I originally intended to become a veterinarian, but have always enjoyed making things with my hands from early childhood. My dad gave me an oil paint set when I was a teen and I taught myself to use it, mostly for landscapes. To make a long story a little shorter, I got a BS from NCSU in Animal Science and Zoology in 1971, but did NOT get into veterinary school (not many women were being accepted at that point, so I guess I was sort of a pioneer - it is SO different now)!
After graduation I came home to High Point, NC, had a variety of jobs after turning my back on a career with the FDA inspecting meat (!), including working in an animal hospital and clerking in a book store with LOTS of art books, which woke me up to possibilities! I also learned off-set printing and did newsletters and other material for a local group - AND enrolled at UNC-Greensboro in Fine Art. There I was introduced to a much wider view of art. Nevertheless I started out as a "Southern Realist" (not popular with my teachers) and throughout the decades have progressed through several other stages represented here, including creating colorful, ethereal, organic compositions which incorporate the computer and digital photography as tools, along with the brushes and paint. These images were refined abstractions of flowers and other mostly natural elements. I have worked with oil pastels on top of inkjet grounds, and also used sketches worked out in the computer as the basis for larger acrylic paintings on canvas and panel. During the last 10 years my focus has been mostly on wildly colorful digital art made with the help of three talented canines ("nose art") and jewelry derived from that art, with occasional side-trips into interesting opportunities, like a show last year where I had "neurographic" paintings on display! My FaceBook page is mostly inactive, but the title pretty well sums up my career: "Beth Stafford Art Adventures." Never boring, and always fun!
In 2005 I received a Regional Artist Project Grant, sponsored in part by the North Carolina Arts Council, and have shown my work extensively in North Carolina and have had gallery shows in Charlotte, Raleigh, Southern Pines, and Blowing Rock. My works have been accepted in 68 juried shows, national as well as regional, and have received 41 awards, including eight First Place Awards. Got to say, the BEST acknowledgement that I received was being accepted in the annual Art on Paper Exhibit at Weatherspoon Gallery at UNC-Greensboro FOUR times! Quite a thrill, my work being on the wall with that of my former teachers and many nationally known artists, including Georgia O'Keeffe (love her work!).
My paintings are included in many corporate collections in the US, among them those of American Express, Wachovia, Phillip Morris USA, Oxford University Press, and the United States Department of State. My work may also be found in private collections internationally. FYI - I was born in Gastonia, North Carolina, in 1949, and have lived all over the state, with rural Concord as my longest residency. And the adventure goes on!
"Betta Abstract #2" Acrylic on Panel (one of my adventures!) 2007