"Acceleration" Painting

Terry Stevens has led a rich and varied life, the main component being his involvement with the arts. Starting with music (professional drumming and singing), and continuing with visual arts (painting on canvas), he has perceived and considered harmony, rhythm, structure and overtones from both disciplines and explored their variations, possibilities, and commonalities. His landscapes convey the wonder, mystery and surprises of nature, while his abstracts draw the viewer in to tantalizing ecosystems of colour and form. Viewed together, Terry's outer and inner worlds - macro and micro - intersect in unexpected ways and reveal how healing can be not only a by-product, but a purpose of art. Terry’s remarkable recovery from a stroke was made possible by trusting his intuition and diving more deeply into his creativity.
Terry Stevens is a Canadian artist whose creative journey spans music, performance, and visual art. Beginning his career as a drummer and singer, Terry performed with jazz ensembles and vocal groups in both Canada and Europe, where rhythm, improvisation, and voice laid the foundation for his lifelong dedication to the arts. He sang at Carnegie Hall seven times, Lincoln Centre, Roy Thompson Hall, 5 Major European tours and 17 recordings with Kenneth G Mills and the Star Scape Singers.

Following a major stroke, Terry turned with renewed focus to painting, drawing, and mixed media. His art is deeply shaped by resilience, inner transformation, and the ability to find beauty in limitation. Vivid landscapes, expressive abstracts, and symbolic imagery reflect his search for balance between movement and stillness — echoing the rhythms of his musical past.

Terry’s work has been exhibited in galleries and featured in community arts initiatives that highlight creativity as a path to recovery and self-expression. He has also shared his story through public speaking and media features, including CTV’s Amazing People, inspiring others living with disability or recovery challenges.

Today, Terry continues to create from his studio in Canada, blending sound, memory, and visual expression into artworks that resonate with vitality, perseverance, and spirit.