Eastport

More Golden Oldies from my gouache phase - this painting came out of a trip to Maine. It's a small one - 7 1/2 " square - and is still available. I've done several other versions from the site - it was the view across the street from the only laundromat in Eastport, Maine. Turned out the owner and I went to the same college (NCSU). I later went to a blanket factory outlet there and met a woman from Carolina Beach, NC. Whoda thought - it's really a small world.

Looking Back: REALLY Big Chairs!

In 2001 I had the great fun of creating two whimsical wood constructions for "Chairs on Parade" in Charlotte, NC. Over 100 giant rocking chairs were furnished to area artists to play with, and were then displayed all over town. Here you can see my first one being delivered by "The Two Mikes". It caused quite a stir in the neighborhood, since it sat on the front porch for six weeks while I worked on it.

The first of my designs that was chosen was "Afternoon in the Matisse Chair". I loved the artist's playful forms and bright colors, and decorated the chair accordingly. I thought it would be fun to add all the comforts of home, so side racks were attached for "snacks" and entertainment, still keeping the Matisse touch. Making wooden "cushions" was a challenge, but it all worked out.



Below is the "entertainment center", with a faux book of Matisse cutouts, scissors, paper and pencil, and a bird-watching book. I added wooden binoculors too, to go with the book!



Next is the "snack rack", full of my favorite munchies: chocolate bar, corn chips, peanut butter crackers, sunflower seeds, and gummy candy.



Here's another view of the food, plus wooden cutouts that I glued to the bottom cushion, thinking it might keep people out of the chair. Boy was I wrong!



Being a true Southerner, I had to include a glass of iced tea for porch sittin' pleasure. That was probably the hardest object to do, because it was painted in the round. Easy to find models, though.


The finished chair, complete with a fan and a fly swat! I had a lot of fun making them, especially the swat. Unfortunately it was broken while on exhibit, but at least the fan stayed intact.


When the Matisse chair was finished, another of my designs was sponsored, so I got the great pleasure of creating a real fantasy chair, with giant butterfly wings that really moved (put 'em on with piano hinges)! I was quite proud of the engineering - used lawn mower springs and door stops to limit the movement so the wings wouldn't pop the hinges in a breeze. The antennae bobbed, too. I think the guys bent one of them when they put it on the truck.


This was one chair just made for sitting! That's me in the chair - didn't want to let that one go.

Morocco: Green Doors

Another of my gouaches from the days of straight lines. Not sure why it's so dark: the green door barely shows in the shadow. No, I never went to Morocco, though I'd love to. My "Morocco" paintings came from a fabric design project involving Moroccan weavings. There were pictures of villages that caught my eye in the source material, so I built models of them and based my paintings on close-up photos of the models. That way I could play with the light and shadows - sort of the "next-best thing to being there". Green Doors is my favorite; I painted large and small versions of it, both of which are still for sale.

Out of the Night That Covers Me

Out of the Night is one of my more "illustrious" paintings. 'Way back in high school we had to memorize (and recite) "Invictus", the first line of which was, "Out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole..." I spent a lot of time in the '80's at Southport, NC, poking around what was left of Fort Caswell, which by then was a summer camp. Late at night I shot a photo from the dimly lit inside of one of the old barracks, looking out to the porch column which was illuminated by a bare bulb. It was a spooky, metaphysical moment, bringing to mind that line from the poem. I later turned it into this painting, which is another widely exhibited gouache. The colors are not quite as dark as they appear here, but the mystery and other-worldly feeling are there.

Becton Park, Part 1

Big surprise here! This was my style for 20 years - hard edges and high contrast. Becton Park Part 1 was quite successful, taking "Best in Show" at a national competition. It was also featured in shows at the Fayetteville Museum of Art and Weatherspoon Gallery at UNC-Greensboro. The actual colors are warmer (this image is from a CD of my slides, which are much truer). I have decided to sell this painting and others that remain from my work with gouache (pronounced "gwash" - it's opaque watercolor). I doubt there will be any more produced in that medium, which was perfect for the body of work to be offered, but no longer suitable for my current direction. They'll be posted soon on my website (www.BethStafford.com) .


About the Becton Park Series: there is a subdivision by that name in Charlotte, NC. It has a scalloped wall surrounding the development and each back yard. With the cookie-cutter houses and that wall running everywhere, it felt like something from the Twilight Zone. Nevertheless, it was full of interesting compositions and I enjoyed making the four paintings that resulted.

Sketch?

No, this isn't another UFO - it's a "PiCassieO" (Sidewalk Spirits), which is one of my digital works. Looks like I've come full circle with that art form; now I'm wanting to explore this art in more depth (with real paint again) . I can even see it done in 3-D, like some of Arp's abstractions. My PiCassieO blog is http://www.airedale-art.blogspot.com, if you'd like to see more. There will never be enough time to do everything that's in my head, but this is one I hope to complete!