Chatham Artist Guild Member Interview, March 3, 2022
by Vidabeth Benson and Forrest Greenslade
Pastel artist Daphne Boder will make her debut in the Chatham Studio Tour the first two weekends in December 2022. Having enjoyed drawing and painting since childhood, she has specialized in pastels for about five years.
“My son was working in a gallery and sent me pictures of new work. One painting caught my attention and he told me it was done with soft pastels. I was intrigued. I purchased some cheap pastels and paper at Michaels and have never looked back.”
Daphne graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and worked in production art for print media. After having children, she worked part time in various other occupations—office administrator for a nonprofit, retail sales, WW leader, and adult basic education. Now, in her cozy “Art room” in her Fearrington Village home, she creates predominantly impressionist landscapes with soft pastels and various other media for underpainting.
“I photograph places that appeal to me, that attract my attention. I then determine the type of substrate and underpainting technique. Then I start applying pastel, dark to light, hard pastel to soft pastel. I pay attention to values and atmospheric perspective. I vary my stroke. I don’t usually work from a thumbnail but rather just begin. I was told this is a tactile approach.”
Daphne’s inspiration comes from her immediate Chatham County environment, is a hiker, cyclist and kayaker and captures the lovely scenes that she encounters every day.
“There are beautiful places and spaces that go unnoticed and overlooked. Painting has opened my eyes to see what might not be noticed. But when a scene is captured on paper with soft pastels, that place is elevated and the unnoticed becomes memorable. I hope that people who see my art will want to experience these special landscapes, also.”
“Fresh. Light. Creation. Warmth. Peaceful. Joyful. Contrast. Surprise. These are words that describe what I want my paintings to convey.”
Daphne has an extensive presence on Daily Paintworks and on the Chatham Artists Guild website. She posts routinely on Instagram.
