STEVE WHEAT – CREATES UNIQUE AMERICAN FOLK ART
Steve Wheat is a Midwest American folk artist who creates phenomenally detailed originals working under magnifying glass and with fine tip brushes and pens.
Steve is an Indiana borne artist who believes his love for art began as a child while visiting his grandparent’s home; he was in awe of his grandmother’s paint by number oil paint sets and her five thousand piece puzzle sets. He decided then that he could never put one of those puzzles together and the paint by numbers seemed much far too messy. Early on he decided to use coloring books was best, but made sure to stay between the lines; and in high school after two years of mechanical drawing, he learned to enjoy the precise detail required to complete an acceptable drawing. After high school, Steve spent several years in concrete and road construction, but ultimately the harsh weather and time ended that career so he returned to his love of drawing; armed with a new Sharpie permanent marker and a poster board he began drawing again and has continued every day since that time.
His whimsical folk art style work has received many merit awards in juried competitions shows in the Mid-West. Over the years he has enjoyed experimenting with other media including concrete sculpture and leather work, but his real joy comes from working with his original love, ink and acrylic on hardboard. Steve feels that his art is a gift to him; he thanks the giver of his gift, his Lord and Savior, and gives Him all his praise and glory.
When Steve has a vision of a new project, he begins by sketching it out, carefully placing line upon line with the use of pointillism’s, then using acrylics to build highlights which gives the piece a 3D effect. During this process Steve will spend 300 to 600 hours on each piece. He is more like an engraver than a painter; he uses a magnifying glass to see and an ink pen as a tool to etch the image into a paper plate to create an engraved image; these finished plates are presented in this gallery. Though these pieces are available for sale, he does not publish prices, but we will respond to price information requests for originals pieces. As an alternate, ArtworksONE is also able to optically scan these originals to produce signed and numbered original Giclee fine art prints on canvas or paper of any piece presented. For price information just contact us and include your print selection, media and size desired.