Awakenings
40 x 30 in.
Oil on canvas
Available at Reinert Fine Art

The painting Awakenings came about by chance, during an otherwise routine early morning sunrise at Folly Beach on James Island, one of the many barrier islands of South Carolina.

“One morning I was walking my dogs along the shoreline. It was overcast. I didn’t expect the sunrise to be anything spectacular, yet slowly, but surely, the sun began to rise. It ended up being spellbinding! The saying, “Life is not measured by the breathes we take, but by the moments that take our breath away,” sums up the experience! Such moments are why I’m here, why I paint. I want to encapsulate the type which stop you in your tracks and make you realize how lucky we are to witness the beauty of this earth.”

“When Stephanie moved to Charleston from Providence, Rhode Island, she felt immediately at home in the swampy, gothic landscape, thanks to the similarities with Rhode Island,” wrote Bob Bahr in a recent PleinAir Magazine feature article.

“Moving to Charleston’s thriving arts community has been so inspiring for me as an artist. It’s wonderful to see how people flock here to support the arts,” continues Stephanie.

Indeed, South Carolina is a source of constant inspiration and rebirth for this artist who loves to paint the many waterways, beaches and vast open skies of the Lowcountry.

“Although my work can often have vibrant color it is based in Tonalism which focuses on mood and poetic vision over place. I love pushing color” says Stephanie. “I do not stick to what I see. I paint what I feel. Each piece is a blend of the historical roots of tonalism and colors I see, making the work seem more contemporary. I want my paintings to feel timeless.”

Stephanie is a member of New York City’s Salmagundi Club, founded in 1871, and recently won the “F. Ballard Williams Fund Award” in the 2019 Spring Auction. She is also an elected member of the Plein Air Painters of the Southeast.

See more of Stephanie’s newest work online, as well as follow her on Facebook and Instagram.