RE-views and Vanishing Act

RE-Views artist Steve has had a long career as a teacher and artist. Today, he paints several hours in the morning nearly every day in his studio. Capturing Sacramento icons are a major theme in Steve’s current paintings and all of his latest work have acquired an unprecedented mastery reminiscent of the classical tromp l’oeil paintings. The dramatic play of light and dark has become a persistent theme in his work along with bold, emotion-based color schemes to create interpretable layers within his compositions. His work can be found in galleries, businesses and homes all over the state. Sports fans might have seen several of his paintings hanging in the hallways of Raley field and in Skyline Restaurant at Arco Arena.

Vanishing Act features new work from artists Susan Silvester and Sandy Whetstone. The impetus for this show stems from their love of nature, specifically animals, and their concern for the loss of many species due to habitat loss, climate change, and pollution. Some of the animals are familiar, while others are more obscure. Searching for subjects, they sadly found that there are more species endangered than ever. This has serious consequences for society.

The artists chose to anthropomorphize some of the animals to create empathy, drawing the viewer into creating a story about the animal. Some of the animals are dressed in clothes specific to a specific time period or region. The red panda is wearing the traditional clothes of Yunan, China, where it lives. The quagga is dressed in riding outfit of the 1890’s, when the quagga went extinct.