Gallery II........Gallery III........Still Life
Gallery IV..........Galery V
The early years
My mother, a gifted watercolorist, created portraits and sceneries. I have happy memories of following her around watching her paint. She also worked for a company out of New York City painting porcelain plates. My dad was trained as a sculptor in Belgium, prior to WWII. He was sent there from his home in Italy because he was concidered to be very gifted. He later became the chief sculptor for major manufacturers in New York City. Among these were Disney, Mattel and Ben Cooper. My dad was very instrumental in making sure my art work was born out of life studies. Not to do so was an insult and I would be scolded for this. Therefore I worked continually from life making self portraits, sculptures, drawing objects and other people. This training was vital to my artistic development. As a child I won entry into the highly competitive High School Of Art and Design. I had to decline this oportunity because it would have meant a four hour daily commute by train. I later won a full paid scholarship to attend the Fashion Insitute of Technology which I attended for only one year. This college was to teach me a commercial use for my artistic gift. As a child I watched my dad suffer as he produced countless objects without meaning. I could not take this approach with my gift. Out of need to be self supporting I joined the military in order to earn a living as an illustrator. I worked long nights while enlisted painting in oils. After the military I went back to college under an adult learning program and studied fine art. Now marrried with a young family, I continued producing pastels and oil paintings of my children and relatives. In this developmental period I diligently studied master painters such as George De Latour and Renoir, making copies of their works. In 1980 I recieved my Bachelors degree in Fine Art from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont.
Development Of Style
In 1986 I became very interested in the beauty of icons. To answer this need I was introduced to a prominant Russian American iconographer. Under his guidance I learned an ancient form of iconography. This art form has strict guides for following Church dogma and applying the egg tempra. I mastered this medium quickly and for four years worked primarily producing these images. I loved reflecting on the egg tempra paint and watching it dry almost as if semi precious stone was forming. It sent me into an imaginary journey as though the universe of earth sky and clouds unfolded before me.
By 1990 I was becoming increasingly ill from heavy metals. I was exposed to this through powdered pigment, chaulks and even the gas fumes as I grew up on the streets of New York City. I began to paint in acrylic paints since I grew fearful of the tempra and oil paint fumes made me feel ill. Too sick to work from life I allowed myself to work soley from imagination. I felt I had to express ideas. My art had become very primitive since the flat perspective of the icons had made a lasting impact on the way I saw things. My health was up and down for years. In and out of hospitals and therapy left me unable to do very much. I did paint though. I would sit and paint in quash on tiny boards finding images and bringing them into focus forming scenic impressions. The size of these paintings grew as my strength did.
Maturity and Purpose
I was raised in a family of artists and therefore had experienced this preoccupation of image making as a natural succession of events. I did not approach it with expectations of creating a sensation of wonder for an audience of onlookers. My dad was eager to disipline my efforts and I found his remarks refreshing and constuctive. It became apparent to me by the self concious age of about fifteen that making art was something which you either got appoval or scorn for. I continued to create art for my own sake. It was my "gift". I found in the creative process something far greater than what was in the faces of my audience. The more I can bore my way into this perspective the better my artistic experience. The better my experience the better the experience for those who view the work.
On the opposite side of things, what is being created in the art market of the 21st century has a commercial base. More than ever people are living outside their inner perspective. We are dictated in every aspect of our life by the mind of the "masses". This self concious rather than inner confidence drives the fine art market too. Our expectation of great art has been introduced to us through a commercial venue. But fine art which becomes historically accepted tends to be work which has left off this generic path and ventured into the personal expression. Due to the sifting process of time art touched an owners heart and somehow survived to rise into the lime light.
I do not value the abstact point of view because I find it a perversion of the visual experience. I'd rather paint a subject poorly and in earnest than to paint an abstraction of it. A retrospective of my work shows a self reliance on discovering each painting as a personal revelation. This personal revelation of each brush stoke, and subjective digestion of my subject leaves viewers an autobiographical perspective. Intermingled within my works are paintings which verge on being a impersonal or illustrative.
Fine art is one of the most subjective art forms created by people. This subjectivity is not only appreciated by the artist who works at his craft but also by those who view art. They experience a personality, a purpose, and a statement about what is valuable. Therefore when I look at a painting I look for a message. This depth makes for interesting work.
Please email carolynannsteward@wildblue.net for any inquiries or price quote.
Remembering, 18x24
My work is exhibited mainly in private collections. Apple Jack Publishing company has a licencing agreement with me and has used my work as a cover for a sales catalog. Much of the work they have is from 2002 to 2005. This work is also for sale. My work with this company can be viewed directly at this web address http://www.applejackart.com/aj/ajStore/cgi-bin/aj_onlinestorecatalog.exe?Artist_ID=906840&submit.x=16&submit.y=0&submit=GO%21&VM_CGI_EVENT=ProductsEv&VM_CGI_OBJECT=storebuilder_displayed_page&mac=ArtistCategoryProducts.mac&Category_ID=906840&Subcategory_ID=12&NavRoot=200&NavID=302
Gallery II........Gallery III........Still Life
Gallery IV...........Galery V