Photos by Courtney Brooke Photography

Having recently become familiar with the artwork of Tabitha “Tabby” Stone, I find myself giving a second glance to my coffee carafe and milk carton in the mornings. The Lafayette artist gives a unique and vibrant interpretation of the everyday objects, like bananas or a pitcher of tea, that not only makes them relatable, but triggers our imaginations and memories.

Growing up in Indiana, Stone’s calling to art was fueled by a school system that provided art classes throughout elementary and middle school. “I was given all the resources and tools to learn art theory from a very young age,” she recalls. After high school the self-taught artist went on to embark on a visual journey exploring a range of media, which continued long after she and her family moved to Lafayette in 2003.

Even after becoming a full-time artist in 2016, she says, “I experimented with different ways to present my artwork, different mediums that the local galleries wanted.”

Then a career-shaping moment came a year into her Cajun residency: While Stone was browsing through A & E Gallery in New Iberia, she met owner Paul Schexnayder. “Paul was the first one to give me a chance by putting my art in his gallery,” she recalls fondly. “He was there every step of the way giving me pointers. I also got the chance to work behind the desk at the gallery, and that interaction with people and buyers and seeing their reaction to the art was insightful.”

The experience helped Stone realize something else. “When I first started to paint, I was focused more on painting something that would sell instead of something that I loved to look at,” she shares. “But then I changed my photo references and used things familiar with everyone else – that I liked too. I made a personal commitment to not release anything unless I liked it myself, and that added value to the piece for me.”

In her aesthetic world, Stone looks at the everyday, and sees everything but the mundane. Borrowing from Pop art style, she leans towards its familiar subject matter and bright color palette. “Pop art is bright and in your face. It’s a bold statement that says ‘this is my art and my style,’ using ordinary objects and putting my own twist to them,” she says.

She creates a post-modern view of the everyday with bright colors and unique brush work. A sense of distortion creates intrigue. Milk cartons are made into a poster-worthy visual. A Community coffee pot becomes a focal point in an office breakroom. Over time her vibrant works have reflected her own bright palette of choice. “I don’t use black or white in my paintings,” she points out “because I want to focus more on using the values of the paintings and see them in a different way. It was a learning process that led to colors like my custom dark purple and dark blue,” says Stone.

For inspiration Stone says she turns to music, being present with what’s in front of her, and her “non-artist” friends, who have been a source of some of her best ideas. “I look for things to use as a reference for my paintings,” Stone begins to explain “like the coffee drinks a barista friend posts on her Facebook or an interesting set of glasses I once spotted during a game night with friends.”

Among her favorite artists, she admires the loose style of Edvard Munch, the pottery of artists from her hometown in Indiana, and local artists around Acadiana including her mentor, Paul Schexnayder.

She has shown her appreciation of the opportunities once given to her by establishing a small group of young local artists who, for a year now, have gotten together to discuss their processes and share contacts. Stone says as she finds opportunities to exhibit her own work, she passes the information on to the group to help gain them exposure in the art community. She often documents her art making process with photos and/or videos to share with others. “It’s fun making art but also seeing other artists while in their process – messiness and all,” she explains. “I like that more than the finished piece sometimes. I feel the get-togethers are helping us, me too, to be more productive and get fresh perspectives from each other.”

Stone shares advice given to her long ago that is still worked into her daily process: “Slow down and take your time; it’s never good to go any faster than you’re comfortable with.” From the studio in her backyard, she takes her time to begin her day. “I have my coffee, while I calm down all the thoughts in my head. Then I start working around 11:00 a.m. or in the afternoon, when the lighting is better, and work until late in the night.”

Pop art is her most direct influence, but Stone’s work spans from murals and book cover designs to a grain solo in Ville Platte. Her illustrations have been featured in publications like Aislin Magazine. Her paintings have garnered several awards from the Sugar Cane Festival Art Show. This summer she participated in the 6” x 6” exhibit at the Rochester Contemporary Art Center. She has also exhibited at the Starkville Arts Center, in MS. And for the next year, her work can be viewed at Baton Rouge General’s Bluebonnet Gallery.

While she awaits word of a possible project illustrating a children’s book, Stone is exploring a new theme for her paintings that digs into her childhood, inspired by a collection of smiley face stickers. “Every time we went to Walmart when I was a child, an older gentleman who worked there handed out smiley face stickers. You could tell it really gave him joy to see a kid’s face light up over something so simple. I absolutely loved getting my stickers from him. I was a 90s kid, and I want little happy reminders from that period of my life; the smiley face is an iconic symbol.”