Steven Stanley - Painter
I’ve been on a journey of artistic discovery from the age of eight, where I got my first sketch book given to me from a neighbour. I have always been into art since and interested in drawing, painting, graphics, photography and even ceramics at one stage. After high school I lost my artistic drive, resulting in no drawings or paintings at all for over eight years.
I found my artistic mojo again once I moved from Melbourne to Bendigo, Australia in November 2012, where my friend suggested I should take up art classes and sent me a link to a local art school ‘Academy Bendigo’, I enrolled that same week. After studying with ‘Academy Bendigo’ for 5 years, I now paint from my studio at home. I focus on Portraiture with the occasional seascape or nature painting and work primarily with a pallet knife but trained using brushes in a traditional style. I try to find people that inspire me and that have made a positive difference in our world. Finding the emotion in each piece is above all the most important thing to me. It’s crucial that each viewer get a sense of the emotions from the portraits, no matter how subjective.
When I start a painting, I work out what size and style of canvas that would suit the content and composition. I then imagine what colours would help achieve my emotive contemporary style. I start an under-painting using one colour to map out the shapes, tones and compositions of the piece. From here I continue by painting in mid tone areas, then the darkest tone and lightest tone within the colour pallet I’m using. I do this to make sure the tones are all cohesive and work together to create dimension. Then I apply the full colour and refine the piece by adding accents and highlights to finish.