By Christopher Volpe

Steven S. Walker has a little girl named Poppy who “manages the studio” singlehandedly. He comes from a big family, and family is more important to him than anything else. He’s a professional painter who’s had to become a pro at balancing a successful career (he continuously supplies a dozen galleries with work) and a rich and engaged family and community life that means the world to him.

Steven S. Walker, Made in Georgia, oil, 12×12

Steven will be giving a painting demo during Plein Air Live, which runs March 9-12, 2023. The largest online art learning event, Plein Air Live runs the gamut of plein air styles, topics, and subject matter. Over the course of 3-4 days, it gives you access to 30 of the world’s most renowned artists from the comfort of your own home. Check out the lineup and get inspired!

Steven says it’s a myth that in order “make it” you have to sacrifice everything for your art. “Just being secluded and just work, work, work, it’s not healthy,” he says.

Steven stepped away from the competitive world of commercial illustration to paint what he wanted to paint, not what other people wanted him to paint. It’s working for him because he works it, with a balance of what’s important and a dogged combination of inspiration, dedication, authenticity. “I get up each day as if I don’t have any money and I’m just starting over,” he says. “I approach the day as though I’ve got to keep things fresh and see what I can make happen.”

Steven S. Walker, Back to Work, oil, 6×12

He has been creating inspiring works of art for corporations and private collectors for over 20 years. He earned his bachelor’s degree in fine arts at Virginia Commonwealth University with a concentration in illustration. He would later earn his masters in fine arts from Marywood University. In addition to plein air work, he creates larger format landscapes and an ongoing series of imaginative portrait/still life paintings of people and cocktails, which he calls the “glasses series.”

As a full time artist, Steven has been included in local and national juried competitions including the Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional, S11alon and National, Richeson 75 Landscape Competition, Plein Air Salon, the International Salon and the Art Renewal Center. Steven also had the honor of having a statewide traveling exhibition organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

“I get antsy when there’s not something on my plate,” he says. He’s regularly checking in with his galleries, teaching the occasional class or workshop, and staying active in the many art associations he’s involved with both locally and on the national level. But he’s with his daughter or his wife Evelyn all the time too.

Steven S. Walker, Together-Mess, oil, 8×10

Steven’s career has also included plein air events  including Plein Air South, Forgotten Coast Plein Air, Georgia Colors and the Olmsted Invitational (which earned him a judges award from the editor of art collector magazine). Most recently, Steven was given signature status in the Oil Painters of America.

Steven continues to work hard on the advancement of his career, with the assistance of Evelyn and studio “manager” Poppy. “If something happens, family is first,” he says. “If you want to know my secret, ask my wife and daughter,” he says. “They are the real heroes in my success  story.”

Portions of this story came from a podcast Steven did with The Savvy Painter, which you can listen to on Steven’s website. See what Plein Air Live is all about here.

 

Sargent’s Greatest Lessons
By Bob Bahr
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), “Mountain Fire,” 1906-1907, opaque and translucent watercolor, 14 1/16 x 20 in., Collection Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
Noted watercolor artist Frank LaLumia calls Sargent’s watercolors “a complete exercise of joy.” He revels in how Sargent embraced the limitations and unique opportunities watercolor allows an artist. “What is most remarkable to me is how Sargent employed the medium,” he says. “Sargent used watercolor in a way that was unique unto itself. Sargent had a natural understanding of watercolor — like he was born to it.”

LaLumia points plein air artists toward Sargent’s piece “Mountain Fire,” a relatively abstract depiction of a wildfire engulfing an alpine mountainside in smoke, a painting that owes a bit to Turner. “It’s a remarkable tour de force, showing smoke moving up the hillside, and the peaks affected by the diminished light,” LaLumia points out. The fire itself is indicated with just a few spots of bright red, while the scene is compressed and dominated by the smothering mass of white smoke. But LaLumia saves most of his words for Sargent’s portrayal of sunlight.

Continue reading on our sister site, AmericanWatercolor.net >