Background

Steve Curtiss graduated with honors from Stanford University in a
special program in Design that combined art and technology. This program
included classes from Matt Kahn, Nathan Oliviera, and Keith Boyle in
drawing, painting, and graphics. After college he studied over a 10 year
period under Alfredo D'Annunzio*, a noted Bay Area painter, in addition to
taking coursework at the Palo Alto Cultural Center and the Pacific Art
League. Over the years, Steve has maintained a working studio at home
and occasional rental studios on the San Mateo County coast and in
Mendocino County to sketch and study nature. His current work combines
scenes from his imagination with a traditional background in landscape
and the craft of oil painting.

Steve Curtiss is a member of Gallery 9,
143 Main St, Los Altos, CA 94022 Ph: 650-941-7969

Partial List of Prior Gallery Affiliations

Elizabeth Norton Gallery, Pacific Art League
(Both as individual artist and with ArtSynergy Group)

De Groot Gallery, Cambria, CA

The Drawing Room Gallery, Half Moon Bay, CA

Mona Froyland Gallery, Castro Valley, CA

Scharffenberger Gallery, Philo, CA

Teaching

Pacific Art League, Outdoor Painting, 1996,1997

Pacific Art League, Faculty Resource, 2005-2009

Pacific Art League, Founder of ArtSynergy Group 2005

Artist's Statement: Current Work

My current work combines elements of realism and fantasy, rendered
through the discipline of oil painting. Frequently I find my ideas and
frustrations about the world surfacing in daydreams that have offbeat,
humorous, or paradoxical subjects, and then I want to see the scenes on
canvas. Some of the work relates to commonly held cultural imagery like
the history of art, some to current issues in our society, some to my cats or
things around me. The paintings can range from light and whimsical to
sharper and more challenging, sometimes with a couple of layers of
meaning interwoven. I like a painting to work on multiple levels, and oil
paint has a basic mystery and complexity about it that adds depth to an image.
I believe that art should show us things we would not ordinarily see
and encourage us to re-evaluate our assumptions.

*Alfredo D'Annunzio is still painting and teaching at age 93 and was honored
with a retrospective show of his work at the Hayward City Hall (July '05).