About the Artist

 

Northern California artist, Steve Walters, has worked the last thirty-six years as a commercial artist, art director, fine art teacher and painter.  Steve has been called upon as a popular demonstration and workshop artist as well as juror and judge for many regional competitions in both Southern and Northern California.  He has won a total of forty-three national and international awards, including five Best-of-Show awards, as well as an Award of Excellence in the California State Fair and many “Best of Shows” in regional competitions. 

 

He enjoys a wide range of subject matter, including figures, genre, landscapes and especially paintings based on foreign travels.  Having sketched and painted on location in many exotic locales, including Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Turkey, the Czech Republic and Mexico, he has become especially recognized for images portraying Old Colonial Mexico and its native Indian population.  

 

Steve’s work has been shown in galleries and museums, as well as paintings published in American Artist and Artist’s magazines.  He is currently affiliated with Placerville Art Gallery in Placerville, California.

 

Memberships:

Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society

Master Signature Member of Watercolor West

Sacramento Fine Arts Center

 

Gallery:

Placerville Art Gallery, Placerville, California 

 

Education:

California State University, Los Angeles, B.A.

Art Center College of Design, Pasadena

Workshop and Private Painting Instruction - Jay Mosby, Vernon Wilson and Milford Zornes

 

Commercial Experience:      

Advertising Design, Graphic Design, Signage and Point-of-Purchase – 21 years with various corporations and agencies

 

Teaching Experience:

Calif. Art Institute, West Lake Village – 1998-2006

Burbank Creative Arts Center – 1998-2006

Brand Library Studios, Glendale - 1990/1999-2000               

 

Publications:

The Artist’s Magazine – 1992

Gold Country Monthly – 2007

Auburn Journal -- 2008

American Artist -- 2010

 

Artist's Statement:

Interpreting, expressing and communicating my feelings and ideas of nature and the world around me through painting and visual means have been a lifelong pursuit.

 

Where poets enjoy playing with words, I love the process of juggling the many formal elements of painting – texture, shape, color, tone, line, edge quality, etc. -- and pulling together in an original manner a successful composition or design.

 

Expressing mood and emotion and conveying a strong sense of light and atmosphere while portraying nature in a spirited manner are my true subjects and inspiration.  Combining this with an inventive approach, the ordinary can be made compelling, with subject matter merely a vehicle.  Romantic scenes or the picturesque are, of course, exciting and interesting to paint, but the challenge of creating and allowing a more personal and unique point-of-view to emerge from my work is of much greater significance.