Artist Christy Bennett, of Seven Springs, describes her Mount Olive studio as her ‘feel-good place,’ where she can retreat to ‘whenever nothing else is going right.’ (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Many of Christy Bennett’s paintings have a fun, storybook-like quality. These are some of her favorite pieces. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
This doe-eyed giraffe, acrylic on canvas, is one of many images produced by Christy Bennett in her storybook style. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Painting this torso mannequin — still a work in progress — has proven ‘a little bit more challenging’ for artist Christy Bennett than her works on canvas. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
This portrait of Lucille Ball is somewhat of a departure for artist Christy Bennett, who often paints animals and nature scenes. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Against a fantastical night-time sky, elephants bedecked in regalia promenade through dense vegetation in an image reminiscent of a children’s storybook. The painting is by artist Christy Bennett, of Seven Springs. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Christy Bennett holds one of her paintings, which she donated to a drug rehab facility. (Christy Bennett|Courtesy photo)
The man for whom this pet portrait was created was so happy with it that he ‘wrapped his arms around me,’ says artist Christy Bennett. ‘For him to be that excited, that meant everything in the world.’ (Christy Bennett|Courtesy photo)
An exterior wall of Carl & Chelle’s Grill Room in Goldsboro is decorated with a mural by Wayne County artist Christy Bennett. (Christy Bennett|Courtesy photo)
The artwork on this dining-room tabletop is by Christy Bennett, who refurbished the table after its original finish was destroyed by fire. (Christy Bennett|Courtesy photo)
Entering Christy Bennett’s studio is a little like stepping into the pages of a children’s storybook. Colorful fish practically swim off canvases and into the room. A doe-eyed giraffe greets onlookers with a serene expression. Elephants bedecked in tassels, jewels, and crowns promenade against a night-sky of swirling stars and moonlight. With each glance around the studio — or turn of the proverbial page — another image emerges with its own story to tell.
Bennett’s storybook-like studio is located at First Baptist Church of Mount Olive, where the Arts Council of Wayne County (whose main location is in Goldsboro) has established a satellite campus on the second floor of the church’s education building. “This is my feel-good place,” says Bennett. “I can come here, and I can paint, or I can sit around and draw and doodle. Whenever nothing else is going right, I can do that right. It’s a good outlet.”
The lifelong Seven Springs resident, who’ll soon celebrate her 53rd birthday, credits her mom and her maternal grandfather with passing an artistic talent to her. This talent was her saving grace in school, she notes, as her short attention span caused her to dislike all subjects — with the notable exception of art. Whereas she couldn’t focus on science or math, she had no trouble at all immersing herself in drawing or painting. As a student at Southern Wayne High School, teacher Beth Hill was an important mentor.
Bennet laments that art classes aren’t treated with the same importance in schools as many other subjects, and she views this with frustration and disappointment. “Art’s very important,” she asserts. “A lot of folks don’t see that. I wish that was [acknowledged] more in schools, because it’s an outlet for a lot of kids; it’s always been mine.”
While much of Bennett’s work is acrylic painting on canvas, she does enjoy branching out. In place of the traditional artist’s canvas, she has painted on a ceiling tile, a wooden pallet, and a Bible cover. One of her most unusual “canvases” to date is a torso mannequin, which she is “figuring out” as she works; at this point, it’s covered in bright colors, a mix of curves and hard lines, and both abstract and realistic images. This piece, she admits, is “a little bit more challenging” than her other work.
She also enjoys redoing furniture, and one of her most striking pieces is a dining-room tabletop embellished with a wonderful array of colors in a round, geometric design. The original finish on the table was destroyed in a fire, and when Bennett revived it, she did so with a flourish. “That took me a while,” she says, adding that she was “really tickled” with the result.
Although Bennett has many demands on her time — she works for Tidewater Energy and loves spending time with her family (a grown daughter and “two beautiful grandchildren”) — she always finds time for her art. If she’s not in her studio sketching or painting, she’s online, following other artists’ work (she firmly believes “there’s something to learn from everybody”) and getting ideas for her own (Pinterest is a favorite platform). Recently, while browsing on Pinterest, she came across a series of images of clowns, which inspired a piece she is currently working on.
When reflecting on what it is that she finds most rewarding about painting and sketching, Bennett explains, “Not that I’m tootin’ my own horn or anything, but I know I’m good at that.” By further way of explanation, she compares her talent with that of her sister, who, she insists, can sing beautifully. “She can’t draw…and I can’t carry a tune in a bucket,” Bennett notes.
And, like many artists, she finds it rewarding when her artwork is appreciated by others. When she painted a portrait for a friend of his dog, the man “looked at it and before he said anything, he just wrapped his arms around me,” Bennett recalls. “I said, you know what, that’s worth every bit of it right there. For him to be that excited, that meant everything in the world.”
Bennett sells much of her artwork on Facebook (search for her by name) or at vendor shows, particularly in the fall and around Christmas. She is now looking for other outlets, as well. She’s in the process of creating a website (trickarts.com), but it’s not up and running just yet. (“Trick” is a nickname her brother has always called her.) Plus, she has her sights set on joining the TikTok platform, hopefully in the not-too-distant future. And if all the online wrangling starts to bog her down, she can always go to her studio — her “feel-good place” — to unwind with some drawing, painting, and doodling.
