Art Central Gallery’s August “Artist of the Month” is Detta Cutting Zimmerman.

Q: Detta, you always give us a fresh outlook on whatever it is you’re painting. Still life’s aren’t “still” with your touch applied . . . they seem to have a life and movement of their own. When you interject local scenery into your still life’s, we feel like we’re being treated to twice the treat. Tell us about your August series entitled “Lowcountry Churches.”
DCZ: I’ve painted Charleston churches many times, so I thought it was time to paint some Summerville ones. Every church has its own look . . . like a personality.
Q: How’d you get that quirky style of painting that makes your work so recognizable?
DCZ: I drew with ink for 20 years, but always felt like my paintings were “hit or miss.” I spent seven years taking life drawing classes, learning to draw fast – so when I started painting again, I said to myself “If you paint fast, you include more of yourself in the painting.” That’s become my personal style.
Q: Give me three words that describe your art.
DCZ: Bright, straightforward, and fun.
Q: When did you move to Summerville?
DCZ: Back in July 1984, my husband, Delbert, was transferred here. I was a senior at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I knew it would be different for me, so I made myself think positive thoughts . . . and it worked because I really like it here.
Q: Did anyone in your family paint before you?
DCZ: One cousin, who lived in Minnesota, won first place at the Minnesota State Fair. And another cousin, Elouise Wilken, drew all those Golden Books. When I was a kid, my mother would buy them and tell me proudly each time that she was our cousin.
Q: I know you got your BFA a little later in life . . . what made you decide to go back to school?
DCZ: In December 1984 I received my BFA. I was 39. It all started because about four years before that, Delb and I went to Taos, N.M. for a vacation and we went into a gallery. There was this wonderful etching by Gene Kloss! I had to have it! I dragged Delb around the block three times and, finally, we bought it. The more I looked at it, the more I thought “I can do that.” Then I found out you had to go to college to learn etching (in Omaha anyway). The longer I was there, the more I thought “they aren’t any smarter than I am” so I had it switched to credit and started full time after that. When Delb was transferred, I went to the College of Charleston for two semesters, then I had to go back to finish in Omaha.
Q: How much time do you get to devote to your art on a weekly basis?
DCZ: I try to paint three days a week for sure, and when I sit at the Gallery, I bring my paints.
Q: Have you ever painted anything controversial?
DCZ: Yes, I did (it’s upstairs in the attic!)
Q: What inspires you to create?
DCZ: I’ve trained myself to always keep a lookout. I take lots of pictures. When I go through a dry spell, I go to a museum or tour the galleries and then I’m saying to myself “I could do that” and I go home all fired up again!

To see Zimmerman’s art including her new series entitled “Lowcountry Churches,” please visit Art Central Gallery, 130 (Short) Central Ave., Summerville, 871-0297. For additional examples of her art, visit www.dettacuttingzimmerman.com or the gallery’s website at www.artcgalleryltd.com.