Sally BanfillScenes of Disarray
Posted on November 30, 2016
I seek to capture the beauty of the disarray in our lives — not the noise and confusion of modern society — but those whimsical, timeworn scenes we come across everyday. A cold concrete wall can attain charm when it is cracked and peeling, or a car becomes a still life when it is covered with vines and fallen apples. It is the unraveled, the broken, and the overgrown that I find interesting.
Southworth Ferry
Snapped Clothesline
The Yellow Gas Pump
Electric Elephant
Abandoned
The Destiny of Richard’s Chair
Prints available at Fine Art America
All images copyright Sally Banfill. All rights reserved.
Scenes of Disarray Part 2
Posted on November 30, 2016
I seek to capture the beauty of the disarray in our lives — not the noise and confusion of modern society — but those whimsical, timeworn scenes we come across everyday. A cold concrete wall can attain charm when it is cracked and peeling, or a car becomes a still life when it is covered with vines and fallen apples. It is the unraveled, the broken, and the overgrown that I find interesting.
Autumn Remnants
Blue Fender
Still Life with Car
Big People Scooter
Lost Doll
Doll’s Head
Prints available at Fine Art America
All images copyright Sally Banfill. All rights reserved.
American Odyssey
Posted on November 29, 2016
This is my odyssey, to seek out the weird little pieces of American culture — that which still has a personality instead of the slick, calculated world of the consumption makers or the bland clutter of strip malls. Everyone finds the America he is looking for.
Duncan and Sons’ Horse
Al’s Store
American Sweethearts
Harbor Lights
Kingman Club
Prints available at Fine Art America
All images copyright Sally Banfill. All rights reserved.
Home of the Pink Champagne Cake
Posted on November 29, 2016
Bremerton – Home of the Pink Champagne Cake
“…a city of soft-drink signs; the streets of forlorn neighborhoods are paved with Coca-Cola caps, and after rain, they glint in the dust like lost dimes. Posters peel away, lie mangled until storm winds blow them along the street, like desert sage –and there are those who think them beautiful…”
Truman Capote
Truman Capote was referring to New Orleans when he wrote this, but it could have been many a town in America; many a town that has been forgotten as people move on to shopping malls, megastores, and unremarkable typography. To me it is about Bremerton with its deserted streets and remnants of the past. There is a strange charm in this town with its classic American signage — some faded and peeling, others adorning thriving businesses. There are those signs that I hope will never disappear, like the cartoon crow looking down from his neon nest, and the most endearing of all Bremerton icons: the baker holding that pink delight and letting me know this is the home of the pink champagne cake!
McGavin’s Bakery
Crow’s Nest
Tattoo Technique
Super TV Mart
Prints Available at Fine Art America
All images copyright Sally Banfill. All rights reserved.
Friendly Natives and Free Coffee
Posted on November 22, 2016
“When the virus of restlessness begins to take possession of a wayward man, and the road away from Here seems broad and straight and sweet, the victim must first find in himself a good and sufficient reason for going. This to the practical man is not difficult. He has a built in garden of reasons to choose from.”
John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley
The American road trip is still a strange and exotic experience. When you get off the interstates (whose sole purpose is to move vehicles as quickly as possible) and get onto the old highways, you will find a roadside garden. From buildings shaped like coffee pots to giant neon daffodils, there are all sorts of surreal wonders designed to lure the traveler. Hospitable promises of “friendly natives” and “free coffee”, glittering arrows and cartoon crows; its America’s peculiar mix of commercialism and folk art.
These paintings are a collection of local roadside attractions (some famous and some infamous), from Tacoma to Seattle and many Highway 99 gems. As a painter I have the luxury of weeding out the encroaching homogeneity of chain stores and clutter, and magnifying what is unique. The results are still and lonesome scenes of deserted streets and odd artifacts, and of course, the American automobile.
Ben Carol
Thunderbird Motel
South City Motel
Stevenson Motel
Airstream
Big Elephant Geraniums
Marco Polo Motel
Prints available at Fine Art America
All images copyright Sally Banfill. All rights reserved.
Friendly Natives Part 2
Posted on November 22, 2016
Elephant Car Wash
Klose-In Motel
Food Giant
Daffodil Motel
Hat and Boots
Aloha Motel
Seal’s Motel
Prints available at Fine Art America
All images copyright Sally Banfill. All rights reserved.
Sally Banfill 