In Bluffton, artistry takes many forms. For some, it is expressed on canvas; for others, it’s etched into the very walls of the Lowcountry. For Pierce Giltner, it’s both.
A self-taught artist with an eye for detail and a craftsman preserving centuries-old building traditions, Giltner embodies a rare fusion of creative worlds: painting vibrant coastal scenes while also constructing monumental architectural features out of tabby concrete, a historic material made from lime, water, and oyster shells.
“Tabby is my passion, but art is my love,” Giltner said. “Art is something I can keep doing forever.”
Pierce Giltner is photographed in his studio in Old Town Bluffton
Giltner’s earliest memories of art are as unconventional as his life’s path. Long before he was wielding brushes and hammers, he was experimenting with shampoo as paint. “I got in trouble for drawing with shampoo on my bedroom wall,” he said. “After that, my mom just gave me a marker and let me go at it.”
Born and raised in Chester, South Carolina, Giltner doodled through childhood but didn’t take art seriously until the early 2000s. At that time, he was in his early 20s, working with what he could afford. “I couldn’t buy canvas or expensive paints, so I used house paint and painted on wood and tin salvaged from old tenant houses in Chester County,” he said. “That’s where it started – folk art, using what was around me.”
By 2003, Giltner had moved to Bluffton and opened Gallery Without Walls, a modest space on Calhoun Street, near The Store. “This was before Bluffton’s big boom,” he said. “Locals would come by, we’d drink beer, hang out, and look at art. It was more about community than commerce back then.”
During those years, Giltner’s subject of choice and body of artwork was “Drack: Oysterman of the Lowcountry,” a third-generation local oysterman. “I painted him for years,” he said. Still, the practice honed his skill and sharpened his focus.
Eventually, he expanded his subjects, leaning into broader coastal imagery and venturing beyond the Lowcountry. From the shrimp boats of Bluffton to the balconies of Cusco, Peru, Giltner began documenting the essence of place.
“It’s called Coastal Sketcher” he said, referencing his evolving series of watercolors. “When I travel, whether it’s Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, or Florida, I’ll sketch and paint whatever catches my eye. A horse on a beach. A rustic balcony. A shrimp boat. It’s all about capturing the lifestyle of the coast.”
Although Giltner has explored oils and acrylics, he admits that watercolors captivate him most. “They’re so challenging. With oils, you’re in control. With watercolors, you have to let the water do the work, and I’m not naturally good at letting go,” he said. “It forces me to surrender. The water finds its way on the paper.”
The spontaneity of watercolor dovetails perfectly with his travel-based sketching practice. “When I’m painting on location – plein air style – I have to move quickly. It keeps things fresh and alive,” Giltner said.
On his fine art website, dpiercegiltner.com, his works reveal this balance: some pieces highly detailed, others loose and gestural.
Giltner works on a painting of Daddy’s Girls, a well known shrimp boat owned by Mayor Larry Toomer
Rustic Installations: Reviving Tabby
As much as painting defines him, Giltner’s parallel career as founder of Rustic Installations is equally remarkable. The company, based in Bluffton, specializes in designing and installing fireplaces, walls, planters, and architectural features made from tabby concrete – a material dating back to Spanish settlers and later popularized in the coastal South.
Tabby is often confused with stucco, but Giltner is quick to clarify the difference. “Stucco just embeds shells on the surface. Real tabby is a cast mixture of lime, water, and oyster shells and compacted – exactly as it was done centuries ago. It’s labor-intensive and rare,” he said.
Through Rustic Installations, Giltner has created installations across the country and beyond. From massive columns in South Florida to a wine cabinet on Kiawah Island, his work is in demand worldwide. Yet he insists that the process remains deeply artisanal. “Clients don’t just want the product, they want the artist,” he said. “It’s an art form in itself.”
The results speak for themselves. On rusticinstallations.com, his portfolio includes towering fireplaces, intricate planters, and even lamps – each piece a modern echo of a building practice that once defined the Lowcountry landscape.
Much of Giltner’s ability to handle the grueling demands of tabby work comes from his 33-year background in construction, which he credits for instilling the work ethic that drives both his building projects and his art.
“I started working in construction at age 15, doing manual labor,” he said. “Later I moved into carpentry and more advanced trades. Without those years, I wouldn’t have the work ethic or discipline to perform tabby at the level I do today.”
This blend of blue-collar grit and creative sensibility is evident in both his art and his installations. “Construction taught me patience, perseverance, and attention to detail,” Giltner said. “All of those things come through when I’m painting or when I’m creating the tabby.”
Despite his success, Giltner admits the physical demands of tabby work are immense. “I’ve been in construction for 33 years, and I’m burned out on that part of it,” he said. “Tabby is beautiful but extremely labor-intensive. That’s why I’m shifting my focus more toward painting.”
Still, he isn’t ready to abandon tabby entirely. With projects booked years in advance, Rustic Installations continues to thrive. But Giltner sees a time when his easel might take precedence over hammers and molds. “Art is sustainable for life,” he said. “Tabby isn’t.”
What: The Artwork of D. Pierce Giltner
When: 5-9 p.m. Friday, December 12
Where: Gallery in the Alley, Bluffton
Contact: DPGiltner@gmail.com
(843) 338-7267
Toward December: A Solo Show
This year marks an important turning point. In December, Giltner will open his Bluffton gallery to showcase a body of work he has been quietly building for more than three years. “It’s going to be everything – watercolors, older works I’ve held onto, and a new body of work which will be released at the show,” he said. “I want people to see the full scope.”
The opening night promises to be a community affair, with hors d’oeuvres, live music, and an intimate chance to engage with the artist himself. Afterward, the gallery will be open either by appointment or limited hours. “It’s tough to staff a gallery five days a week, but I love engaging with people,” he said.
The show, Giltner hopes, will be the launchpad for the next phase of his career: applying to juried exhibitions, courting galleries, and even aiming for Art Basel. “That’s the goal,” he said. “To bring Bluffton art into an international conversation.”
Whether through tabby installations or watercolor sketches, Giltner’s work reflects a reverence for place, particularly the Lowcountry. The tabby whispers the region’s history, while his shrimp boats and coastal scenes celebrate its living culture.
“I’ve always been creating,” he said. “But now I want to focus on sharing more widely.”
As Bluffton continues to grow and evolve, Giltner stands as both preservationist and innovator, an artist whose shampoo-on-the-wall beginnings have blossomed into a career bridging centuries of tradition with the immediacy of watercolor brushstrokes. His December show is poised not just as a local event, but as a declaration: This is an artist ready for the world stage.
To learn more, visit dpiercegiltner.com.
