Check Out Stephanie Moon’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Moon

Hi Stephanie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have loved art since I was a little kid, growing up with a crafty mom. I also had the opportunity to be in art classes every singe year of my schooling, and was given a lot of chances to create during my youth. All of these creative experiences led to a real love of fine arts, with painting and printmaking being my favorite. I majoring in painting and art ed at Western Michigan, and landed in Colorado after a single trip to the mountains the summer before. I taught high school art for 15 years while I created my own work during the evenings and weekends. What I really craved was the time to paint full time, and this past May I quit my teaching career to shift my focus to my own work. I now am a full time artist, splitting my time between being outside soaking up the energy of nature, and working in my studio at the Cottonwood Art Center in downtown Colorado Springs.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Getting to where I am currently, creating art full time, has been an act of patience more than anything. For most of us, success does not happen over night, and we just have to keep showing up and putting in the work. While I taught high school for 15 years, I always maintained my own practice on the side, and have shown in galleries for the past ten years. I continued to build my skills, work on narrowing my brand as an artist, and produced as much as I could while sorting out how to make arts my full time job. The biggest struggle has never been creating, but rather in the wide array of roles and artist must take on, from understanding how to create, to marketing, social media and taxes.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a full time landscape and wildlife artist in Colorado Springs. I am most known for playfully depicting the movement of the natural work with intense bold color and concentrated mark making. When people see my work, they know it is one of mine. Every brush stroke is crisp and visible, and colors are enhanced to an almost pop art level of intensity. I absolutely love when collectors tell me stories of how my work reminds them of nostalgic experiences in nature!

How do you think about happiness?
Being outside, capturing the euphoria of a really good hike, and bringing out emotions in people when they see my art, Why? Being outside humbles me and reminds me that my man-made problems are probably pretty small, and there is contentment in the way nature doesn’t overthink, it just exists. Capturing the pure joy of being out in nature on the canvas makes me happy. I can look at a piece I have created and be taken back to those perfect moments hiking in the mountains. Bringing all of that joy to other people- their happiness makes me happy too.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.stephmoonpaints.com
• Instagram: @stephmoonpaints

Image Credits
n/a photos are my own