Café Society Girl Painting

Steven (above with Graham Nash, a collector) works primarily in the Color Field and Pop Art styles. His paintings are inspired by emotion. Employing a striking palette of colors that entice the viewer to become engaged and, thus, a part of the experience. Steven explains, “I try to elicit emotion. I care less about a color itself but rather how it behaves within the context of the work as a whole”. He believes it’s important for the action and chaos to find a safe place in the eye of the viewer. After graduating from design school, Steven took a position in a Dallas art studio. He later made the move to painting full time. He has exhibited work in the Dallas Museum of Art and the Monterey Museum of Art, also taught Polaroid Transfer classes for the Monterey Museum of Art. He was co-owner of an art gallery in Taos, NM. After a stint as an industrial designer, Steven is back to his first love - painting. ARTIST’S STATEMENT I believe that art should continue to captivate long after the initial viewing. William Wordsworth wrote that within the mind of man, “There is a dark invisible workmanship that reconciles discordant elements and makes them move in one society”. I strive to include unresolved dissonance into each of my works, creating visual problems for the mind to reconcile. This fosters an interactiveness between the art and the viewer that creates a private, personal and contemplative experience that will last for years to come. This process may take a while. Many of my paintings have numerous layerings of base coats and experimental starts underneath the finish. This produces a tactile surface on many of my paintings that add another element to engage the viewers’ attention. I work mainly in high grade acrylic on stretched canvas but will incorporate bits of ephemera and collage if it suits the piece.