Inspired by people
from The Palette Pages
Stephen Michael is a young artist from
Indonesia who has recently graduated from New Hampshire Institute of art. We
were overwhelmed by his talent and are very excited to feature his work signed under the name Stephen Godlieb. Stephen mixes realism and abstraction to
create bold and expressive art that is memmorable, displaying a rawness of
emotion and freedom. The deftly placed
marks and the use of a wide colour palette give his canvases an energy that is
spectacular to view. Influenced heavily
by music; electronic dance music helps Stephen make decisions and emphasizes
the abstraction through the brush mark.
Lyrical soul music helps him create an emotion and composition to the
figure. Music and art is combined to unleash the creativity and passion from a
true talent on the first steps of his artistic journey. We are intrigued by his work and can only
imagine what he will become in a few years time. He is certainly an artist to
watch out for. Thank you Stephen for
sharing your work with us.
Self taught or art school?
I went
to New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, NH. I recently graduated from
there a few months ago.
If you could own one work of art what would it
be?
If I
could own one work of art it would be Adele Bloch Bauer II by Gustav Klimt from
the Gold Era.
How would you describe your style?
I would
describe my art as figurative abstraction because I mostly paint figures or
portraits with a lot of brush marking and texture. I would like the viewer to
see my art like fireworks because I mix a lot of colors on my painting.
What are your favourite places to view art?
I
usually go to any close museums or street galleries to see art. One of my
favorite places to see art is Museum of Fine Arts Boston, MA.
Who are your favourite artists and why?
My
recent favorite artist is Andrew Salgado because his works show a lot of
freedom to his brush strokes and his palette is really representing the
modernism in art. Mark Horst and Alex Kanevsky are also some of my favorite
artists.
What or who inspires your art?
I got
inspired by people around me, cultures, sometimes into current events around
the world like war.
Where’s your studio and what’s it like?
I moved
into new studio space in Dover, NH. I share it with another artist Brian Carter
who has been using the studio since last november. It looks pretty good, Brian
uses half of the space for his clothing store so it looks pretty urban.
Do you have any studio rituals?
My
studio ritual is find a good music to put it together in one podcast because I
always listen to music when I paint and fresh beats music always keeps me in
the zone while I paint.
Where can we buy your art?
I have a
website where you can get my art www.sweetgraphik.weebly.com
What
are your ambitions?
My
ambitions are to travel around the world with my art. Either by doing shows,
painting people, or working on some art project.
Stephen Godlieb | A selection of works here
An interview by Lisa Gray
Originally published in The Palette Pages
The Palette Pages website www.thepalettepages.com
© 2014 Lisa Gray
NAU NUA | ART MAGAZINE edition by Juan Carlos Romero
Interview and photograph courtesy of Lisa Gray
Stephen Godlieb website www.sweetgraphik.weebly.com
All rights reserved