"I had moved to Atlanta, figuring I'd find work in commercial art," he said. "But it was 1988, and the computer revolution was underway. Suddenly, everybody was working at the Macintosh and there were very few in-house illustration jobs. I had to come up with a Plan B," which, as it turned out, was a blessing for Stalling. "I decided to forget commercial work and pursue what I really loved all along -- fine art," he said. For the better part of the last fifteen years, that's just what he's done, with positive results.

Stalling has painted many different subjects and has explored numerous themes, in a variety of mediums. He's probably best known for his realistic portrait work, but lately has entered a new genre -- mixing his passion for music with an ability to paint realistically striking images.

"Music has always been a big part of my life," he said. "I play the saxophone, and the first oil painting I ever attempted, when I was a senior in high school, was the cover of a Grover Washington album titled 'Winelight.'"

The painting depicts a saxophone and a wine glass. Stalling's uncle still has it hanging in his home. "When I look at that painting, I realize how much I've evolved as a painter," he said. "If I had to describe my style, I'd use the word realism, but it's not photo-realism. It's stylized and painterly. My personal imprint is left on the work I do." Artists he's admired over the years include Maxfield Parrish, John Singer Sargent and local artist Carl Owens.

Denard was born in Anniston Alabama in 1965. By age two, his family had relocated to Columbus, Ohio. Art and music were his boyhood passions. "I began drawing at age three or four, and my mother, seeing I was interested in art, praised me and encouraged me to continue." At the same time, he began taking saxophone lessons. He was good enough to enter local art competitions, where he'd submit charcoal and pencil drawings. By high school he started dabbling in watercolors, then oils. His early subject matter was liable to be just about anything, but he demonstrated a penchant for portrait work and musical art.

In college, he immersed himself in figure work and portraiture. "I loved doing nudes," he said. "To me, the human form is a beautiful thing, and a wonderful challenge for an artist."

After college, he followed his heart into fine art, but first made a pit stop at the Genesis Galleries in Atlanta, Ga. "I needed a real job while my art career was taking off, so I decided to learn how to do custom framing," he said. It was a skill that would prove invaluable in the years that followed.

Stalling complements his works with custom frames he fashions from white pine. The frame incorporates elements of the painted work itself. "I'll use an actual saxophone part or maybe some hand-drawn sheet music," he said.

The frames have an abstract quality to them, unlike his paintings, which exhibit strong composition and attention to detail. The end result might seem an odd juxtaposition, but it isn't. It's an eloquent statement.

His interpretation of musical instruments shows graceful lines and reflections that are inherent in the design and craftsmanship. "If you study an instrument," he said, "you'll discover in it an elegance almost as powerful as the music itself. What I do is try to transfer that power and elegance to the canvas."

For Stalling, music and art are inexorably linked. "Sometimes, when I've been working on a painting for a long period of time," he said, "it's nice to pick up my saxophone and improvise, or study a piece of sheet music by one of my favorite musicians. It's a kind of therapy for the soul. Painting and playing are similar, in that they are both creative outlets for me. They're my passions."

From 1996 to 2001, Stalling painted a series of paintings about life in rural Alabama. The series, comprising 40 works, is called "Miss Christine," in honor of his grandmother. His current series “Making Music” is still in process.