Walk into Hilton Head’s new Truffles Grill for mango chicken or chocolate peanut butter pie, and you instantly notice the large hand-painted photographs of South Carolina’s Low Country.
The 14 photos, taken and hand-painted by beall + thomas photography, set the visual tone for the upscale grill (the third Truffles Café location in South Carolina), which opened September 1. Both the walls and the menus feature versions of the images.
Depicting a broad diversity of Low Country life—from outdoor church gatherings to fish markets to vibrant marshlands—the photos range up to 30x36 in size. Running beneath each image is a series of smaller outtakes to add variety and visual excitement.
“The whole project was a year in the making,” explained Heather Anne Thomas, partner in beall + thomas photography. “We began by brainstorming images of the Low Country to determine our shot list. Then we spent 20 days shooting in two different seasons. All of us love traditional black-and-white images, and I started out as a painter, so the project was a great fit.”
Local artist Jonathan Howe completed the painting for beall + thomas.
Truffles Café includes three elegant yet friendly locations with cuisine that ranges from fresh local seafood to baby back ribs. Since 1983, the bistros have offered award-winning desserts (made daily on the premises) and more than 20 wines by the glass.
beall + thomas brings together two award-winning photographers who specialize in elegant cuisine, wine, interiors and portraiture. Among their clients are Ruby Tuesday, the Hendricks Furniture Group (parent company of Thomasville) and Blackberry Farm, the Tennessee inn that has won numerous honors from such publications as Wine Spectator and Bon Appetit. beall + thomas work has also appeared in Elle Decor, Traditional Home and Fast Company.
