Biography

Steven F. Husted

Artist’s Biography

How did you get started?

I’ve always loved drawing. In high school, I consumed Betty Edwards’ Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. I learned to see and I never looked back. I spent 8 years in the military, where I only had enough time to doodle and try to keep my skills current. Since 2000, I have given myself permission to get back to the art that I love. I started practicing more and taking classes at the local college in 2004. In 2005-2006, I took some design classes to further explore digital art (Photoshop and Illustrator). I had kids between 2005 and 2008, and now that they don’t need my focus 100% of the time, I’m starting off on a journey to rediscovering oils.

What are you doing now?

I work full time in a corporate job that will never quench my creative thirst. Slowly, I am building a portfolio so that I can quit my “day job” and turn my lifelong love of painting into my own business.

I am blogging to generate interest in my work and provide a quick creative outlet for myself. The blog will also provide several revenue streams once it is going.

I would like to start doing workshops for beginners once I’m comfortable that I’ve progressed to an intermediate stage in oils (very few ever “master” oil painting – the more you learn, the more you realize how little you know).

What’s your work about? (medium, technique, etc.)

I’ve always loved graphite. Putting pencil to paper is quickly rewarding. Moving on, I’ve developed an affinity towards pen and ink, really enjoying the immediacy and permanence of the media, forcing me to really look before I make a mark, and to make every mark count. Finally, I love oils; the smell, the buttery paint, the texture of the canvas, the subtleties of the medium get me every time.

My technique is varied. Though a realist by desire, I don’t “believe in realism.” That is to say that I do not strive to make photographic copies of the world around me, rather I strive to interpret the world and present that interpretation as art. My work typically ends up being a variation of reality that still has a realistic feel to it.

What are your major accomplishments? Awards, articles, recognition, etc.?

Sold my first painting in 1988 (portrait of a family of 4, commissioned as a gift from the grandfather)

Sold my second painting of a mountain lake to the same client, painted on location, en plein air / alla prima

Won a Boston Globe “Gold Key” scholastic art award in 1990

Alvirne High School Class Artist, class of 1991

1991 – 1999 U.S. Military

2005 – Adobe Illustrator work selected for instructor’s gallery (Jonathon Goebel)

2005 – Adobe Illustrator work selected for school gallery (American Intercontinental University)

Where did you study? What degrees do you hold?

I have only studied art formally a little at a time. In 2004, I attended my first art class ever, Art 101, at the local community college. In 2005-2006, I completed 27 additional credit hours of design classes at American Intercontinental University Online (Digital Design program).