Utilizing the strengths she gained teaching high school, Patricia Huff has created a name for herself as an art teacher in Kiawah Island, and her gallery has become a showroom for the burgeoning talents of her students.
A painter herself, Huff was artistic as a child and was encouraged by her mother, who made sure to keep her well equipped with art supplies. As creative as she was, however, Huff lost confidence in herself during her teenaged years until she met a fellow student at Georgia State University who, despite his severe cerebral palsy, was pursuing painting. After that, Huff’s desire to paint was reignited, and she began taking workshops and even studied abroad in Italy. Inspired by the Greek and Roman art and architecture that surrounded her, Huff’s passion for painting intensified even more, and she began a tireless quest to learn and refine her techniques. “You never stop learning as an artist,” says Huff. “It’s a constant process of learning new things, growing and changing.”
Professionally, Huff did not pursue art as a career until later in life, after seven years of teaching economics, history and political science to high school students and working in the real estate industry. The Atlanta native was also highly active with volunteering, serving on the board of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Designer Showhouse for a number of years in addition to filling the role of chairman for one year, as well as working with many other organizations and earning the Leadership Sandy Springs award. After retiring, she established her own gallery in 2015, where she began offering art classes. Moving to Freshfield Village in Kiawah Island in 2020, Patricia Reno Huff Gallery & Art Studio continued to be a learning center for those who aspired to become artists, giving them both a place to hone their abilities as well as an entry into the public arena, and now continues in her studio. “It’s intimidating to expose yourself to the public eye,” Huff says. “The work my students create and then choose to display is a very personal thing for them. I love being part of that and seeing them learn and find their style as painters.”
As an art instructor, Huff has had to become adept at many different styles and techniques, as her students all have individual styles and very unique personalities. “I need to be adaptive to their needs so that I can give them the tools they need to develop—including the fundamental background in drawing and composition,” says Huff. “I love exploring different styles in my own work, as well.”
