Artist's Background

Stephen Sanfilippo was born in San Jose, California in 1964. Coming from a family of talented Italian artists, he showed artistic promise at a young age, and has pursued drawing and painting throughout his lifetime.

Upon graduating from San Jose State University with a degree in Graphic Design, he spent 15 years in advertising as a successful Art Director. This career in commercial art often relegated his studio painting to a "hobby." Inheriting his grandmother's art supplies in 1999 prompted Stephen to begin venturing outdoors to paint. This sparked his transition from occasional artist to full-time oil painter in 2004.

Stephen's work is consistently invited to juried exhibitions throughout the U.S., and he is looking forward to offering more demonstrations and workshops.

Representational Approach

Stephen paints his original landscapes and seascapes en plein air (outdoors) with a realist/impressionist style. The color, movement and emotion that Stephen's creativity filters his subjects through has inspired collectors to own his works. He discreetly captures detail without denying us the journey to use our own imagination.

His subjects are typically in hard-to-reach trails and coastlines, so the resulting works are rare studies of hidden vistas. He applies a limited palette of oils on linen, canvas and hardwood boards. A final bit of refinement is added to each piece at his studio in Northern California (Bay Area) before releasing them to galleries.

Artistic Influences

Stephen's work is reminiscent of early turn-of-the-century painters like Edgar Payne, Sam Hyde Harris and William Wendt. Paintings during this time (1890-1930) expressed the connection that many artists felt with nature, and thereby served to reinforce the importance of our natural environment.

He is further inspired by the works of Peder Monsted, Albert Bierstadt, John Singer Sargent, John F. Carlson, Anders Zorn, Kevin Macpherson and Ovanes Berberian. Currently he enjoys painting with contemporary California artists like Randall Sexton, Armand Cabrera and Charles White.