Stephanie Peters

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  • Home
  • About
    • Biography
    • Stories
    • Events/Exhibits
  • New
    • Extinct Wild
    • Colorful Wildlife Encounters
    • Migration - Circle Bird Paintings
    • Urban Wildlife
    • Life on the Rock
    • Icebergs
    • Spirits of the Forest
  • Natural Disasters
    • Natural Disasters
    • Volcano paintings
    • Wildfires
    • Extreme Weather: Storms, Tornadoes, Hurricanes & Lightning
  • Wildlife Pastels
    • Life on the Rock
    • Adirondacks
    • Africa
    • Arizona Desert
    • Aquatic life
    • Birds
  • Paintings
    • Series >
      • Migration - Circle Bird Paintings
      • Flying Color - Bird Paintings
      • Ocean Life
      • River Fish
      • Wildlife Paintings
      • Abstract
      • Illustrating Literature
      • The Energy of White
      • Abstract Landscapes
    • Printmaking >
      • New prints
      • Stamps
  • Buy Art
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-Stories from the road-

Adventures, notes of inspiration, daily experiences, trips to nowhere and then somewhere, works in progress, creative discoveries, new work, tools of the trade, news from the studio, event updates, and things that make me smile or think deep thoughts...

The Sea Unites Us

9/19/2019

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Over the summer, I painted a mural on the recreation center, in Elliston, Newfoundland, Canada. While I was there for other reasons, the recreation committee asked if I could paint a 115ft long mural on their building and I couldn't say no to that challenge.

The wall is facing a community park they had recently improved and they thought a mural would be a nice addition. They requested that the mural be community friendly and colorful but I was free to paint what I wanted. (Of course my sketches were approved by their committee before I began.) 

I wanted to make a mural that related to their community, and their history. Elliston is located on one of the northern peninsulas of Newfoundland, and historically it was a big  fishing community. Like most of Newfoundland, after the cod industry was eliminated in the 90's, Elliston struggled to stay alive. But 20 something years later, after the community got together to promote tourism, Elliston is a tourist destination known as the Root Cellar Capital of the world, with a strong tight knit community at the core of it. It is an incredible place to watch whales, see icebergs, and plenty of sea birds (puffins, gannets, and razorbills included!) Thousands of tourists visit Elliston for their location, natural features, and even for their festivals like the Puffin Festival, and Roots, Rants and Roars - a fall event that brings chefs from all over the world to Elliston. 

With all of this inspiration to work with, it was easy to come up with a composition that highlights what Elliston is proud of: their relationship with the sea. So I drew up a composition that started with Puffins flying off an island and then flowing into the life at sea. I included a variety of sea birds (Northern Gannets, Herring Gulls, Kittiwakes, Black-back gulls, Razorbills, Double crested cormorant, Black guillemots, and Atlantic Puffins,) a fin whale, a humpback whale breaching, a humpback with calf, a minke whale, a school of cod, a school of sculpin, a gray seal, a crab, lobsters, squid, capelin, an iceberg, seaweed and a root cellar - to highlight all that is Elliston. 

The mural took ten days to paint, and thankfully, a few community members came by to help during the ten days.

Here is the finished mural:  
And a gallery timeline of the project:
Ocean mural
Ocean mural beginning
Ocean mural beginnings
Ocean mural beginnings
Ocean mural start
Ocean mural sketches
Ocean mural sketches
Ocean mural sketches
Ocean scene mural sketches
Ocean theme mural sketches
Ocean mural drawings
Ocean mural puffins
Ocean mural seal
Ocean mural  humpback
Ocean mural cod fish
Ocean mural fin whale
Ocean mural sea birds
Ocean mural iceberg
Ocean mural school of cod
Ocean mural razorbills
Ocean mural kelp and seal
Ocean mural minke whale
Ocean mural full view
Ocean mural gannets
Ocean mural humpback whale and calf
Ocean mural northern gannets
Ocean mural squid and fin whale
Ocean mural sunset
Ocean mural puffin
Ocean mural rainbow
Ocean mural seabirds and iceberg
Ocean mural capelin
Ocean mural sculpin
Ocean mural close up humpback whale and calf
Ocean mural the sea unites us
Ocean mural full view
And so after 10 days of painting, the mural was complete...
Ocean mural

I have painted murals before, but this was my biggest mural to date. I really enjoyed painting it, but what I enjoyed the most about this project was the enthusiasm from the community. This mural is theirs. Some of them painted it, but many followed the progress along on Facebook or stopped by to say hi while I was painting. I wanted to make something that they will smile at when they see it, something that brought a little color to their world, and most importantly, adds a little joy to their everyday. 

I was so lucky to have this opportunity and I cannot thank the Town of Elliston enough for giving me the opportunity  - and I'll never be able to thank those who helped enough.  

If you ever find yourself in Elliston, Newfoundland. Take a look at the mural, it's across the street from the Home from the Sea Sealing Memorial Interpretive Center. 
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Powder Blue inspired Print pattern

4/9/2016

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I'm a big fan of tropical fish. Their patterns and colors are incredible, and, the coral reefs they call home are just amazing. I also find their shapes quite compelling too. These 'flat' creatures have the perfect structure to glide easily through water. Perhaps, this is how fish see us maneuver with grace on land  - but I'm still always in awe when I see fish (or any sea creature) move like they are dancing along with the pressure of water. My fascination with fish swimming may have to do with the fact that I can't really swim, and am quite terrified of deep water. But, I still love fish, and pretty much all sea creatures. Fear does not stop me from admiring the world under the sea, and drawing them when I can.. 
trigger fish sketch
tang surgeonfish sketches
triggerfish doodles
tropical fish sketches

Recently, I've become obsessed with the Powder Blue Tang Surgeonfish

powder blue tang surgeonfish school

And I had an interesting idea... wouldn't it look really cool as a pattern?

So I made a sketch of a Powder Blue Tang Surgeonfish...
 ​And then made it into a vector...

powder blue tang surgeonfish outline

And then colored it in...

Powder blue tang

And well, with a little photoshop magic, came up with a pattern...
A blue and a black version...

Powder blue tang blue pattern
powder blue tang black pattern

And wouldn't it be cool, if you could like, wear it?

Tropical fish t-shirt
Click here to buy
tropical fish pattern leggings
Click here to buy

Or add it as an accessory.. or decorate your house with it?

Poweder blue tang pattern tote
Click here to buy
Powder blue pattern pillow
Click here to buy

Or it is available to buy on some kind of other product in black or blue.
If you love tropical fish as much as I do, it would be cool.

It does give me a whole new idea of making tropical fish patterns - or sea creature patterns, which I'm really excited about. So I'm off to doodle sea creatures (probably jellyfish) to come up with new patterns to decorate with... The moment right before you begin a big project, where you are filled with excitement and inspiration -- It's this kind of moment worth living for - the energy that fuels the artist.
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new watercolors

1/25/2016

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2016 started with a bang of color 
well a bang of mini watercolor paintings.
Here are some of them...

abstract light
Picture
swimming turtle painting
Jellyfish watercolor
sea turtle painting
A few of these are now hanging at The Verde Brewing Company located in Camp Verde, AZ. 
All of them (if not sold) are available in the store. Just click the image for more information. 
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jellyfish sketches

11/28/2015

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This past fall, a little known Jellyfish called the Australian white spotted jellyfish or Phyllorhiza punctata was found off the coast of San Diego...

Picture
Found on Flickr by Matteo Tarenghi
​Normally seen off the coast of Australia, this was a bit strange.
​ It was also strange when they invaded the Gulf of Mexico in 2000, and again in 2007... 
Apparently, Jellyfish can 'cling' to boats and other vessels to transport themselves into new regions. This is how they sprang up out of no where outside of San Diego, and how they populated the Gulf. Due to their behavior, and lack of heart, brain, and pretty much everything else we define as intelligent, Jellyfish can adapt and survive in any environment. They thrive in the most extreme conditions such as near underwater volcanoes or in the arctic ocean. Jellyfish as a species are remarkable but they are also a symbol of a devastating change in our oceans. As we all know, pollution, climate change, oil spills, etc. are causing a major shift in ecosystems around the world, and even creating dead zones in the ocean. But for Jellyfish--- Dead zones are paradise:
"​Dead Zones are huge swaths of deep ocean that are ultra-polluted and oxygen starved. Unable to breathe in Dead Zones, most sea creatures, such as fish and shellfish, either flee or die. But jellyfish thrive in Dead Zones. How? By playing unique metabolic tricks.

For example, jellyfish can dissolve oxygen in their watery tissues, and thereby carry built-in, life-sustaining oxygen supplies into Dead Zones. (Jellyfish are 95 percent water; humans are 65 percent water.)

Moreover, jellyfish in Dead Zones face few predators and competitors that would otherwise control their numbers. Feasting on ubiquitous plankton, jellyfish not only survive but actually dominate many Dead Zones.
​
The Earth currently has more than 400 Dead Zones--some of which cover tens of thousands of square miles. Many Dead Zones are so jellified that they could rightly be renamed Jellyfish Zones. The U.S. has Dead Zones in the Gulf of Mexico, the Chesapeake Bay, Narragansett Bay, Long Island Sound and the Pacific Ocean off the Oregon coast." - National Science Foundation

Dangerous little Jellyfish...

I personally find them beautiful, as they dance through the water, up and down with grace and poise. But, they are deadly... Some Jellyfish like the Box Jellyfish can instantly (okay in minutes..) kill you with their stings. And if that's not bad enough, jellyfish can wipe out the bottom layer of an ecosystem. They are opportunists and will eat everything from plankton to small fish. Even large ones, leaving no creature to survive to adulthood to then reproduce. Leaving only Jellyfish to survive. Beautiful but dangerous. 
jellyfish monterey aquarium
Taken at Monterey Aquarium, July 2014
Recently, the idea that Jellyfish represent a negative change in our oceans has resonated with me. If only jellyfish can survive what climate change, pollution, etc. is doing to our oceans-- then mass swarms of jellyfish are not only beautiful -- but dangerous. And it got me thinking, that perhaps an invasion of Jellyfish is what we need to pull our climate change talks into action.. or maybe I just like painting jellyfish.. but it has gotten me thinking about a new series -- an invasion of jellyfish - unmasking the beauty and revealing the danger.  So I've been working on some sketches and miniature paintings of jellyfish in preparation for large enormous over-sized jellyfish, to symbolize just how dangerous a jellyfish, or a group, can be.

Here are some of these sketches...

Picture
jellyfish drawing
jellyfish drawing
jellyfish watercolor
Picture
Picture
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New Series in the works: Swaying Kelp Forests

6/7/2015

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A few years ago - cannot believe it's been that long, I found a yard of bright blue canvas in the scrap pile of a fabric store somewhere in Virginia. I thought it might be interesting to paint a portrait of an elephant with vibrant colors on it. This was around the time clear gesso became popular, so there was a wave of interest in painting on any surface that could be gessoed... well at least that was what was going on in my sketch books.
 
After I picked up some stretcher bars at a local art store, I stretched this beautiful brilliant blue canvas over the bars, and covered the canvas with Winsor Newton's clear gesso... I couldn't wait for the brillant blue surface to be dry and ready for my vibrant elephant.

Although Winsor Newton's clear gesso dries clear -- it also dries a little milky if you are slathering it all over a colored canvas... Slathering is the key word. I believe one coat would have worked fine, but in this case, the clear gesso did not dry clear and there was a coat of milky white...  My vision of an elephant faded, and the canvas became a questionable experiment tossed off to the side. 

Flash forward to July 2014... I was standing in front of large aquariums at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, watching kelp sway back and forth. Schools of sardines swirling in and out, pushing past rockfish, surf perches, and other common pacific coast fish that call Kelp forests home. If you have ever been to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, you will understand what I'm talking about --  the magic awe of the great ocean is artificially created in those aquariums. If you haven't been, perhaps these photos may help illustrate what I experienced:

Kelp Forest
surf perch monterrey aquarium
kelp forest
Maybe it was the scale of the kelp forests, or the expressions of the fish watching you watch them, that caused me to fall in a trance. I just sat there taking it all in -- the movement, the moment, the water, the colors, the shapes, and their eyes, all in. It was, with a lack of better expression, a very inspiring experience. This was probably the first time I had ever noticed kelp as kelp, and not just some gross seaweed that washed up on to the beach. 

Back at the hotel room --- well, let's be honest, on the ride back to the hotel room as my boyfriend drove, I started sketching out what I had seen, drawing the images that had been burned into my memory. Images that fueled ideas, beauty and inspired my pencil to move. Like so...


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