Art Chowder July | August 2017, Issue 10 | Page 12

STEPHEN SHORTRIDGE
By Dean Cameron
Are “artistic talents” a family affair?
The Shortridge side of my line has
had many different artists, whether
they were architects, carpenters, or
like my grandmother, a hobbyist.
Our two daughters have shown very
artistic capabilities and have used
them in business as well. Hayley, in
painting and also with her business
“Real-Life Canvas,” does permanent
art on people. The obvious is eye-
brows etc. but she also can hide scars,
blemishes, vitiligo, and the like. Our
other daughter is a designer and is in
real estate where her skills to envision
help sell properties.
What do you find most rewarding
about being an artist?
It is the most beautiful job in the
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world. It can be frustrating and challenging,
but I was on my way to an art show back East
and realized I was living most people’s dream.
To create and make a living at it is a great gift.
I thank God. “In short, learn all you can, as
fast as you can, but always guard your heart
and defend your soul - as your wellspring of
creativity. It’s not with our eyes that we see
differently; it’s with the soul.”
—A Finger-Painted Life
Is there an artistic genre you have not
explored that you would like to some day?
I would love to do stained glass again. No
time. Probably my greatest hope would have
been to be musical - to write and sing and play
an instrument well. I still want a rock band
before I die. I can play a little piano and some
cello but never mastered them. There are so
many things I would love to try. A woman
asked me at an art show, “Is there anything
you can’t do”? I answered, “I don’t know,
I haven’t tried everything.”
What do you want your artwork to say to
people?
I would love for them to feel the excite-
ment I had when I painted the piece. They
may not see the battle. I don’t generally
show my losses, only my successes. But
there are defeats for sure. Even still. “An
artist is envied by some and usually mis-
understood by the rest. People and artists
like to assume that artists are different from
other people – but they’re not. Wise artists
face the very same fears about revealing
their hearts in a dangerous world. They,
too, secretly wonder if their passions will
consume them…watching, hoping and
waiting to see if they will create faith, hope,
love, and joy; or self- destruct in a creative
blaze of self-glory.”
—A Finger-Painted Life