I can spend large amounts of time just staring at reflections on the water, trying to figure out how to put them to paper and paint.
Central Washington State University, B.A. in Art Education
Growing up on the Puget Sound in Washington fostered a deep appreciation for boats in Steve Abbott. His parents owned wooden sailboats and as a boy, he could be found racing and sailing throughout the year. With this background, it came natural for him to paint boats and the water. With a small scholarship in art, he went to Central Washington State University where he graduated with a degree in art education. While he did not pursue a career in art education, Steve eventually came back to his art and has been painting seriously for about ten years. Now retired, he has been able to devote more time to his painting and also teaches workshops on the art of painting reflections in watercolor.
Steve paints from his own observations and has also enjoyed working with clients on commission pieces. The combination of light, water and the dynamic weather of the Pacific Northwest creates reflections of beautiful boats that Steve finds fascinating. As an artist, his goal is to explore how light and water play together to create such mystical reflections.
Steve lives on a boat, a 54' trawler, in Bremerton, Washington and has a studio close by where he paints.
Steve Abbott's watercolors take a traditional subject - wooden boats - and treat it in a fresh and unexpected manner, with unique vantage points and crisp lines. It is the water, though, that draws the viewer in with its depth of color and mesmerizing reflections, summoning a stillness within.
