I was able to take a hike with fellow travelers guided by a local, Hank, who’s passion project is uncovering and keeping alive the historical interpretation of Operation Market Garden in The Netherlands.
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Art of Travel Program at St. Louis Lambert International Airport
St. Louis Lambert International Airport’s Art & Culture Program provides a look at St. Louis culture to more than 16 million travelers and visitors every year. In 2021, Steve’s Graphic Abstracts series was selected to bring a pop of color and energy to Terminal 1.
Read MoreWorking on a new Abstract Series of Paintings
Below are a collection of new paintings using aerosol spray paint, watercolor and paperboard. Mostly using either random and systematic use of found templates and stencils, I create patterns and interactions between colors and shapes. After the stenciling processes using spray paint, abstract watercolor is laid in to activate the negative spaces.
Color is the Glue that Binds
spray paint and watercolor on paperboard
32” x 40”
When a piece of art changes meaning, or interpretation.
Dissecting Union v. Liberty utilizes a cotton flag on a field of orange oil paint.
I created this painting, Dissecting Union v. Liberty, in the spring of 2015. President Barack Obama was still in office. President Donald Trump was yet to announce his candidacy for the 2016 Presidential Election. The original concept I developed for the 2004 AIGA Get Out the Vote poster campaign.
Dissecting Union v. Liberty
oil paint and cotton fabric
50 x 74 inches
The concept was derived from George Washington's farewell address, which is introduced by The National Archives: "In his farewell Presidential address, George Washington advised American citizens to view themselves as a cohesive unit and avoid political parties and issued a special warning to be wary of attachments and entanglements with other nations."
Washington wrote (likely with the help of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton): "...that your union ought to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear to you the preservation of the other."
My intent was to celebrate my liberty and freedom of speech by "dissecting" the elements of our our national symbol. Then, reshaping them into a form that separates them individually, but positions them in position to lean on each other. The idea for the viewer to imagine moving one element, and the entire field having to shift its form.
As I write this in 2017, Donald Trump is our President, and our country is in open debate about our flag, our anthem, how to respect it, and how to respect each other. While my original concept was to celebrate our freedoms and our liberties and our expressive individualism, I feel the tone of our Country has shifted, and now the feeling of this painting is one of a country torn apart by parties and no longer that cohesive symbol I was trying to reshape in celebration.
Pull away a star, or a stripe of white or red and see this formation tumble down.
Mississippi River Festival: Lasting Shadows at Dusk - A recent commission
Mississippi River Festival: Lasting Shadows at Dusk
oil on canvas
40 x 30 inches
I was recently commissioned to paint an image of the Southern Illinois University (SIUE) Mississippi River Festival as a recognition gift given to Steve Jankowski for his service to the SIUE Alumni Association. The gift was given by the members of the board, as a gesture of their gratitude. I was honored to have been approached, and had a blast painting this one. My favorite part of the painting are the lasting shadows presented at dusk - maybe a perfect metaphor for a retirement by a gentleman who has made a lasting impression on the University in my backyard.
Click here to purchase a signed, limited-edition print for $100.00.
50% of the sale will be donated to the SIUE Alumni Association Scholarship Program.