The artwork, Duality, was created at the “last minute,” said Stallard.
“Which is actually really good, being rushed makes me freer. I’m normally quite formal in my painting, but I was running short on time because of the Shakespeare festival which I was involved with as well.”
Her subject, local farmer Andrew Best, was “a good choice for the painting”, she said.
“I had a fab photo of him, thanks to the guy who took the photo for [Stallard’s partner] Stuart’s book. But I also know Andrew really well so that helped.”
With fond memories of her mother’s time with the Stratford Art Society, Stallard said it was an “easy choice” to join herself when she and her partner Stuart Greenhill moved back to Stratford, after four decades away from the district where they both grew up.
“I joined the society for two reasons I suppose. One because it is good practice as an artist to join an art society. It encourages you to keep working on your art for the exhibitions and things. The second reason was to get involved and to help lift the profile, because I knew it’s potential, I knew what a busy society it had been when my mother was a member.”
The Stratford Art Society has a lot of advantages compared to societies in other towns, said Stallard.
“We are very fortunate with the link to, and support from, the Percy Thomson Gallery. It’s a great gallery and we are very lucky to have it. But I think it can also breed complacency.”
Complacency isn’t something artists need, said Stallard.
“We need the push, we need to work.”
A strong art society helps encourage more artists in the future, she said.
“We are working on growing independence and also nurturing younger, upcoming artists. It’s about exposing as many people as possible to art in all its shapes and forms.”
Growing up, Stallard remembers the impact of that sort of exposure.
“I was exposed to art through my mother. She was a copper worker and created some incredible work. One of her works, depicting the mountain, used to be on display in the council building in town.”
Her mother also did rock and mineral work as well as painting, Stallard said.
“In later years she began to lose her sight through diabetes, but she still exhibited. Poor old Dad was dragged along to her exhibitions.”
Now, the Stratford Art Society is working on bringing the exhibitions to the district, with plans for “pop-up” exhibitions in community halls around the district.
The focus, said Stallard, will be on the “creation of art, not just the presentation”.
“With normal exhibitions, you go, look at the art, then you see the price and maybe think, ‘that’s a lot’, because you aren’t seeing the work that goes in to it.”
The pop-up exhibitions will offer visitors more insight into the process behind the finished work, said Stallard.
“We will have artists working on their art there, so the process becomes more visible.”
Whether exhibiting in the Percy Thomson Gallery or through a pop-up exhibition in a local hall, Stallard said the Stratford Art Society is invaluable in what it offers artists.
“The society gives people the opportunity to exhibit in a safe and nurturing environment. All levels are welcome, all abilities and all mediums.
Being a member of the society “makes you feel part of something.
“It gives you the confidence to carry on, it gives you the justification in a way as to why you do what you do, and also enables you, through the exhibitions, to not only show your work but to potentially sell it.”
Stallard said she would encourage all artists to consider joining their local art society.
“It really is a way to grow your own skills and to meet with other artists and get support from that and from that sense of community.”
Contact the Stratford Art Society via email: stratfordartsoc@gmail.com or call into the Percy Thomson Gallery and ask for a form.
Ilona Hanne is a Taranaki-based journalist and news director who covers breaking and community news from across the lower North Island. She has worked for NZME since 2011.
