Stephen Childress
Paintings
Cincinnati Ohio

Of course, art is a major focus in my life. Graphic design has been the pragmatic side of my career; having been in the profession for a dozen years now. I have received several awards for my design work; both as a student and as a professional.

As for painting, I am relatively untrained – it is, for me, a form of expression that is totally experiment: a tightrope walk of abandon and control – and finding sustenance in the nuances. This has lead to a style I have yet to see in anyone else’s work. It is also an extension of my drawing technique, but allowing me to build texture and layering unavailable to me before – maybe I was just trying to ‘paint’ with pencils and pastels all this time.

Most, but not all, of my work is nonrepresentational. The set of problems innate to abstraction intrigue me if only for the quest to engage the viewer without drawing them in through imagery. One might argue that I work with imagery all day as a designer, so as a result, I want to say, “enough already, let me do something else.”