“Frumpy” is artist Rod Buffington’s description of a sofa pillow clad in watery green and pink floral fabric and lying on the work table in his home studio on Springfield’s west side. “I’m not sure this is what the client had in mind when they asked me to paint something that compliments their couch” jokes Buffington, gesturing toward his half-finished watercolor that takes a vague cue from the plain-Jane pillow before veering off into geometric prints and patterns that mimic a quilted fabric collage.

“Artists hate and love commissions. They can restrict creativity, but they help pay the bills.” Art, in various guises, has been supporting the Buffington household for nearly four decades. Rod’s wife, Rosemary, was a grade school and high school art teacher for 37 years.

Rod taught art and directed a gallery at Eastern Illinois University before serving as director of the Springfield Art Association for 10 years. Together the Buffingtons have cowritten art guides, curated professional and amateur art exhibitions and juried and judged art shows around the country.

Aug. 29 the pair will be honored for their service to the arts with a retrospective exhibit at the Springfield Art Association. Sponsored by The Walton Group and the Illinois Arts Council, the exhibit will feature 38 of Rod’s paintings — most of them borrowed from civic and private collections and all in a style Rod calls “watercolor quilting.” Rosemary, whose field is art education, describes it as “unlike anything any other painter does.” Working on handmade paper, Buffington conceptualizes his designs somewhat like the colorful blocks and squares reminiscent of 19th century “crazy quilts.” But his are painted with simulated fabric designs and overlaid with actual fabric. He makes overlays out of rare, hand-blocked papers from Europe and Asia. Some of his works have hand-stitched silk thread seams to mimic the functional sewing on a real quilt.

“My grandmother was an avid quilt maker, he says. “I think I got the idea of quilt painting in a dream about her.” At the time, Buffington was painting abstract watercolors and was restless to find something that would help him grow creatively.

“I started out as an art teacher and administrator. What I really wanted was to become a real artist.” Buffington wasn’t sure what he was getting into. “I had a vision of what I wanted to do — something like ‘art meets geometry.’ I’d never seen quilting incorporated into watercolors in this way — not then and not now.” “Each painting takes me 200 to 300 hours to complete and most artists don’t make that kind of time commitment. The fabrics I use are the finest cottons so their designs and patterns hold up. I use tiny cuts and back them with a special adhesive tape to get the illusion of an art quilt.”

Buffington makes regular trips to Chicago’s Merchandise Mart to raid the sample bins of top fabric designers. His workmanship is intricate and precise, not unlike fine bed quilts.

Sometimes he fashions decorative trims composed of tiny holes, each no larger than a paper punch point. He lines each hole with different colored papers or fabrics to add dimension to his designs. Proportion and scale are key. Many of his works contain hundreds of painted blocks, stars and triangles within a framework no larger than a crib quilt.

Looking back over 40 years, Buffington says he is most proud of two accomplishments: launching the annual Fine Craft Fair at the Springfield Art Association, and curating “Double Vision,” an exhibition of quilts by 18 internationally known quilt makers — a veritable “Who’s Who Of Quilt Making” according to Buffington. He worked with each quilter on an initial concept, then created a watercolor quilt to be displayed beside it. Neither the quilters nor Buffington communicated after the first meeting. Yet displayed side-byside, the works bore striking resemblances, despite the inherent differences between quilt making and quilt painting. The exhibit kicked off in 2001 at the American Quilters Society Museum in Paducah, Ky., and traveled to galleries, quilt festivals and other museums in locations that included Barcelona, Spain.

“My goal was that each of the paired pieces worked together yet stood alone as a work of art. I wanted to inspire quilt makers — in honor of my quilt-making grandmother. I don’t know if it really happened, but I think she led me where I was supposed to go. I wanted to thank her for helping me become an artist.”

Julie Cellini of Springfield is a former newspaper reporter and award-winning feature writer. Her stories have appeared in regional and national publications.

“Paint and Patchwork: A Rod Buffington Retrospective” will be open to the public Aug.29-Oct. 31 in the main gallery of the Springfield Art Association, 700 N. 4th St. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Free admission.