Hi there! I’m Steph Hargrove. I create mixed media acrylic paintings and large scale art installations that illustrate statistics for social and environmental issues. I’m incredibly excited to start my journey as a Creative Pinellas emerging artist!
This week I’m focused on preparing for the first meeting with my assigned mentor. At any given time, I have 3 to 5 art collections in progress. Since I often use large quantities of collected items, such as seashells or cereal boxes, it’s never too early to get started on a project. After I meet my mentor, I’ll know which art collection will come to life at Creative Pinellas this spring. For now, I’ll share some elements commonly used in my work.
These are a few of my favorite things:
Color
Bright, bold, saturated colors are prevalent in all of my work. I’m especially attracted to the blues and teals found when looking at the ocean. Hot pink is another favorite. Ooh and I love electric lime green! Basically my work looks like a box of crayons exploded. Or a unicorn was in charge of color selection.
Graphics and Text
In college, I started out in a graphic design program. I quickly realized I was meant for fine arts, but I brought my love of typography and icons along with me. I am that weirdo who sees a sign, points, and yells, “Helvetica!” I am also that weirdo who believes Comic Sans is an abomination. My beloved font collection is featured regularly in many of my paintings and installations, as well as on T-shirts and mugs in my online shop.
Contrast
Turn it up to eleven. I use black and white, dark and light, complementary colors, crazy bold patterns, and confident lines to create contrast in everything I make. Subtlety is not my thing. When it comes to making it pop, or making a statement, I do it loud and proud.
I can’t wait to share images with you! As soon as I meet my mentor and have a plan for the next few months, I’ll be back with plenty of progress pics for your eyeballs. Until then, I’m off to collect more shells and cereal boxes. Yep. Total weirdo.
