MEET THE ARTIST: PROMOTING HAPPINESS WITH STEVE BARTON
"Cinnamon Bay" by Steve Barton
"A Love Story" by Steve Barton
Steve Barton is a recent addition to the group of popular contemporary artists featured at Wyland Galleries. A casually dressed man with an engaging grin, Barton exudes enthusiasm about his work and life in general. His dynamic personality is evident in his vibrantly colorful paintings, a reflection of his attitude about life.
Steve Barton's work features vivid colors in tropical scenes -- with flower-bedecked cottages, Adirondack chairs on the beach, and shoreline vistas. A distinctive element to his work is his use of a wavy frame, which allows viewers to see the painting, on a wavy canvas, from all angles -- getting a different perspective from each one.
Originally from New Hampshire, Barton studied at the Rhode Island School of Design. He traveled west until he landed in California and today lives in San Diego with his family and an assortment of animals.
During a recent show at Key West's Wyland Galleries, Steve Barton shared some of his thoughts, dreams and the upbeat worldview that flavors his work.
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Q: How did you know you were an artist?
Steve Barton: It's all I've ever wanted to do. My mom is an oil painter and ... the first time I picked up a brush, when I was eight years old, it's what I knew I was meant to do for the rest of my life.
Q: Are there any other artists in your family background?
SB: No, it's just me and my mom right now. I have some cousins who do some things, but not like me and my mom.
Q: Do you use oils or acrylics, or both?
SB: I use 99 percent oil. I use some watercolors. When I'm on vacation getting ideas down is when I use the watercolors.
Q: Your art features tropical scenes. Have you spent much time in tropical places?
SB: I've been very blessed. I have gone to Hawaii, I got to the Caribbean, the Florida Keys. I've experienced a lot of new places, and everywhere I go I get off the beaten track. I like going to find those little places that are, you know, "four doors down to the left, turn, be sure you don't miss it."
Those are the little things that I think add to my paintings because those are the elements that people want, and it goes back to the simpler lifestyle. Less "stuff." We just have our elements that we enjoy in life -- if it's sitting at the beach, if it's having a surfboard, if it's having a hammock hanging outside the house. That's where you visually and mentally need to go when you look at my paintings.
Q: Who has influenced you as an artist?
SB: My mom ... and Coleman was a great influence. I like Van Gogh -- I'm a great fan of his brushstrokes. And as modern artists go, I would say Coleman was one of the larger influences. I respect what he does, and it's nice to be able to do similar scenes but to have a different flip to it.
Q: What to you is the most important element in your art?
SB: Enjoying it. Because I enjoy painting and I love seeing clients look at it and "go away" ... actually traveling in the paintings. You can see them setting out the Adirondack chairs, or going to pull the rowboat in the water, or just walking through the paths that I make. That's the most important part.
Q: Your colors are so vibrant. How to you feel your use of color sets you apart?
SB: My bright, broad brushstrokes are similar to those of Cezanne, Van Gogh, my mother. What sets me apart today is not necessarily the colors that I use -- it's the cheerful, youthful playing of the canvas, the youthful simplicity. It's not super-detailed, but yet it has a polished look to it.
But it's more the emotion it creates. I put a lot of emotion into everything I do. I'm an artist, but I'm promoting a lifestyle of escape and relaxation that puts a smile to your face. That's one of the reasons why the [wavy] canvas is so important. It's the unique, fun flair.
Q: What are you concentrating on now?
SB: I travel a lot. Without traveling, for me, without getting new ideas, the well runs dry. So that's what I'm doing now.
Q: What do you want viewers to feel when look at a painting of yours? What do you want them to take away with them?
SB: Happiness. That is what I paint for; I want to create happiness. That is the goal of my paintings.
Q: Where do you want to be, creatively or professionally, in five years? Ten?
SB: I don't know. I don't know which direction I want to go into. I work with kids -- I love kids. Mine are grown now, but I'm always working with high school kids.
I think giving back is a major point of what I do. I know that I'm going to do something more working with children, and I know I'm going to show different aspects of art besides having it on the wall -- other ways to expose art, because my goal is to make people happy.
