When Steve Brummond was 14 years old, the last thing on his mind was Vincent VanGogh. A typical teenage boy, he was interested in football, girls, cars and the latest album by Bob Dylan or The Beatles.

All that changed in 1964 when Steve's father, Jerry Brummond, took the family on vacation to Dallas, Texas. The atmosphere of the country was still sombre in the wake of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and Jerry wanted his family to experience history by visiting the site. En route to the Book Depository building in downtown Dallas, the Brummonds happened upon a sidewalk artist who was painting en plein air scenes of the city. Normally very quiet, Steve found himself intrigued by what the artist was doing and began asking him questions about his painting technique and what he saw as a transformation of the canvas.

The sidewalk artist left a lasting impression on him, and Steve left Dallas with a clear vision of his future: he wanted to be an artist.

Technique:
Brummond aspires to the techniques of the early Impressionists who painted outdoors (en plein air) to capture the fleeting effects of light and color. Every Sunday from April until the first snow flies in South Dakota, Brummond explores the countryside to find the perfect location for his blank canvas. Inspired by the works of Claude Monet and Paul Cezanne, he strives to accent his own work with a variety of brush strokes and lively color, capturing the texture of the subject and the impact of light on its surface.

"The power of suggestion is much more interesting to me than a lot of detail," says Brummond. "In a state like South Dakota, the wind and weather changes can be very challenging to painting outdoors. Moving clouds, the leaves rustling on trees, sunlight -- or a lack of it -- all these factors make a demand on the artist to capture the subject's essence in a very limited period of time." Steve also draws upon his design background as a commercial artist for Media One Advertising, where he has won numerous awards for his creativity and illustrations.

Education:
Colorado Institute of Art, Denver
B.A., Commercial Art

Occupation:
Sr. Art Director, 1980-present
Media One Advertising & Marketing
Sioux Falls, SD

On The Home Page:
The man behind the easle is Steve Brummond, shown painting on location at Wall Lake, SD. For the past 25 years, oil painting in the Impressionist style has been Brummond's hobby and passion. He scours the countryside early Sunday mornings to set up his outdoor studio and paint while the light is best; the last strokes go on canvas before noon, when the shadows disappear.

Home page photo courtesy of Marc Norberg.