Still Life, watercolor on paper, 17 x 23, signed lower right: Mahaffey, In this image, still life tradition becomes active and energized by Mahaffey’s spontaneous brushstrokes. The resulting texture and movement imbue her simplistic scene with the dynamism of Fort Worth, the city in which she lived all of her life. This composition is characteristic of Mahaffey’s individual idiom, with its thick, black contour lines and deeply saturated color. Mahaffey is recognized as one of the most prolific Texas artists, having a body of work that spans 60 years and over 50,000 paintings, primarily watercolor. An East Texas native, Mahaffey spent her entire career in Fort Worth, where she studied under Sally Blythe Mummert, opened a chain of small grocery stores, and offered private art lessons. She became known and loved during her lifetime for her involvement in the Fort Worth art scene, and the community at large.