Stephen's Biography
There's nothing quite as beautiful as the unintentional. My work is about the unintentional. I create through my naive vision of a moment in time. I do this by use of colour, by line, the graphic image and the unintentional. My bright colours and free swooning lines reflect my independence to be who I want to be and, who I am. Thick black graphic lines are symbolic of my confidence in who I am and how I want to be seen by the world. These are supplement with the subtle hairline squiggles that appear sporadically on paper or canvas, but together they represent and show a willingness and harmony at being content with who I am. This picture of me is extended and developed by the scratches, etchings, scrawls that reflect my moment to moment decision making and deeper mental state. What appears frantic and manic in fact is controlled, precision execution. The art is knowing when to stop.
Paint and line is applied with a determined intensity and precision that harps back to a childhood naive state. The fluidity of this process is the essence to the creation of the piece. I have many references to a childhood state in my work and also there is a clear sense of a mature graphic control and precision. Splodges of ink are juxtaposed with the primal application of paint that appears to be applied with no clear motive other than to fill a void on the canvas; this is not the case. What appears confused and irrelevant in fact is marrying an innocent, determined expression.
I am self taught and have no formal training or creative direction; but what I have inherited is a desire and a need to communicate through words, paint and line. My technique has been derived out of a raw instinctive need to create. I embrace the challenge when I produce a piece of art, whether it is an Assemblage, a drawing or a painting. The apprehension and the unknown of what the end result will be, add to the excitement I get from my creative process.
My work is in part autobiographic, and is reflective of my complex identity and self. Though my style may appear conflictive, there lies a clear cohesive link in all my work. Each piece I create is a hybrid from what has come before. Like De Buffet , and Appel before me, my pursuit of 'Brut' has led me in many directions both tangible and psychological. I assume this will continue indefinitely. My passion for cartoons, illustration, and graphic symbolism and the art of writing contribute to the hybrid and complexity of my creative journey and a definition of my work.