Steve Atkinson's Biography

"I want to approach each painting in a fresh way. Some paintings ask to be painted in a loose manner with lots of expression and freedom, while others need to be controlled to allow the subtleties of color temps or facial expression to show through. When an artist becomes a slave to their technique, and limits what they can paint, is when their evolution as an artist ends." ---Steve Atkinson


I started my artistic life as an eager and hungry illustrator over 25 years ago. I loved illustrating, and it paid the bills, but something was always missing, some kind of personal fulfillment. That's when I started painting the things that mattered to me.  Painting feeds my soul. We should all be blessed enough to have a job like that.  My training as an illustrator has given me a solid foundation for my fine art. The ingredients that make a successful painting are the very same ones that go into making a good illustration. My brushes have opened up a whole new world to me. Now I'm able to make pictures of the things that matter to me. I'm not interested in painting the trendy or the shocking, it's purely about what moves me as an artist and a human being. Hopefully, it's the same thing that moves all of us. I'm as comfortable painting the figure as the landscape. Really, it's all about the story and emotion behind the painting. The way I handle the paint, my technique, is as important to me as what I paint. To me, good painting has always been as much about how the artist handles the paint, as it is about the painting's message. Hopefully, when you look at one of my paintings you can tell I was smiling the whole time I was painting it.

I make Prescott, Arizona my home, but grew up in a small steel town in Ohio, and lived in Minnesota for twenty or so years. My wife Ann, continues to be my biggest supporter, best critic, and constant source of inspiration. I find endless variety in the landscape, and feel most alive when painting on location (en plein air) in the midst of getting down a fleeting light effect before it changes. When painting, there is no other concern that seeps into my consciousness. It requires complete focus. Painting is very hard, but there's nothing else in the world I would rather do. Nothing.

My awards include the Jones Purchase Award at the Bosque Conservatory in Clifton, Texas, for my painting, "The Promise of Another Summer". I'm the recipient of an Award of Excellence from the Oil Painters of America for my painting titled "The Gunsmith", as well as many other awards from the shows in which I've participated over these many years. I've been blessed in that my work has been collected and exhibited throughout the United States and in Europe.

I'm a Signature member of the Oil Painters of America (OPA), as well as a proud member of the "Plein Air Painters of the West" (PAPW).

Feel free to email me with comments or questions. Your feedback is always welcomed and much appreciated.

Thanks for looking, Steve