Polly Walker Makes Stained Glass on Canvas

A Chance Encounter and A Good Fit

Several months ago, while visiting the Lewiston Public Library, I saw Polly Walker’s very colorful artwork for the first time. Her print, “Dawn on the Palouse”, particularly captured my attention.

Polly Walker's print "Dawn on the Palouse" as it hangs in our living room. — “Dawn on the Palouse” by Polly Walker

We had recently hung a group of photographs in our living room that represented all the places we had lived. But our “Where We Lived” wall was missing anything about our current location. I thought Polly’s print would be a nice addition, since the rolling hills of the Palouse are such a defining part of the landscape here.

So I wrote to Polly and asked if the print was for sale. It was, and after a short email exchange, we agreed to meet one afternoon in a parking lot in Clarkston. This was an unlikely spot to buy a piece of art, but Polly and her husband Dave were on their way home from a camping trip and could only stop at places with enough room to park their motorhome and boat trailer.

We talked for about 10 minutes in the hot afternoon sun. Polly showed me some pictures on her phone that illustrated her technique for creating what she called “Stained Glass on Canvas”. After just a few minutes, I wanted to know more and to publish her story.

So several weeks ago, Mary and I met with her and Dave at their home in Moscow, Idaho, about 30 miles north of Lewiston and Clarkston. What we thought would be a 1 hour interview turned into a 2 hour conversation with folks who immediately felt like old friends.

An Eclectic Life

When Polly talks about her life, you get the impression that her response to new opportunities and experiences has always been “Hell, yeah! I can do that!” Maybe that comes from her early upbringing. As a young teenager, she lived in a small rural town in eastern Oregon and helped her stepfather break wild horses. She said he would bring them in from the range and she would be the first to ride them.

At various times in her life she has been a model, a flagger on a road crew, and a finalist in the Miss Oregon contest. She owned several restaurants and retail stores. For nearly a year she lived in Uruguay planning a ranch, then came back to the US and started a business importing and selling woolen goods. Her last gig before she retired was starting a catering business in Moscow. It was so successful, she said, that if she and Dave wanted any time off, they had to book it six months in advance.

A Lifelong Passion for Art

But wherever she was and whatever else she was doing, creating art was a constant in Polly’s life. She had an early interest in painting and her nascent talent was recognized by a local gallery owner. He offered her a scholarship to his art school, but that opportunity was lost when her parents divorced.

As an adult, Polly took classes to learn different drawing and painting techniques. She tried her hand with watercolors (“not my favorite”), oils (“takes so long to dry”), and settled on acrylics as her preferred medium. She also did pottery, which ultimately influenced her current painting style. She described it this way:

“With pottery, you tape off areas that you don’t want to glaze. You can make some pretty intricate designs on pottery with tape. Then you glaze it and where there’s the tape, there’s no glaze. And with raku pottery, you use a special paint and then fire it to about 900 degrees. Then the red hot piece of pottery is dropped in leaves, straw, shredded paper, or a combination of flammable materials. You get some fantastic colors and the places that are taped are black from the smoke, which makes some really interesting designs.”

Two pieces of raku pottery made by Polly. — Two pieces of Polly’s *raku* pottery
Image courtesy of Polly Walker

Finding a New Approach

Polly told us that during the pandemic, she had some difficult times. The isolation meant she couldn’t see her grandchildren or her great-grandchildren. She also received a difficult medical diagnosis. All of it left her depressed and needing something to boost her spirits.

She decided to go into her studio and try to create something new. Thinking about her pottery techniques, she wondered if the same process of taping off portions would work on canvas. Her early efforts were abstract designs on white canvas. Then she realized that if she used black canvas, the result would look like stained glass.

A stained glass on canvas painting by Polly Walker of a young girl and a horse. — “Girl and Her Horse” by Polly Walker

How Polly Creates Her Art

Polly walked us through the process she uses to create her art pieces. She shared these photos that illustrate her method.

Step 1 of Polly Walker's "Stained Glass on Canvas" technique: She sketches an outline of her subject with chalk on a canvas board covered with black paint. — **Step 1:** Polly sketches the main image with a charcoal pen on a canvas board that has been prepped with black paint.

Step 2 of Polly Walker's "Stained Glass on Canvas" technique: She gathers her different xacto knives and tapes. — **Step 2:** Polly gathers her knives and tapes.

Step 3 of Polly Walker's "Stained Glass on Canvas" technique: She applies tape over the sketch lines. — **Step 3:** She outlines the sketch with tape.

Step 4 of Polly Walker's "Stained Glass on Canvas" technique: She adds more tape to create finer details. — **Step 4:** More tape is added to expand the image.

Step 5 of Polly Walker's "Stained Glass on Canvas" technique: When precise curves are needed, she uses a compass to lay out the lines on multiple pieces of wide tape. — **Step 5:** Polly uses a compass to trace any curves where precision is needed.

Step 6 of Polly Walker's "Stained Glass on Canvas" technique: She tapes off areas for additional details - like clouds. — **Step 6:** Adding new details, like the moon, the clouds, and the ground.

Step 7 of Polly Walker's "Stained Glass on Canvas" technique: She paints the picture, over the tape, using acrylic paint. — **Step 7:** Polly paints the entire picture, painting over the tape.

Step 8 of Polly Walker's "Stained Glass on Canvas" technique: She removes the tape to reveal black lines that simulate the lead in stained glass windows. — **Final step:** Polly removes the tape to reveal the “stained glass” look. She touches up the paint and uses a soft brush or q-tip to remove any remaining charcoal pen lines.

Where the Magic Happens

Polly showed us her studio, a small room in the basement of her home that is filled with her paints, brushes and other artist’s supplies. She also has all of her original paintings. They are not for sale – she said her family doesn’t want her to sell them.

Polly Walker in her studio — Polly in her studio

Any of the paintings she is satisfied with are digitized and printed on giclée (zhee-KLAY or gallery quality) paper. She sells the prints, like the one I bought, as well as frameable 5”x7” cards.

0711 - Sunny Boy card — A card with “Sunny Boy”

All That … and Cake, Too!

After seeing her studio, we were preparing to leave. But Polly stopped us, insisting that we have some carrot cake she had baked in anticipation of our visit. It was delicious!

We enjoyed our visit with Polly and Dave and look forward to seeing them again.

If you are interested in Polly’s artwork, you can see more of it on her Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/StainedGlassOnCanvas .

Until next time / Até a próxima vez

Mary and Mike

The Cook and The Writer

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