Fuquay-Varina resident Teresa Hamby was born to be an artist. As a self proclaimed “air force brat” she has lived in France, Florida, New Mexico and Hawaii. Her mother, a multi-talented and perceptive woman, recognized talent at an early age in Teresa and enrolled her in private art lessons at the age of 7, while the family was living in Hawaii. Her first painting, she recalls, was of a bowl of flowers, which her sister has, even now.
When Teresa was 13 she received training from a South African artist in New Mexico, who trained her in the Old Masters’ styles which included using bees wax for a medium, the fundamentals of color and composition, and broadened her skills of combining them on canvas. As she grew up, other things like high school, and Meredith College (where she studied Home Economics and Interior Design) seemed to decrease her time to develop her gift.
It was during this time about 27 years ago that she met her husband, a student at NCSU, as he studied to be a dentist. They have been married for 27 years and have two nearly grown children.
Her love for painting was re-ignited after a trip to Laguna Beach, California, where she saw a gorgeous painting of sunflowers which motivated her to see if she could paint a similar painting. (Her home has several paintings of sunflowers, which bring a sunny color and atmosphere to her beautifully decorated home.)
She remembers that an older lady she met at a Thanksgiving dinner talked with her at great length about her gift and admonished her, “If you don’t use a talent you will lose it.”
So while her two children were still young, she studied portraiture. Finally in 2011, she was introduced to Catherine Martin of “The Red Canvas” in Apex who introduced Teresa to her newest love, acrylics.
The joy of acrylics is, “You don’t have to wait for the paints to dry.” Through this teacher and this medium she finally gained the confidence she needed and realized that she truly had a talent. Teresa believes that “painting teaches you problem solving,” by making you use your brain to decide the best way to present what you see.
This September as you walk or drive by Magnolia House Custom Picture Framing and Gallery, stop and look at the paintings in the display window and feel a smile coming over your face as you look at the colorful imagery and beauty Teresa can transplant from real life onto canvas. Some of Teresa’s works will be on display there for the month of September, thanks to Shirley Hunsberger, owner of Magnolia House and her involvement in bringing more of the arts to Fuquay-Varina. Magnolia House Custom Framingis at 218 South Main St., Fuquay-Varina, and is open Tuesday-Saturday 10-6 p.m. Call 919-552-6802 for more information.
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