able to work at all . It left him wondering how God would provide . “ He has always been there for me , and He prepared a way for me to be able to make an income and support my family in a way I never would have thought ,” Steve shared . After the success of the bazaar , Steve started looking for more opportunities to present his art and continued to hone his craft . “ I was more focused on painting — which subject to paint , detail or more abstract , which colors to use , how big or how small . There were so many decisions to make before I even started a piece .” All this detail , however , stoked his passion . “ I believe that passion is the key in painting . Desire . Even when paintings come out embarrassing to look at and you wonder if you ’ ll ever get good at it , you say , ‘ I can do better and this bad one will get me to the next one , closer to a masterpiece .’”
Whatever idea with which Steve begins a painting , he says it will always evolve into something he never thought of . He shares , “ I am amazed by the results most of the time .”
When he first started out , he wanted to be detailed and realistic , trying to fit a lot of information into a single painting — basically , forcing an outcome . “ It was work and time consuming . Then as years passed , my mood became more important . Now I try to leave more of an impression or feeling that causes the viewer to remember a time they had in their life that gave them the same impression or feeling .” He lets his passion , faith , and feeling during a piece guide the outcome .
Steve has been inspired by the work of Thomas Kinkade , who dubbed himself “ the painter of light ,” and was known for communicating inspirational messages through his paintings . Steve feels Kinkade had a way of capturing the feeling of God ’ s peace . One of Steve ’ s goals in painting is to communicate that same peace — a peace he feels has been bestowed on him and brought him through the difficulties he has faced . In addition to the subject matter , color choice is a vehicle Steve uses to achieve communicating this emotion .
“ I believe that passion is the key in painting . Desire . Even when paintings come out embarrassing to look at and you wonder if you ’ ll ever get good at it , you say , ‘ I can do better and this bad one will get me to the next one , closer to a masterpiece .’”
“ Café Les Fleurs ”
January | February 2023 15