Her decorative work was meticulous and detailed. But the work she exhibited with the FAA and other galleries featured bold compositions with vibrant, dynamic colors and sweeping brush strokes – reflective of the artist herself. She was unafraid in her approach and saw into her subjects with a clarity and an insight unique to her. A little offbeat and always colorful with a hint of a Henri Matisse influence, her work was noticeable from the doorway of any room. This is the way most artists would like their work to be remembered.
She and her husband Paul, also a member of FAA, would always discuss art; it was a passion they both shared. Stams not only looked at artists she admired, she understood their work. Her interest in other artists’ work, from masters to professionals to local artists, was not an idle emotion but was rather spiritual and inspirational.
The strength, energy and force in her work showed she never settled for the mundane. Stams was anything but mundane. And though her paintings were audacious and colorful, there was a tranquility underlying her work, particularly in her still lifes and landscapes.
Though Stams’ growth as an artist came from experimentation and exploration, she followed the rules and learned the basics – an approach some newbie artists try to ignore. She accepted freeing imagination but never at the expense of learning the fundamentals of art, particularly drawing. She enjoyed learning the values of lights and darks, relationship of shapes, good composition and understanding color theory. She never skimped on her learning, but took numerous workshops and classes. Her training as a decorative artist taught her patience and her training as a fine artist taught her to liberate her creative mind.
Matisse said, “Creativity takes courage.” Stams had the courage to create.
