Dr. Mary Ann Stafford is a pastel and watermedia artist who resides in Maumelle, Arkansas. Although Dr. Stafford often works with watercolor, ink, collage, and mixed media, pastel is her chosen medium. Having drawn all her life, both as an artist and as a teacher, Dr. Stafford feels that pastel is a natural extension of drawing. Large, simplified shapes and strong contrasts of values, colors, and textures are exciting to her. Her colors are intense, her compositions dramatic; and she attempts to deliver an air of mystery to [
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Dr. Mary Ann Stafford is a pastel and watermedia artist who resides in Maumelle, Arkansas. Although Dr. Stafford often works with watercolor, ink, collage, and mixed media, pastel is her chosen medium. Having drawn all her life, both as an artist and as a teacher, Dr. Stafford feels that pastel is a natural extension of drawing. Large, simplified shapes and strong contrasts of values, colors, and textures are exciting to her. Her colors are intense, her compositions dramatic; and she attempts to deliver an air of mystery to the viewer. She counts as her influences the paintings of Wolf Kahn and Edward Hopper.
Dr. Stafford was not able to pursue a serious career in the fine arts until her retirement from the field of education in 1993. Her education credentials include a BSE and an MA degree in English; art hours from Kansas City Art Institute and the University of Arkansas, and an EdD in Secondary Education with an emphasis in art education from the University of Arkansas. She began the high school art program at Pine Bluff High School where she taught English, humanities, and art for sixteen years and later became the school’s assistant principal. In 1990, she became Staff Development Coordinator at the Arkansas Department of Education.
In addition to her formal art training, Dr. Stafford has studied with several nationally recognized artists, including Doug Dawson, Daniel E. Greene, Sally Strand, Gerald Brommer, Carol Katchen, Sheila Parsons, Bob Rohm, Larry Blovits, Alan Flattman, and Skip Lawrence. Still an educator, she conducts pastel painting and drawing workshops throughout Arkansas, and also teaches drawing classes in her Maumelle studio.
An article by Dr. Stafford, “How To Build Your Own Portfolio,” was published in the February 2002 issue of the Pastel Journal, a national artists’ magazine. One of her paintings was recently published in the Kennedy Publication, The Best of American Pastel Artists and Artisans. She has been juried into many regional shows and featured in solo shows in Fort Smith, Springdale, El Dorado, Pine Bluff, Stuttgart, and Hot Springs. Her paintings are in private collections in Arkansas, South Carolina, Maryland, Montana, and Texas.
Dr. Stafford is represented by the Cox Creative Gallery in Little Rock, Eurekan Art in Eureka Springs, and Frameworks in Conway, Arkansas. She is a member of the Arkansas Artists’ Registry, the Conway League of Artists, and the Arkansas League of Artists. She is a charter member of the Arkansas Pastel Society and is a signature member of both Mid-Southern Watercolorists and the Pastel Society of the Soutwest in Irving, Texas. [
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