New life for soda cans: Colquitt County artist displays mixed media at Arts Center

Published 5:53 pm Friday, July 16, 2021

MOULTRIE, Ga. — On July 15, the Colquitt County Arts Center opened its Traverse Gallery to an exhibit by Steve Newton, an artist born and raised in Colquitt County.

Graduating from Moultrie High School in 1970, Newton attended West Point for two years before transferring to and graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady School of Journalism in 1974.

Newton went on to have a 20-year long career in advertising, before starting La Voz Latina, a monthly bilingual newspaper for South Georgia’s Hispanic community, in 2002.

Having been retired for two years, Newton has now brought his collection of mixed-media art back to Colquitt County to share the fruits of his labor and artistic insights.

A self-taught artist, Newton started painting ten years ago as a form of relaxation, initially using sheet metal in tandem with plywood backgrounds to create his pieces.

Now, he mostly uses metal gathered from soda cans and bottle caps to create his designs. So much so that his friends save their cans and bottle caps for him.

Newton said that he prefers the colorful designs of current soda cans compared to the lackluster designs he was surrounded by when he was younger.

“There weren’t a lot of varieties,” Newton said, “Today, you have a lot of neat variations and interesting colors.”

Newton finds inspiration in the world around him, often looking for designs that he can break down in segments for his own style.

“The thing I always look for is a design that lends itself to colorful designs,” said Newton.

Newton likened his style to working with stained glass and has a tendency to use tropical fish, roosters and butterflies as inspiration due to their colors.

Once he has a design in mind, he begins his process by painting the plywood foundation with the design using acrylic paints.

He commonly uses 18-inch by 24-inch plywood bases, ¾ inch thick. He said the largest plywood base that he has ever used was 2 feet by 4 feet.

Once the paint dries, he uses a hammer and nail to fit the image of the design with colorful strips of metal cut from soda cans and bottle tops, applying the material to the plywood base.

“It’s very easy to cut. You do have to be careful,” said Newton about using scissors to cut soda cans. “These is a learning curve in not cutting or poking your fingers.”

After he has nailed the metal into place, he applies Mod Podge, a glue and finisher that is transparent once dry, to make the finished piece more durable.

With his piece protected by the finisher, Newton said that he has no problems with people, commonly children, wanting to touch his art.

“A lot of my art appeals to children,” said Newton, “If it isn’t dangerous, there isn’t a sharp edge, I encourage them to touch the art if they want to.”

Newton noted that his pieces, while durable, weren’t made for outside exhibition, citing the tendency that soda cans have to fade and lose their color over time when in direct sunlight.

He mentioned that while he had tried traditional art, such as watercolor and canvas, he was never adept with a brush. Newton said that it was unforgiving and he didn’t quite have the patience for it.

Newton has attended shows with his mixed-media art collection for the past eight years, but has increased his time spent exhibiting since he retired.

The last exhibit Newton had was at the Jewish Educational Alliance in Savannah, where he exhibited 50 of his pieces, selling a large portion of them.

Newton has always considered his pieces to be an example of folk art, which often reflects aspects of culture within certain communities.

“I’ve always admired folk art,” he said.

Newton also pointed to a fellow local artist as inspiration for his own pursuit in art.

“I grew up with a fellow, Lynwood Hall, and he is well known for his oil painting,” Newton said. “I’ve always been inspired by him. He’s always been dedicated to his craft.”

Newton was contacted back in April by the Arts Center to begin scheduling this exhibit. He has prepared 16 pieces for the exhibit, some among them being “Pink Elephant” and “Foxes & Figs.”

He will also be showcasing “River Shark,” a special piece depicting a fish made of rocks collected by his wife in the mountains of north Georgia.

Newton’s exhibit in the Traverse Gallery will be on display until Sept. 29.