Steven Short, was born in Norwich in 1959, but came to West Yorkshire in 1978 to study Politics and Geography at the University of Bradford. After graduation in 1981 he made the city his home and has worked in social housing field locally for over 30 years with a main focus of helping people to gain new life skills, support into employment and enterprise. In parallel, he has also worked as a part-time therapist and counsellor for over 20 years.
Developing the painting thread of his career is a relatively new feature of his life. His father and grandmother were amateur artists and this was the early inspiration to paint. In recent years Steven has devoted more time to establishing himself as a self-taught artist, including building a website and promoting his work. He works mainly in oils, acrylics, pastels and inks and his landscapes, urbanscapes and figurative work are often impressionist in style. He has gained inspiration from a range of artists:
I enjoy impressionistic paintings and am particularly inspired by artists such as Edward Hopper and Frederick Golden Short … There are so many other inspirations to paint, certainly the likes of Marquet, Chagall and David Hockney.
He explains the way he approaches a work:
I aim to get across a feeling in a painting … through colour, choice of medium and style often relating to a memory or a recollection of something. I sometimes use photographs but like to interpret them differently rather than represent in a purely realistic way. The end result is a kind of hybrid of the place (or whatever subject) and my inner world. The painting somehow ‘says’more than a photo can do and this is the core interest in my work …
‘A Great Power Silently Working’.
Steven’s work has been exhibited in Dewsbury (at the Connect Thrive Project) and he has sold pieces in the UK and internationally, as well as commissions. Two of his works were selected for the Shipley-based Cellar Trust (a charity helping people recovering from mental health problems) for their Christmas cards in 2016. His work has also appeared on Bradford Big Screen, July 2017, as part of the monthly Big Screen presentations of local artists’ work and exhibited at the ‘Self-Taught’ Art Exhibition, Shipley Library, in 2018.
A Favourite Tree
Artist’s website: Steven Short
Midday Market, France.