy less and paint feelings more.”
But Cashwell had bigger ambitions.
He attended Ringling School of Art & Design in Sarasota, Florida.
After graduating, he started his career as an illustrator but soon broke into the portrait world.
He was adept at drawing the figure, so he decided to teach himself how to paint portraits.
Most of those clients were connected to Wall Street. Without ever advertising, Cashwell’s portraiture work remained steady throughout the South and Northeast for the next 16 years – until the financial collapse in 2008.
“You look at it and think ‘that’s a bummer,’ but it gave me a chance to slow down and do what I really wanted to try.”
Thus began his foray into Fine Art and Plein Air.
Once again, he taught himself, mastering the quickness needed to capture a moment in time before the mood and lighting changed.
“I try to capture that feeling when you glance at something and it catches the corner of your eye,” he says. His impressionistic images have garnered quite a following, earning him invitations and awards from various art communities.
“It has taken my entire career to get to this place, and it is a dream come true,”
When asked about the future, he declares, “More of the same — painting, painting, painting.”

AWARDS & ACCOLADES:
PLEIN AIR AWARDS:
DULUTH PAINT OUT 2017 – First Place
BLUE RIDGE PAINT OUT 2017- Second Place
DULUTH PAINT OUT-2018 – Third Place
OPEN AIR MERIWETHER 2019 – Purchase Award
OLMSTED QUICK DRAW PAINT OUT 2019 – First Place
GEORGIA COLORS 2018 – Second place, Peoples Choice
DULUTH PAINT OUT 2020 – First place, Quick Draw
SAUTEE PLEIN AIR 2020 – Second Place
ART LEAGUE OF HILTON HEAD BIENNALE 2021 – First Place (750 entries across the US)
SAUTEE PLEIN AIR 2021 – Second Place
NEW BERN PAINT OUT 2022 – Best of Oriental
Oceans Reef Art League Plein Air 2024 – Top seller
NEW BERN PAINT OUT 2023 – Best of Beaufort & Artists Choice-
Best Body of Work

EXHIBITIONS:
ERNEST GASPARD ADAC 2017
MACON ART ALLIANCE 2017
GILMER ARTS 2018-2019
OPEN AIR MERIWETHER 2018-2022
SOCIETY OF SEVEN 2020-2023
HILTON HEAD/BLUFFTON MONTHLY Featured Artist and Article
PAPSE – VENICE FL 2023
PLEIN AIR INTRUCTOR/CLASSES:
DULUTH, GA- 2017-2019
HILTON HEAD/BLUFFTON, SC- 2018
BLUE RIDGE, GEORGIA – 2020
SAUTEE, GA – 2020
GREAT BROOK GALLERY, New Vernon, New Jersey 2023-One Man Show

MEMBER OF PLEIN AIR SOCIETYS
SOCIETY OF SEVEN – GEORGIA
PAPSE – PLEIN AIR PAINTERS OF THE SOUTHEAST

CHARLES CASHWELL GALLERY WORK:
Mockingbird Gallery – Bend Oregon
Great Brook Gallery New Vernon, New Jersey