Mediums - watercolor, oil, acrylic, digital, jewelry

Artist's Statement -Charleston born Gertrude Palmer had the run of the art department at Ashley Hall during the 1950 summers, where grandmother, Geraldine Hendricks was resident dean. The artist reminisces; "I can still remember the dusty rays of light filtering through the windows of my new found paradise where all of my troubles left me at the door. This began my life as an escape artist". Celebrated by her contemporaries, as a world class talent, Gertrude's studies of the figure, fresh plein aire paintings and unique one of a kind jewelry and abstracts illustrate her unique vision and wide open expression regardless of genre. www.gertsart.com

Biography - Born Gertrude Langston Hendricks, October 4, 1951, Charleston SC. USA. Father Lawrence Edward Hendricks(born Charleston, SC, 1925) was Deputy Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Harbor Master & Commodore, Gibson Island. Mother, Alpha Balti Langston encouraged "Trudy" to paint, who with her 2 brothers Larry junior and Wyatt Irving & 2 sisters Cecila Sanders & Geraldine Louise, grew up in variety of East Coast locations, moving often to accomodate her father's rapid advancement, ending up in suburban Chicago Winnetka. At the Chicago Museum of Art, Gertrude was first exposed to the world of international Art. At Neu trier East High school, Gertrude utilized an exceptional art department where teacher, C. Lanvin taught her stone lithography. By the time she graduated in 1969, the family fractured with her parents divorce. Sister Geraldine became a scenic and interior designer in Atlanta (Southern Accents) and Gertrude designed clothing on the west coast (In Vivo, Eugene, Oregon), as well as spot illustrated for newspaper, "Willamette Valley Observor". She received a BS with a major in Fine Art while studying Litography under Lyle Ma Tousche and creative writting with US Poet Lauriat, Lawson Inada in Ashland, Oregon. She studied watercolor with Milton Zorne and married her first husband, becoming Gertrude Hendricks Gazurian. The artist abandoned printmaking and spent the next three decades painting plein aire watercolors and the figure. During this time, she was mother to Jamal Seligman George, Nathan Kvel and Jacob Raffi Gazurian. She opened her first gallery Gert's Werks in Westminster, MD. After 17 years of marital strife and obstruction, she left John Gazurian, who felt her duties as wife and mother superceded Gertrude's obsession for art, she returned to Savannah where she opened a second gallery, Chez Moi , and gave her attention to painting and renovating the beach cottage and gallery on Tybee Island. She taught art and exibited in Savannah, Ga where she found a wealth of visual stimulation and many kindred spirits. Shortly after her return to southern US, she resumed relations with an old friend, Stephen Dana Palmer, an artist and son of Coca Cola Illustrator, cartoonist and jazz clarinetist, Alan Palmer (founder of the Red Piano Gallery on Hilton head Island). Dana constructed Gertrude's first large canvas and encouraged her to paint abstracts. This was the period which bore "Patination", Grapelli I & II, April in Paris and led to her departure of the literal world to painting evolutionary works in the early 1980's. Gertrude and Dana married and Gertrude became Gertrude Hendricks Palmer. Her large watercolor "Rhodi" was chosen to tour the state of South Carolina as part of an annual exibition, and her abstract "Grapelli I" was a finalist in the Hilton Head Internation Art competition featured at the Walter Greer memorial Gallery. Her mother's health problems impeled Gertrude to Tallahasse where she met Paul Tamanian who admired her abstracts and encouraged her to paint more. A year later, Dana joined her, and she will open her third gallery, Gert's Werks in Railroad Square in mid August, 2008.

Gallery Affiliations - Gert's Werks Railroad Square Tallahassee, FL. 850 524 5521 Hamilton Inn, 29 William Pope Road Bluffton, SC. 843 705 9000

Exhibitions - In Vivo Design Award 1975 University of Oregon,Eugene 1978 Southern Oregon State College John Humbolt Dickey Scholarship 1980 & 82 Johns Hopkins Science & Space Center, Baltimore, MD 1984 Baltimore Commerce Center the Artist's Gallery, Frederick, Maryland 1985 Tybee Island Art Assoc 1987 Tybee Festival of the Arts 1988, Third place : " Savannah Rows" Women's Works, Savannah, GA 1990 Beaufort Art Association 1992 South Carolina Watercolor Assoc. 1993 Traveling Exhibit Hilton Head Island International Artist Competition Walter Greer Gallery 1998 Eusebi and Colli Gallery Austen, TX 1999 Nomads Art Gallery Tallahassee, FL 2000 Gerts Werks Tallahassee, FL 2008