Artist Statement:
Steve Soult began oil painting in 1970. During his senior year at the University of Santa took art lessons from Luis Busta in San Mateo. Busta was a classically trained artist and a very accomplished teacher. He felt that his students should spend at least a year drawing in charcoal (Conté á Paris) before attempting to paint in oils. However, after Steve had successfully completed several charcoal drawings, Busta agreed to teach him oil painting well before the one-year period had elapsed.
Busta emphasized palette knife painting techniques. He had a hands-on style of teaching. If a student made a mistake, Busta would immediately step in, seize the student’s palette knife, and demonstrate how to correct the problem on the student’s canvas. This was a very effective way for the students to learn palette knife painting techniques quickly and efficiently. However, it did require that the students be flexible and receptive to constructive criticism.
Steve attended the U.S. Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, after graduation. He was commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Naval Reserve and assigned to a teaching position at the Great Lakes Naval Base near Chicago. This enabled him to visit the Art Institute of Chicago frequently and study the work of the French Impressionist painters.
After studying the paintings of Claude Monet, Steve transitioned to painting with brushes and restricted his use of the palette knife. This represented a complete break from the style of painting that he had originally learned from Busta. During his time at Great Lakes he completed a couple of commissioned paintings painted in an impressionistic style. This set the tone for his future work.
Recently, Steve’s interest in impressionist painting was rekindled with his discovery of the California Impressionist movement that lasted from approximately 1900 to 1930. The artists in this movement were passionate about painting outdoors directly from life and produced many splendid plein air paintings of the California landscape. As a native Californian, Steve felt that there was a natural consonance between the work done by the California Impressionists and the work that he wanted to produce.
Steve’s most recent work has consisted of a set of plein air paintings of local subjects. Plein air painting represents many challenges and opportunities. Painting outdoors requires a much different approach than painting in a studio environment. Therefore, Steve has had to adjust his painting technique to meet the demands of plein air painting. However, he has also found that it has been very rewarding and in harmony with his interest in California Impressionism.
The paintings selected for this show represent work done prior to Steve’s more recent plein air paintings. They represent two different periods – work done in the early ‘70s and work done while he was a member of Gallery Morgan Hill. At this point in time these paintings are interesting from a historical perspective.
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Steve Soult
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Guglielmo Winery 16 x 20 Acrylic Price: $480 |
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Los Gatos Victorian 16 x 20 Acrylic Price: $480 |
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Shaded Falls 18 x 24 Acrylic Price: $650 |
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Trolley Headlight 18 x 24 Oil Price: $700 |
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Behind the Eight Ball 16 x 20 Oil Price: $525 |
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Mountain Stream 24 x 30 Oil Price: $1200 |
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Upper Orestimba Creek Henry Coe State Park 16 x 20 Oil Price: $480 |
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Zion Canyon 16 x 20 Oil Price: $480 |
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California Seascape 16 x 20 Oil Price: $525 |