Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Lyons.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I have painted my entire life. While I enjoyed some minor success along the way — a show here, a show there — it wasn’t until 2011 when my career as an artist truly launched. In August of that year I began painting seascapes and abstract work on scrap lumber left over from a renovation of my home and selling the small pieces off my front porch. They became known as “Momento Paintings” and became highly collected by art lovers. In the summer of 2012 I was back selling my small paintings on scrap lumber off my front porch and was “discovered” by an international cultural writer from Europe. He, like many others who had stumbled upon my casual, home gallery was taken by my reinvention of the ancient Italian technique called “impasto” (which basically means “thick paint.”) Within 6 months of being “discovered” (so to speak) I won my first international award, the shared exhibition prize in Sylte, Germany, an art colony in Northern Germany. Several other awards have come since, including being named one of the top two abstract expressionist painters in the world by the American Art Awards. This autumn my art will be exhibited throughout Europe, with special presentations by Princess Elletra Marconi of Italy at her Palace in Bologna and again at the Palace Borghese in Rome.
Please tell us about your art.
The root of my work is in Northern European Expressionism, to which I add a contemporary American flair. For me, each painting is essentially “a story” that needs to be told and I so use different materials and techniques depending on the narrative. For instance, for me, water is a story best told through sculpture on canvas, for which I have become known. Sometimes I will paint a single wave that is 2-3 inches off the canvas, sometimes the waves will take up the entire canvas with peaks breaking off the canvas by an inch or two. And while my work is always expressive and you can feel the emotion behind the brush work or palette knife work, there is a lot of thought behind my art. Some discuss it as being somewhat intellectual because paintings can reflect metaphor and high-concepts. It’s all rather interesting because viewers and collectors seem to be truly understanding me as an artist — which is to say I am a “creator” (versus being “a painter.”) I made that switch several years ago and by shifting the paradigm my ability to create and what I want to create expanded ten-fold.
We often hear from artists that being an artist can be lonely. Any advice for those looking to connect with other artists?
I hear that artists complain about loneliness, too, but it is not something I can relate to. My creative and painting studio is located in my gallery on Main Street in Chatham. It has become a destination for art lovers, the general public and collectors alike, and we sometimes have up to 150 visitors a day. While I sometimes help with the visitors and collectors, I more just as busy painting. The staff are encouraged to keep the place casual and fun and so it’s not unusual for me to chat with visitors while painting. If I need quiet time to accomplish something I go to the gallery as early as 5:30 or 6: 00 a.m. and paint. During the “season” — end of June through the end of September — it can be absolutely nuts, in a good way, and so being lonely is not really an option. I guess I am lucky in that my mind and creativity can focus even with so many people around.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
You can see my work at my working studio and gallery located on Main Street in Chatham, MA. We try to keep it feeling “alive” and refer to it and describe it as a “creative space” versus just being another gallery. You can usually find me there, in the back, at the easel painting while people mull about, ask questions, etc. Sometimes I let visitors paint with me. It’s fun for everyone and serves an important point: Being creative is something everyone should do — and something everyone is capable of.
You can also find my work online at www.SteveLyonsGallery.com and www.SteveLyonsArt.com.
For Europeans and European travelers, you will find my work on tour throughout Europe this year. The first exhibition opens at the ME Resort in Sitges, Spain, before heading to Moscow, Madrid and Barelona. In October, Princess Eletrra Marconi of Italy will present me and my work at her Palace in Bologna and then again at the Palace Borghese in Rome. There is also talk of an opening in Paris in November. It’s an exciting time for me and I’m excited and nervous to see the reception of my work. I’ve shown in Germany several times, but to have my art travel the continent is a whole new experience.
Contact Info:
- Address: Steve Lyons
- Website: www.SteveLyonsGallery.com
- Phone: Gallery: 617-529-1378
- Email: SteveLyonsArt@gmail.com
- Instagram: SteveLyonsGallery
- Facebook: Steve Lyons Gallery
- Other: www.SteveLyonsArt.com
Image Credit:
Steve Lyons Gallery
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