Steven Saylor is a photo-realist painter who works in the unique medium of glazed watercolors, a technique he developed in 1974. Glazing watercolor is a delicate building up of transparent watercolors on a white panel, with a varnish applied between each color. Detail is painted layer upon layer. An optical mixing of details and colors occurs when the light penetrates the transparent layers and is reflected back at the viewer. Each painting takes months to complete, the results of meticulous work and the application of up to 3,600 layers.

Steven holds a B.F.A. & M.A. from Kent State University. For over ten years he worked as an art director and assistant television director for ad agencies in Ohio, New York and Nevada. He has instructed illustration, design, oils, watercolor and photography at Kent State University and for the University of Nevada System. He is a member of the Society of Illustrators, American Portrait Society and is on the Board of Trustees of the Foundation for the American Western Art and Cultural Exchange.

Moving to Nevada and wanting to develop his interest in painting the American West and learning how to cowboy, Steven took a job working on Tennessee Ernie Ford's Allran Ranch and later with the Rolling A Ranch in Dayton, Nevada. For the next five years he settled into a routine of ranch work, painting and exhibiting at art shows up and down the western United States.

Traveling to England and Europe to study and show his own work as well as trips to Hong Kong, China and an exhibition in Tokyo with the Society of Illustrators have expanded Steven's horizons even further. One result of these trips has been the introduction of new subjects to Steven's glazed watercolor technique. A few of these include an Alice in Wonderland project and a new series of paintings and prints on the Asian peoples.

Steven's Evergreen Studio is located next to his home in Dayton, NV. The studio is a renovated 1868 wooden boxcar heated with a wood stove. Large windows were added to provide adequate Northwest light. Paintings are scheduled 1-2 years in advance with half being commissioned works. Proposed paintings are mulled over with lots of doodles, drawings and discussion, which helps to minimize visual and technical problems that might arise.

Artist Statement

"I'm primarily an environmental portrait artist. By that I mean I paint people in their environment, doing what comes natural to them. Outside of Nevada and the American west my travels to Europe and China have influenced my work. My personal philosophy of art: each painting should be unique and filled with a good story, strong emotion and staying power that keeps the viewer coming back time and again."