(1955 - )
David Stephens has worked at a wide range of jobs, ranging from marine rigger to logging foreman. David was a co-founder, along with Lorne Reid, of a folk art studio/gallery in Cheticamp, Nova Scotia, and was instrumental in supporting and promoting some of the first wave of folk artists from Cape Breton. He is also a co-founder of the Nova Scotia Folk Art Festival.
David has painted since childhood, and has been at it full time since 1984. He has become one of Nova Scotia's most popular folk artists. Along with his paintings on board, he has also completed two "art car" projects, in which he decorated a 1984 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 and a 1981 Chevette using paint, marbles, coins, found objects and broken mirror. To see images of the Chevette artcar, Lucky click here.
One of David's painted Volkswagen doors was selected for the travelling exhibition "Artists in a Floating World: The Marion McCain Atlantic Art Exhibition" in 2000, and was later purchased by the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia for its permanent collection. The Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton also has a VW van door by David in its permanent collection. A VW Beetle engine bonnet, "St. El Camino: Our Lady of Internal Combustion" was also acquired by AGNS for their permanent collection.
He was also featured on the 2005 poster for the Nova Scotia Folk Art Festival, and his work has been displayed in "Saltscapes" magazine. David was also part of the Wayne Rostad television program "On The Road Again" in the fall of 2005.
Ref: Nova Scotia Folk Art Festival Society, A Joyous Vision - Contemporary Folk Art in Nova Scotia (1995); McKendry, An Illustrated Companion to Canadian Folk Art (1999); Ray Cronin, Nova Scotia Folk Art: An Illustrated Guide (2024).
