Biography
Born and raised in Hong Kong to British parents, Steph moved to and studied in London as a young adult. It was there that she embarked on a prestigious career as a celebrity make-up artist working with the likes of David Bowie and the Royal Family to name a few. In her spare time Steph began painting to expand her desire to create. Steph had a brush or mark making tool in her hand everyday day for the next 40 years.
After a highly successful career as a makeup artist in London and Europe, Steph moved to Sarasota, Florida. There she swapped her substrate from human faces to canvas and found herself painting more and more which finally allowed her the ability to fully express herself.
Steph is mainly a self taught painter, allowing her intuition to guide her process. She likes to find her way as she goes, building up her work and then sanding and scraping away to reveal what went before, not stopping until she finds peace with her work.
Working from her studio in Sarasota, Steph's work has started to get recognition picking up awards at juried exhibitions along the way. She is a gallery represented artist and her private collectors are based mainly in America and the UK.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I paint intuitively, creating distinctive pieces emanating mystery, depth, and storytelling. My work is abstract with occasional representational elements added-in.
I have been working on three main series over the past few years, creating skyscapes, shapes and patterns, and whimsical narrative work. I often work from one series to another, overlapping elements, allowing one painting to be informed by the other.
Working in oils and acrylics and the occasional collage, I start my work in a carefree, playful way, putting down marks and color with no real plan in mind. At a certain point, the painting will let me know which direction to go to bring it to its final identity. It's a constant call and response. Many layers are applied with various tools, even my fingers. These layers are often sanded down and scraped away to reveal what lies beneath, and then painted back over in various opaque and transparent layers which gives a beautiful feeling of texture, depth, and mystery. Some paintings come to fruition quickly, others may take a while, all the time my sensitivity and emotions of the day are being applied through paint to tell my story.
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