About Steve

I am a multidisciplinary artist whose practice is rooted in joy and discovery.

My earliest inspiration came from my mother, a traditional oil painter, and my passion for creating started through the craft of woodworking and metalworking. My initial exposure to art began in the late 1970s, not in a gallery, but in a printmaking studio in Newport Beach, California. I co-founded Ocean Works, a lithography shop where my co-founder, Conrad Schwable, and I worked side by side with artists from around the world. I was the studio director, and was also involved in the hands-on production process. I worked with master artists like Veloy Vigil and Bob Alderette, who layered color, pushed abstraction, and mixed transparency in ways that heavily influenced my artistic process to this day.

Today, I create abstract paintings that are layered and full of movement.  My materials are whatever I have on hand: acrylics, spray paint, gesso, paint sticks, tape, and even old hardware. I paint on everything from traditional canvas to refrigerator doors, trampoline fabric, and rusted electrical panels. If something calls to me—whether it's a discarded object or a new texture—I’ll use it. I don’t map things out. I start by focusing on a shape or texture and let the piece unfold. Sometimes I’ll use tape to create hidden geometry. Other times, I’ll fling paint using a garden hose or a spatula. The thrill for me is in the discovery.

My painting process extends to how I share my work, too. I’ve exhibited pieces not just in galleries, but in an appliance store, an electrical supply store, and a local grocery outlet in Arroyo Grande. These aren’t just alternative venues—they’re intentional choices. I want people to encounter art in everyday spaces, not just in white-walled rooms. Art should be part of everyday life. When someone stumbles upon one of my paintings while running errands and stops for a moment to take it in—that, to me, is powerful.

I want my work to feel like a portal - an opening, a space that pulls you in and invites you to feel something new, something exciting, something unexpected. An invitation to something new. At the heart of everything I make is a desire to connect with myself,  and with the viewer, too. I want to keep evolving—pushing boundaries with my materials, my tools, the frames I build, and even where my art is viewed.

The phrase I like to say, “Bring the Viewer the ‘WOW-Factor!’”  -Steve