INSPIRATION 

Steve Emery is a Marin native who draws his inspiration from the natural world.  He runs the local trails, backpacks the Sierra, rafts the rivers of the southwest.  As Steve moves through the landscape, infused with the smells, sounds, seasons, he returns to his studio to reinhabit this passage.

In 2023 Steve got a sewing machine and a box of selected fabrics from all over the world from friends. This began his dive into the world of fabric art. It felt so different to find a starting place in a portion of cloth instead of a blank white surface, and his still 2-dimensional pieces grew from these beginnings. It was new, exciting, colorful and larger than his previous paintings. It also continues to be a learning process with many new teachers along the way. It is a very traditional medium, a way of reusing scrap.

His paintings begin without a destination, from a single calligraphic brush stroke, or fabric choice. As more lines are added, spaces become inviting to inhabit. As elements of interest are born, self-conversations are held regarding their meaning. Often times a central, somewhat seductive, element which emerges, becoming something to rally around. Then, the rallying may take on an even more cryptic, intriguing meaning that renders the original meaningless. As he continues painting, (at times more drawing-with-paint), traces of past elements are left behind; a trail of history, not to retrace steps, but a reminder of the foundation each painting was built upon. He is not an abstract painter, nor a painterly painter. A structure, or language emerges to convey, sing, or dance a story, which is itself a myth of its’ own making. For these reasons, Steve refers to this work as lyrical, a reference to that which moves through time with musical accompaniment. He also works with more realistic, intimate portraits of landscape, both his local Marin, as well as the Sierra. Where the landscape work generally go from transparent beginnings to finished compositions, the lyric work is more experimental and searching. He also plays piano and accordion.

TECHNIQUE
Steve works primarily in fabric these days. Beginning with a pattern, or color, of interest, he sews pieces on, often in rows, combining elements and colors from other fabric choices, working towards something, or from some feelings derived from those choices.