As with all the Lowcountry, visual artists are inexorably drawn to this area. Despite the wealth apparent in some quarters here, there’s no free-standing art museum in the area, that role being filled by dozens of independent galleries.

My favorite gallery in the Hilton Head area would perhaps be more at home in Bluffton. The folk-art oriented America. Oh Yes! (1540 Fording Island Rd., 15 Bridge Center, 843/757-0088, Mon.–Sat. 11 a.m.–4 p.m.) has as its motto “art for people who don’t care what their neighbors think.” Fittingly for a gallery devoted to outsider art, America. Oh Yes! is actually just outside Hilton Head before you cross the bridge to the island.

For a more formal approach, go to Morris & Whiteside Galleries & Sculpture Garden (807 William Hilton Pkwy., 843/842-4433, www.morris-whiteside.com, daily 10 a.m.–5 p.m.), which features a variety of paintings and sculpture, heavy on landscapes but also showing some fine figurative work.

Not to be confused with the Red Piano Too on St. Helena Island, the Red Piano Art Gallery (220 Cordillo Pkwy., 843/785-2318, www.redpianoartgallery.com, daily 10 a.m.–5 p.m.) isn’t devoted to Gullah art, but rather concentrates on natural landscapes with an often-whimsical touch.

The nonprofit Art League of Hilton Head (Pineland Station, Suite 207, Mon.–Sat. 10 a.m.–6 p.m.) displays work by member artists in all media.