“I paint from life, and I try to keep the process direct and
uncluttered by anxiety or technical issues. I try to make individual
marks, each based on something seen. As I feel my
way into the subject, I look for some organizing structure discovered
new with each painting, like parallel diagonals or repeating
shapes or edges of forms intersecting at right angles.
Ideally, I want my paintings to simply be an accumulation of
marks within a personal compositional structure.
Color and paint seem to have their own magic, which I try to
harness. I want color to sing, and paint to dance. I use color
to convey the feeling of the experience, and the substance of
oil paint is uniquely suited to holding the energy of the marks
made in response to life.”
Christopher Stephens holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from
the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and a Master of
Fine Arts degree from James Madison University, Harrisonburg,
Virginia. Over the course of his twenty-five years as a professional
painter, he has shown his work throughout the eastern
part of the United States, including Raleigh, Chapel Hill,
Greensboro, and Charlotte, all in North Carolina; Sperryville,
Virginia; as well as New York; Pennsylvania; and Washington,
D.C. His work can also be found in several public and corporate
collections.
www.christopherstephens.us
