Coming Home

August 9th, 2018 7:37 pm

Brad and his artist wife, Patricia Skinner, are pleased to announce the opening of their new exhibition, Coming Home, on August 12, 2018 at the Crow Valley Gallery on Orcas Island, WA.

The exhibit features a collection of luminous oil and pastel landscapes of the island the couple calls their heart home.

For more information and to see the entire collection of paintings, visit Exhibits.

Orcas Overlook by Bradley Stevens, 30″ x 40″, oil on linen, AVAILABLE

Sometimes Just the Sky by Patricia Skinner, 19″ x 38″, pastel and watercolor on sandpaper, AVAILABLE

Portrait Unveiling at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

November 16th, 2017 9:19 pm

Brad and Judge Emmet Sullivan at the recent unveiling of the judge’s portrait for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

A Shared Perspective: Love and Inspiration on Orcas

August 3rd, 2017 9:39 pm

For the first time, Brad and his artist wife, Patricia Skinner, are having a joint exhibit of landscape paintings celebrating the beauty of their beloved Orcas Island.

The exhibit opening is on Sunday, August 6 from 2-6 pm at Crow Valley Gallery in Eastsound, WA and runs through October 2017.

For more details and to see the entire collection of paintings, go to Exhibits.

Orcas Afterglow by Bradley Stevens, 30″ x 44″, oil on linen, SOLD

Cloud Dance by Patricia Skinner, 18″ x 26.5″, pastel and watercolor on sandpaper, SOLD

Mural Watch: Step Three

March 5th, 2016 12:04 am

Now the fun part.

Brad and William add the layers of color and the landscape comes alive.

The first strokes of color

William refining the foreground

That’s a lot of rocks to paint!

Working out the details

Well underway

Nearing completion––can you find the changes?

Portrait Unveiling at the National Library of Medicine

March 4th, 2016 10:47 pm

Brad’s portrait of Dr. and Mrs. Donald Lindberg was unveiled recently at the National Library of Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in Bethesda, MD.

Don and Mary, as the couple is fondly referred to, devoted 30 years to the NLM––Don as the director, and Mary as his indispensable right hand woman.  The painting was unveiled at a reception marking Dr. Lindberg’s retirement and will hang in the Library’s distinguished portrait collection.

See A Tribute on Canvas, a short film featuring Brad and the story behind the portrait.

Dr. and Mrs. Donald Lindberg, 56″ x 48″, oil on linen, collection of National Library of Medicine, NIH, Bethesda, MD

Brad with Dr. Donald and Mrs. Mary Lindberg at the unveiling of their portrait at the National Library of Medicine.

Mural Watch: Step Two

March 4th, 2016 6:00 pm

Once the B.F. Saul Company approved the preliminary drawing, it was “all systems go” to start the mural.

In the tradition of the Renaissance, Brad and William methodically began the step-by-step process of preparing the canvas and transforming the drawing into the underpainting for the mural.

First, Brad and William primed the linen canvas with three layers of gesso, sanding the canvas between each layer to ensure a smooth surface.  Then they stapled the canvas to the studio wall.

Next, they applied an imprimatura––a transparent wash of burnt sienna––to eliminate the harsh white of the gessoed canvas and allow for the eventual use of white paint for highlights and three dimensional effects.

With the preliminary drawing as their roadmap, Brad and William began to transfer the elements of the composition onto the canvas.  They painted a grisaille of the landscape––a monochromatic underpainting in burnt sienna, heightened with white.

The mural underpainting and preliminary drawing side-by-side.

The grisaille underway.

An artist can never have enough brushes!

Brad adding white highlights.

William splattering white paint to give the effect of light on the rippling water.

The Maestro

Emma, studio assistant, ready for the broad brushwork.

Mural Watch: Step One

February 27th, 2016 11:23 pm

Brad and his former professor, mentor and dear friend, artist William Woodward have been commissioned by the B.F. Saul Company to paint a mural for the lobby of the new Park Van Ness apartment building in Washington, D.C.  The subject is Rock Creek Park in early spring, and features the historical Boulder Bridge, one of the oldest bridges in the Park. The mural measures 5 x 9 feet, is painted in oil on linen canvas, and due to be completed in April 2016.

We’ll be following the many stages of the mural’s development, so stay tuned.

Here’s how it all began:

After scouting the location around Boulder Bridge and making many rough compositional sketches, Brad and William begin the monochromatic preparatory drawing for the mural using techniques dating back to the Renaissance.  First, they toned a large piece (42″ x 78″) of rag paper with sanguine conté powder, and then created the landscape using charcoal and trios crayons (black, white and sanguine conté crayons).

William Woodward begins the preliminary drawing for the Rock Creek mural.

Emma, studio assistant and all-round general distraction, looks on.

Former professor and student working in tandem.

Brad working on the trees in the foreground.