Artist’s Bio
Steve Cleff was born in Philly and loves it so much he moved back there after he and his wife Tricia lived in paradise (aka Hawaii). Steve has a BFA from Syracuse and synesthesia which means he sees color when he hears sounds. After doing private commissions for several years, Steve decided to show publicly and has displayed work in about a dozen solo and group exhibitions in Philadelphia, New York, and Honolulu. In 2010 he co-directed the Philly branch of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-art School with Tricia and Steve looks forward to teaching their young son Patrick how to draw outside the lines. He is currently working on a new painting series to be completed in Spring 2012.

Artist’s Statement
My work is about the fluid beauty of the balance between chaos and order, of the transition from thought to reality, of seeing things in a new light.

My paintings focus on mood, attitude, emotion – concepts that are bigger and more ethereal than words can do justice. I use my paintings to express thoughts I have no words for.

Alongside the realistic portraiture of my paintings, there’s always something in my paintings that I can’t control: splatters, impasto, bleeds, always something. I use my painting process to help me to become the person I want to be through the practice of controlling the things I can and letting go of the things I can’t.

Because of my synesthesia, I “see” a world of color in my head when I hear sounds or words. I choose the music I listen to while painting to influence the portrayal of the subject. I choose subjects that are “colors’ that I want to see more frequently. I use my paintings to pull this inner world I inhabit into the outer world we all share.

I paint to change myself, to change perception, to change the world.