Adrift

Stackhouse grew up in the New York metropolitan area, but his summers were spent at his grandparents lake home in Peach Lake, New York. At the age of twelve he moved to Florida and continued to enjoy the adventures and pleasures of living near water. His experiences of growing up around water have directly influenced his work. All his works of art have a nautical or architectural reference even though they are intrinsically abstract. He was fortunate to have studied painting at the University of South Florida at a time when the Graphic Studio was founded. The appeal of the Graphic Studio lured artists to Tampa. Working artists who came there discussed art and passed along bits of advice to the students. Friedel Dzubas who had been associated with the New York School artists, also known as the Abstract Expressionists, was one of the visiting artists that left a big impression on the young Stackhouse. Dzubas allowed the students to watch him paint and shared stories of living in New York and his student days at the Bauhaus where he was taught by Paul Klee. Dzubas gave the young Stackhouse a piece of advice he never forgot. He told him that ?in a painting sometimes the most important activity took place right on the edge.? Stackhouse still takes the borders of his paintings very seriously. In order to prolong the life of his large temporal outdoor sculptures Stackhouse records the process of making these pieces on paper. He also documents completed works this way.

Encountering Interior

Stackhouse grew up in the New York metropolitan area, but his summers were spent at his grandparents lake home in Peach Lake, New York. At the age of twelve he moved to Florida and continued to enjoy the adventures and pleasures of living near water. His experiences of growing up around water have directly influenced his work. All his works of art have a nautical or architectural reference even though they are intrinsically abstract. He was fortunate to have studied painting at the University of South Florida at a time when the Graphic Studio was founded. The appeal of the Graphic Studio lured artists to Tampa. Working artists who came there discussed art and passed along bits of advice to the students. Friedel Dzubas who had been associated with the New York School artists, also known as the Abstract Expressionists, was one of the visiting artists that left a big impression on the young Stackhouse. Dzubas allowed the students to watch him paint and shared stories of living in New York and his student days at the Bauhaus where he was taught by Paul Klee. Dzubas gave the young Stackhouse a piece of advice he never forgot. He told him that ?in a painting sometimes the most important activity took place right on the edge.? Stackhouse still takes the borders of his paintings very seriously. In order to prolong the life of his large temporal outdoor sculptures Stackhouse records the process of making these pieces on paper. He also documents completed works this way. In Encountering Interior he uses a neutral golden color of unpainted oak to create a variation of the A-frame structure. The intention of the artist is to create a nonthreatening space where the viewer can look within himself. The inviting passageway serves as an entry point to begin one?s journey of self-knowledge.