Stephanie Kemsteele

      In my artwork, I observe and highlight the phenomenon of human experiences that exist in faith, love, and spirituality. I express my own personal experience with my faith in God, to glorify Him, share my testimony, and be an encouragement to others around me. I am inspired by biblical scripture, art history, music, trials, dreams, visions, nature, quotes, and fellowship. My main inspiration and source of what I share in my artwork comes from 2 Corinthians 4. I am detail oriented and love to take considerable time in creating the details, which is a crucial element that expresses God’s true beauty in the complexity of our world.  I use elements of nature in many ways and love to create a variety of symbolism in different artworks. The symbolism I like to use can be represented in many different ways. One major symbol that I tend to express in most of my paintings is a light source. I like to create a light source in darkness in a variety of ways that resembles a presence we do not physically see. This light source is the key to all things unseen that I want bring on the table.

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      My art practice began with an introduction to a variety of mediums while I was in search of my purpose as an artist. After several years of random practice, I went through a trial that opened my heart, and I began sharing my faith through my artwork. At the time, acrylic paint was my least favorite medium to work. I avoided it as much as I could through my college years. Meanwhile, I was blessed with a fresh perspective: life itself with a loving God, who is the Creator of all things. It was this hard point in my life that helped establish my artistic purpose. During this time of adversity, I was blessed with an amazing retreat experience I will never forget. It was this experience that inspired me to make my first acrylic painting: a moment that I saw with my own eyes. Acrylic painting is now my main practice. Many years later, I had the realization that painting is what God has called me to do.

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      All in all, I am a witness to a greater story that lives on. This is true to my heart. I have the desire to show and present the world through a different lens. What I hope for viewers is that they find something greater from my work; something more than what we can fathom here in our day-to-day lives. Through the use of light and symbolism, I want to share a message and ask the question: “Do you ever get the feeling that there is something greater happening here?” As it states in 2 Corinthians 4:18, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” There is a hope and a future beyond what we see in this world. Life on earth is very short, and there are many things that cannot be explained. There are things we know that will only last for a moment, and there are those that will last forever. I believe that evidence should not be based on what we see with our own eyes, but with our heart and soul. There is a greater beauty and treasure that exists beyond this world. I want to remove the veil and show how that greater beauty is present in the unseen world. I am so privileged to be here, and to share this amazing story with you.