Steph Van Doren is an artist working in Peoria, IL. More work can be found on her website here.
Project 1612: How would you describe the art you make?
Steph: I consider my current paintings abstractions of Midwest nature. I shoot photos of plants and trees that I can see in my immediate environment. Using cropped areas of branches, leaves and shadows, as reference, I reduce each to the bare essentials of line, color, shape and light, independent of visual reference to the real.
Project 1612: What drives your practice
Steph: An absolute passion for the process.
Project 1612: What role does photography play in your process?
Steph: Photography has always been an integral part of my life. My grandfather was a photographer and I grew up with a camera in my hand. Until recently, photography and painting were separate processes in my artistic practice. With this current body of work, I am using my own photographs to inspire my paintings, merging the two for the first time.
Project 1612: Tell us about the connection between your sculptural pieces and your paintings?
Steph: My earlier sculptural work was also inspired by local nature. They were based on seed pods and regional colors.
Project 1612: How do you factor color into your works, and what influences the color choices?
Steph: I reference colors I see around me. I love the play of light on objects during different seasons.
Project 1612: Explain the role shadows play in your work.
Steph: Shadows can be evidence of an object, without actually seeing the source. I love that it is an additional step away from the reference to the real.
Project 1612: What problems do you face in the studio? How do you overcome them?
Steph: The biggest problem I face in the studio is time. I recently left one of the many jobs I worked to support my practice, to focus more on my art.
Project 1612: What advice do you have for aspiring artists?
Steph: My advice to aspiring artists is: If you can do anything else, do it. But if art is who you are and there isn’t anything else you can/want to do, then make art. It may not always be great art (some of it will be really bad), but make it anyway.
Project 1612: Do you have anything coming up you would like everyone to know about?
Steph: I will be exhibiting at Ear in the Envelope (Peoria, IL) in August 2018.
Project 1612: What are your thoughts on the art community in Central IL?
Steph: The art community in Central Illinois is more diverse and larger than most people realize. I am constantly amazed at the depth of creativity, the quality of artistic practice and collaboration opportunities available in Central Illinois.
