Artist statement

I am a multidisciplinary visual artist specializing in fine art, conceptual illustration, design, and art direction. I was born and raised in Southern California and have gathered much inspiration from the rolling hills of the inland and coastal valleys, as well as the vast Pacific Ocean in which I spent the majority of my youth.

While my roots are in California, I currently call Colorado home. I have replaced the intermittently winding coastline of California with the equally dramatic Rocky Mountains and seemingly endless prairie that reaches out eastward in a tug-of-war with the sky, chasing and touching the horizon.

There is appreciation to be found everywhere: from the golden hues of summertime California sunsets, to the endless teal blue depths of the Santa Barbara Channel, to the mountain tops of the Great Continental Divide penetrating the sky. The interplay of light and shadow define the landscape and inform all that I create.

This online portfolio is an amalgamation of my creative explorations and mediums of experimentation and choice. It spans my now 20+ year career as a visual communicator and educator. It is a purposeful representation of my greatest rule, and elusive goal in creativity – always be curious. I endeavor to let curiosity lead as I explore with light, color, shape, and texture, searching for transcendent moments, and striving to creatively represent the world around me, while simultaneously finding my place in it.

- Cory Steffen