Art Committee Member Named Official “Polo at the Point” Artist

Art Committee member B’Beth Weldon and Dr. Thomas P. Rosandich, Academy President and CEO, pose with her oil painting “Off Back Shot.”

Polo ponies dash across the field. A rider and a horse lean in for a hook shot. Quarter and chest muscles tense and strong, a pony stops short and spins.

The power and teamwork of polo are captured by the paintbrush of Fairhope artist B’Beth Weldon, the Official Artist of the 25th Annual “Polo at the Paint” and a member of the Academy’s Art Committee.

“I love to watch polo,” Weldon said. “My mother and I would sit on a blanket with her friends and watch the polo club matches in Point Clear. Later, I even played in a few ladies matches in Virginia.”

This is Weldon’s second time to be named the Official Artist for Polo at the Point. She was also the Official Artist for the Providence Hospital Foundation’s 2013 Festival of Flowers.

“Being the Official Artist is a fabulous honor. I am so thankful for the exposure and these opportunities,” She said. “It gives me the chance to talk with people, which often leads to commission work. Growing up, I sold charcoal drawings of horses and people when I needed extra money.”

Weldon was selected as the Official Artist for Polo at the Point because of the life she captures in her subjects, as well as the life she lives in the community.

“B’Beth is a talented artist in many mediums with her portraits, landscapes, and horses,” said Linda Lou Parsons, co-chair of the event. “She is respected and liked in the community and the arts. She gives back in many ways and represents us well.”

As part of her duties on one of the top committees at the Academy, Weldon helps select the American Sport Art Museum and Archives’ (ASAMA) Sport Artist of the Year. The 2013 honorees are two prolific and world-renowned Olympic artists, American sculptor Edward Eyth and Australian painter Charles Billich. The two were honored at the annual “A Tribute to the Artist and the Athlete” as part of the Academy’s Awards of Sport, held in November 2013 at the Daphne campus.

Weldon teaches art and holds her Gifted Masterpiece Workshops for children with special needs. Each child paints a piece for the “Polo at the Point” silent auction.

“Children come with their therapist and paint three or four paintings at a time,” Weldon said. “These kids and their creations take my breath away. I love their eye, their innocence, and their excitement. For those who can’t speak, you can tell they are about to jump out of their chairs when we look at their work.”

“The money raised through their auctioned art will be part of the money donated from Polo at the Point to USA Mitchell Cancer Institute and Thomas Hospital’s Pediatric Rehab,” she added. “The money goes back into programs that will help them.”

This story originally appeared in “The Southern Rambler” magazine.