Steven Harmening - Wildlife Artist
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Steven Harmening grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. At a very early age, Steven's artistic ability was recognized & encouraged by family & teachers. Creating art comes naturally to Steven, but it was never anything more than a hobby for many years. Steven was awarded an art scholarship to the University of Alabama in Birmingham, but unfortunately, soon became discouraged by the odds of making a living as an artist. Consequently, at the age of nineteen, Steven set aside his easel & pencils & pursued other avenues of study. |
| At the age of 26, Steven was
presented
with a new & life changing inspiration when he happened upon a book
of paintings by world -renowned Wildlife Artist, Robert Bateman. He was
blown away. After a six-year creative drought, Steven felt an
irrepressible
urge to pick up a paintbrush. Wildlife Art is sometimes looked down
upon
by the Fine Arts Establishment and dismissed as illustration, but Bateman's work lent an immediate validity to what had always been the central subject of Steven's art- animals. Viewing the works of Bateman, an artist doing realistic paintings while employing all the tools of a fine artist & being met with great success, was just the inspiration Steven needed. However, he had always been a black & white artist, so his first obstacle arose abruptly - Steven had to learn to paint. |
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After only about six months of developing his newfound painting skills, a co-worker of his at the Hospital where he works saw one of Steven's pieces. That co-worker was Richard Bruce, who co-incidentally is one of the country's finest Wildlife Sculptors. Richard was insistent that Steven exhibit his work at a local Wildlife Art Show. With a little help from Richard, he was accepted into the "Southern Wildlife Festival" in Decatur, Alabama. While the show was not profitable, the reactions & comments of visitors and other artists were excitedly encouraging - he was hooked. |
| In the few years since that first show in October of 1996, Steven has gained a lot of ground .Now Steven works from his studio in Hazel Green, Alabama, where he lives with his wife, Whitney & two boys, Jacob & Cole. He is still employed full time at a local Hospital, and for the time being is dedicating his nights & weekends to his art. He has added various other shows to his schedule, collecting a few awards along the way, while continuing to expand on a base of dedicated collectors, and has released a number of limited edition prints. Although Steven has come a long way in a short period of time, he still has many goals that he aims to reach, the biggest of which is to be able to dedicate all of his time to his painting. |  |
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Steven Harmening Wildlife Art - the business , was born in July of 1999 .Since that time, Steven has released 13 limited edition prints & has added new Wildlife Art Shows to his schedule . At this point in our lives, Steven's art has had to take a backseat to being a dad to our two little ones. His show schedule has been pared back for the time being & it is a challenge for him to find time to paint. He does paint whenever he finds the opportunity & is still a part of the art world - his most recent project was a TV commercial for ALFA insurance which is currently running on NBC. |
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