Article: “Vashon Artist Returns Home to Painting” by Elizabeth Shepherd. Photo Susan Reimer.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I teach at a digital arts school. Ironically, the digital revolution that I am immersed in has made me appreciate working in the traditional mediums more than ever, for the following reasons:
They hone your ability to commit, to embrace limitations, and to incorporate mistakes in the development of an image.
They help you to realize that the "vision" is in you, rather than in a complex machine.
Their application requires a physicality that viscerally connects the artist to the artwork.
There is a "somethingness" to a physical artwork that is deeply gratifying in the face of the continually composting news-feed of digital media.
The physical image as object influences place by being an unchanging iconic touch-point that exists through time.
All this leads me to my basic mission when creating imagery, to slow down time, through physical and perceptual immersion, appreciation and creative engagement. These techniques, when combined with the visual language, create little eternities, eddies of stillness in the rushing river of time. Let's call these little eternities "images".
Images are a way to simultaneously step into and out of Life, and subjectively revere it. This process nurtures the experience of the world as a co-creation in which your perception, your opinion, your emotions, your humor, insight and skill are all undeniably woven into the very fabric of existence. And I hold this as a good place to be.
BIO
Steffon Moody began his career as a visual artist at the age of 16, working as a theatrical set painter at the Muny Opera in St. Louis. He learned the craft of set painting from his father, Robert Moody, and a crew of 14 painters. Their weekly task was to paint the scenery for an entire musical on one of the largest stages in the United States. Paint, literally, flew.
Steffon now teaches drawing and design at DigiPen School of Technology; a gaming and animation college in Seattle, WA. Working at DigiPen affords Steffon the luxury of mixing with a population of stellar artists from Disney, Pixar, the gaming industry and the fine arts world.
This website is dedicated to works in the 2D mediums of oil paint, ink, graphite and charcoal. Each medium elicits a different kind of storytelling.
Steffon uses only three colors (plus white) in his oil paintings: Cyan, magenta and yellow; known as the CMY color wheel. All other colors are derived by mixing those three. CMY is a more perfect system than the traditional Red/Yellow/ Blue color wheel, which has a difficult time achieving vibrant violet hues.
Steffon has a BFA in painting from Washington University in St. Louis , and has worked as an artist for the Muny Opera, St. Louis Repertory Theater, Greg Thompson and SuperScenics.
Steffon also took a 30 year tangent as a performer, first with the UMO Ensemble and then with his own company, Chameleon Performance, which is still alive and kicking today. www.chameleonperformance.com
Steffon lives on Maury Island with his wife, Arlette, daughter, Louisa, and son, Giacomo.
GALLERY SHOWS
2022
August - Group Figure Drawing Show at the Country Store Gallery, Vashon Island.
September - Solo Show - Hastings-Cone Gallery
Nov. Dec. - Solo Show - “European Travelogue” Gallery Cafe Vino Olio, Vashon Island
2021
Catalyst Fine Art Gallery - The Lodge at St. Edward State Park - Paintings in rotation.
Tower Building - Seattle - Paintings on Display
2020
December - “The Natural World” with Kristin Reitz-Green. Hardware Store Gallery, Vashon Island. Animals and Landscapes.
2019
March 1st - April 3 - Hardware Store Gallery, Vashon Island. “The Art Work of Steffon Moody” Portraits and Landscapes
October - Group Show - Vashon Center For the Arts - “Fear & Inspiration” ~ Allegorical Paintings for Our Times.
October - DigiPen Faculty Show - Bellevue Art Museum - “Modern Mythology”.
May 1st- June 3 - Solo Show, Hastings-Cone Gallery. “Iconic Vashon ~ Unmistakable Locations”
2018
-Solo Show. “Plein Air Oil Paintings” - Hardware Store Gallery, Vashon Island.
-Faculty Show at DigiPen School of Technology.
-Split show with Paula Henricks. “Oils & Inks” - Hasting-Cone Gallery, Vashon Island.
-Art Auction Show - Vashon Center for the Arts Gallery.
2017
-Solo Show. “Land & Seascapes of the Pacific Northwest” - Hardware Store Gallery, Vashon Island. -
