Stephen Spartana

Work samples

Escaping

This is a fantasy series that celebrates nature and all its glory. The wonderful structures of trees remind me so much of x-rays of arteries and veins in our bodies, as they reach out to the sun for light. Along with the trees, I have layered so many elements that I use daily in my artwork, the trees, nature, and in this case, a little mix media, using a wall painting and textures I found created over time. The colors take me away from the real world, and lets my thoughts drift towards space, and the world and where do we go while sitting in the country under a tree looking up at the sky.
Portal to..._0.jpg

Impressions of Portugal on a first time visit.
Ice Scape.jpg

Designs in Ice, brought to you by nature.
Caress of Maples.jpg

New digital Series exploring the interplay of man and nature. Using moments in time and place to produce a fantasy like setting. In this case the fall leaves of a maple, a waterfall and ethereal pose of a female.

About Stephen

Baltimore County 2024 OTW Artist

Spartana creates abstractions or surreal landscapes, where his subjects appear and then fade through spatial dimensions. The viewer is guided on a visual journey through the familiar into unfamiliar environments, layered like scrims of fabric, seamlessly transitioning between organic and inorganic elements. Similar to a dream, the work’s shifting perspectives represented by fluid environmental elements, suggests life’s shifting realities and constant change. His current research utilizes a… more

View Stephen's Resume

Yin Yang

This is a fantasy series that celebrates nature and all its glory. The wonderful structures of trees remind me so much of x-rays of arteries and veins in our bodies, as they reach out to the sun for light. Along with the trees, I have layered so many elements that I use daily in my artwork, the trees, nature, and in this case, a little mix media, using a wall painting and textures I found created over time. The colors take me away from the real world, and lets my thoughts drift towards space, and the world and where do we go while sitting in the country under a tree looking up at the sky.

Escaping_2.jpg

This is a fantasy series that celebrates nature and all its glory. The wonderful structures of trees remind me so much of x-rays of arteries and veins in our bodies, as they reach out to the sun for light. Along with the trees, I have layered so many elements that I use daily in my artwork, the trees, nature, and in this case, a little mix media, using a wall painting and textures I found created over time. The colors take me away from the real world, and lets my thoughts drift towards space, and the world and where do we go while sitting in the country under a tree looking up at the sky.
Color Tree_1.jpg

This is a fantasy series that celebrates nature and all its glory. The wonderful structures of trees remind me so much of x-rays of arteries and veins in our bodies, as they reach out to the sun for light. Along with the trees, I have layered so many elements that I use daily in my artwork, the trees, nature, and in this case, a little mix media, using a wall painting and textures I found created over time. The colors take me away from the real world, and lets my thoughts drift towards space, and the world and where do we go while sitting in the country under a tree looking up at the sky.
60_0.jpg

This is a fantasy series that celebrates nature and all its glory. The wonderful structures of trees remind me so much of x-rays of arteries and veins in our bodies, as they reach out to the sun for light. Along with the trees, I have layered so many elements that I use daily in my artwork, the trees, nature, and in this case, a little mix media, using a wall painting and textures I found created over time. The colors take me away from the real world, and lets my thoughts drift towards space, and the world and where do we go while sitting in the country under a tree looking up at the sky.
Refrain_0.jpg

This is a fantasy series that celebrates nature and all its glory. The wonderful structures of trees remind me so much of x-rays of arteries and veins in our bodies, as they reach out to the sun for light. Along with the trees, I have layered so many elements that I use daily in my artwork, the trees, nature, and in this case, a little mix media, using a wall painting and textures I found created over time. The colors take me away from the real world, and lets my thoughts drift towards space, and the world and where do we go while sitting in the country under a tree looking up at the sky.
Split Between_0.jpg

This is a fantasy series that celebrates nature and all its glory. The wonderful structures of trees remind me so much of x-rays of arteries and veins in our bodies, as they reach out to the sun for light. Along with the trees, I have layered so many elements that I use daily in my artwork, the trees, nature, and in this case, a little mix media, using a wall painting and textures I found created over time. The colors take me away from the real world, and lets my thoughts drift towards space, and the world and where do we go while sitting in the country under a tree looking up at the sky.
The Magenta Tree_0.jpg

This is a fantasy series that celebrates nature and all its glory. The wonderful structures of trees remind me so much of x-rays of arteries and veins in our bodies, as they reach out to the sun for light. Along with the trees, I have layered so many elements that I use daily in my artwork, the trees, nature, and in this case, a little mix media, using a wall painting and textures I found created over time. The colors take me away from the real world, and lets my thoughts drift towards space, and the world and where do we go while sitting in the country under a tree looking up at the sky.
Connection Blue_0.jpg

This is a fantasy series that celebrates nature and all its glory. The wonderful structures of trees remind me so much of x-rays of arteries and veins in our bodies, as they reach out to the sun for light. Along with the trees, I have layered so many elements that I use daily in my artwork, the trees, nature, and in this case, a little mix media, using a wall painting and textures I found created over time. The colors take me away from the real world, and lets my thoughts drift towards space, and the world and where do we go while sitting in the country under a tree looking up at the sky.
Hidden Spaces_0.jpg

This is a fantasy series that celebrates nature and all its glory. The wonderful structures of trees remind me so much of x-rays of arteries and veins in our bodies, as they reach out to the sun for light. Along with the trees, I have layered so many elements that I use daily in my artwork, the trees, nature, and in this case, a little mix media, using a wall painting and textures I found created over time. The colors take me away from the real world, and lets my thoughts drift towards space, and the world and where do we go while sitting in the country under a tree looking up at the sky.
Transitions in Time_0.jpg

This is a fantasy series that celebrates nature and all its glory. The wonderful structures of trees remind me so much of x-rays of arteries and veins in our bodies, as they reach out to the sun for light. Along with the trees, I have layered so many elements that I use daily in my artwork, the trees, nature, and in this case, a little mix media, using a wall painting and textures I found created over time. The colors take me away from the real world, and lets my thoughts drift towards space, and the world and where do we go while sitting in the country under a tree looking up at the sky.
Vascular Moment_0.jpg

This is a fantasy series that celebrates nature and all its glory. The wonderful structures of trees remind me so much of x-rays of arteries and veins in our bodies, as they reach out to the sun for light. Along with the trees, I have layered so many elements that I use daily in my artwork, the trees, nature, and in this case, a little mix media, using a wall painting and textures I found created over time. The colors take me away from the real world, and lets my thoughts drift towards space, and the world and where do we go while sitting in the country under a tree looking up at the sky.

Walking in Spaces

On a trip to Rome while sitting on a hill overlooking the Colosseum I began to contemplate the people who had walked on the ground below throughout history. It would read like the who's who of Roman History. This led me to consider the passage of time and the idea of footprints in time and space. Everywhere you travel has a long history, hidden by time. It’s fascinating to think about how the past has shaped the present and how our actions today will shape the future.

Portal to....jpg

Connection between the past and present.
Lemoncello.jpg

Pathway through space
Negative Space.jpg

Where we once where.
Kaleidoscope.jpg

Colorful fantasy.
Blooming_0.jpg

The colors of spring present and every spring that came before.
Thinking in the Box.jpg

Thinking in the box and out of the box.
Shadows in Time.jpg

Walking through a constantly changing world.
Contemplation.jpg

Being young in today's world if quite a slog.
Moonrise.jpg

Walking through a scene like actors without knowing it.
Continuum.jpg

Our world is ever changing, we become shadows of the past.

World Below 0°

I’ve photographically captured a frozen scene at the lake's edge and the actual freezing process is revealed in the image. Expansion and movement of floating elements arrested to stillness, freezing a scene of organic material layered in ice layered with the stunning colors of Spring, Summer, and Fall. Light dances across the surface and penetrates below exposing a hidden world, and creating elegant icescapes.

Ice Scape.jpg

Expansion and movement of floating elements arrested to stillness, freezing a scene of organic material layered in ice layered with the stunning colors of Spring, Summer and Fall.
IMG_1177cold dream.jpg

Expansion and movement of floating elements arrested to stillness, freezing a scene of organic material layered in ice layered with the stunning colors of Spring, Summer and Fall.
IMG_2735iceair.jpg

Expansion and movement of floating elements arrested to stillness, freezing a scene of organic material layered in ice layered with the stunning colors of Spring, Summer and Fall.
IMG_3013Swimming.jpg

Expansion and movement of floating elements arrested to stillness, freezing a scene of organic material layered in ice layered with the stunning colors of Spring, Summer and Fall.
IMG_5809 rose.jpg

Expansion and movement of floating elements arrested to stillness, freezing a scene of organic material layered in ice layered with the stunning colors of Spring, Summer and Fall.
IMG_5867intersect.jpg

Expansion and movement of floating elements arrested to stillness, freezing a scene of organic material layered in ice layered with the stunning colors of Spring, Summer and Fall.
IMG_2788.jpg

Expansion and movement of floating elements arrested to stillness, freezing a scene of organic material layered in ice layered with the stunning colors of Spring, Summer and Fall.
IMG_24811 Inner space.jpg

Expansion and movement of floating elements arrested to stillness, freezing a scene of organic material layered in ice layered with the stunning colors of Spring, Summer and Fall.
IMG_24811Floatinginspace.jpg

Expansion and movement of floating elements arrested to stillness, freezing a scene of organic material layered in ice layered with the stunning colors of Spring, Summer and Fall.
IMG_3149Frozeniris.jpg

Expansion and movement of floating elements arrested to stillness, freezing a scene of organic material layered in ice layered with the stunning colors of Spring, Summer and Fall.

Drifting Through Time

"Drifting Through Time" is a series that brings together natural elements and humanity as we travel through time. Humans much like nature are transitory. We occupy but a blip in time as individuals with nature existing in its many states and forms for millions of years. My work brings together small glimpses much like a video in time-lapse mode as the imagery fades in and out and glimpses of time overlap. The act of capturing places and spaces in time and bringing them together in a way that they complement each other and enhance each other's design and beauty.

Imagine.jpg

Young like the trees, such an uncertain future.
Emergent.jpg

Coming into ones own as you age, there's such a wonderous world out there.
Masquerade.jpg

Layered image using natures elements as a mask, a portrait of a young lady, integrating man and nature.
Lost Dreams.jpg

Growing through time like a flower, while time continues on, we can always pause.
Just Below the Surface.jpg

Inter-racial couple under water, a struggle for acceptance.
Natures Rapture.jpg

Surrounded by natures glory, time stands still when we breathe in the air of the forest.
The Blues.jpg

Sensual portrait of a couple as part of the landscape
Blue Mood.jpg

Layered imagery, portraits of life as we move through time and space.
Growth.jpg

Layered image using tree branches as growth through time, the tree being the under structure.
Raining Color.jpg

Lost in a world of color, a sure sign of the fall.

Life in Layers

Photographs are like snowflakes, no two are the same, every moment in time ushers in change from the micro to the macro level. The are each unique in both time and space. Current research utilizes a number of images which function in the same way that painters use brushes and paint palettes; but my paints are moments of time captured through photography, the tools are a combination of various analog films mixed with digital media.
I extends his research of the interplay between form, texture and light in his new series, “Human-Nature, Life in Layers”. These dream-like landscapes are layered and edited combinations of figurative, floral and mineral elements. Similar to a dream, the work suggests the ephemeral quality of life, the passage of time and the uncertainty of the future.
Researching different perspectives of the natural world, venturing at times to create images that are more fantasy then reality, Stephen Spartana’s Human-Nature, Life in Layers is a selection of images that celebrate the intimate connection of humans with the earth. My work utilizes a number of images which function in the same way that painters use brushes and paint palettes; his tools are a combination of various analog films mixed with digital and paint media. The intention is to create a provocative image through layered complex compositions that blend details of shapes, shadow/light and color, coaxing the viewer to look deeper and celebrate further the bond we have with all of nature.

I chooses to focus on the hidden beauty that surrounds us, encouraging the viewer to preserve our beautiful and fragile planet and “discover what time hides forever in plain sight”. *
*Richard Powers, The Overstory

Caress of Maples.jpg

From the series "Life in Layers" with nature as a function of time and space layered with figurative images as the gatekeeper to the health of the environment.
IMG_7490 Through Time.jpg

In dreams we float on a path provided by our own experiences.
Heart of the Rose .jpg

Newest series that integrates Nature, figures and acrylic masks to create a fantasy landscape.
At Rest.jpg

Balancing life with thoughts of the natural world.
Flow of Nature.jpg

From the series "Life in Layers" with nature as a function of time and space layered with figurative images as the gatekeeper to the health of the environment.
Water Balance.jpg

Series that integrates Nature, figures and acrylic masks to create a fantasy landscape.
Anima.jpg

We all live with nature, at times when we rest, we are one.
Life, Birth.jpg

Newest series that integrates Nature, figures and acrylic masks to create a fantasy landscape.
Drifting Through Time.jpg

From the series "Life in Layers" with nature as a function of time and space layered with figurative images as the gatekeeper to the health of the environment.
In the Canopy, Reflections from Below.jpg

From the series "Life in Layers" with nature as a function of time and space layered with figurative images as the gatekeeper to the health of the environment.

Impressions of Portugal

Capturing the flavor of Europe's oldest country, Portugal.

Through the Veil
Shopping
Hidden Spaces
Pathways
Luz Illusion
Crossroads
With a Kiss
Bustle.jpg

Impressions of the colors and designs of Portugal.
IMG_9215.jpg

Impressions of the colors and designs of Portugal.
IMG_8136.jpg

Impressions of the colors and designs of Portugal.

Natures Life in Layers

Researching different perspectives of the natural world, venturing at times to create images that are more fantasy than reality, “Nature Life in Layers” is a selection of images that celebrate the intimate connections and forms that repeat over and over again in the Natural World. The work utilizes a number of images that function in the same way that painters use brushes and paint palettes. The intention is to create a provocative image through layered complex compositions that blend details of shapes, shadow/light, and color, coaxing the viewer to look deeper and celebrate the bond.

Night Hat.jpg

Travel through time as nature overlaps itself.
Fall Transition.jpg

Conceptual image that uses natures colors and shapes to convey an ever changing landscape.
Inner Space.jpg

Conceptual layered digital image celebrating color.
Dreams.jpg

Layered conceptual image where water takes the shape of a child deep in thought.
Mirror.jpg

Time passage seen through reflections on the waters surface.
Falling Leaves.jpg

Screen like look through space, reflections and natures colors used as my pallet. Reminiscent of the screen paintings in East Baltimore.
Turbulance.jpg

Layered conceptual image of travel through time.
Water Magic.jpg

Layered conceptual image, celebrating Robert Crumb
Water Dancejpg

Abstract layered image of natures water art through time.
Flower Moon.jpg

Celebration of nature and the rise of the Flower Moon.

Intertwined

In my work I attempt to create fanciful landscapes by combining the human form with multiple natural scapes. The interplay of black & white forms overlaid with details of flowers take on the function of strata. I’ve expanded the use of natural elements to include scenes of nature during times of growth and decay. The natural reflective surface of water creates amazing mirrors of the world they reflect. Recently I’ve become intrigued with tattoos and body painting and found that the patterns of leaves or sedimentary rocks naturally suggest intricate tattoos. These compositional layers of elements give the viewer reason to look closer, to see beneath the surface. For me the interplay between the human form, organic elements, and the landscape create incredible beauty, as they are intertwined on earth, coexisting as one.

My artwork is an extension of views of nature, humanity and our relationship to Earth. I believes strongly in a positive approach to life and our world, with the understanding that we, as stewards, have the responsibility of providing a better place for the next generation to thrive. I focus on the beauty that surrounds us, encouraging the viewer to preserve our beautiful and fragile planet. The images are achieved by combining analog infra-red B&W images with digital shots made with Nikon D5.

Inter-twined.jpg

The layering of a figure with the profile of a lilly, the image in which the series is based upon.
Iris Enclosed.jpg

Layered image using analog infra-red B&W with digital nature images.
Sleeping on Rock.jpg

Layered image using B&W infra-red analog film and digital nature images.
Orchid Within.jpg

Human figure as a vehicle for a blooming orchid.
Venice Ghost.jpg

Layered image using B&W infra-red analog film and digital nature images.
Statue.jpg

Layered image using B&W infra-red analog film and digital nature images.
Imbedded Orange.jpg

Layered images of figures and nature, in this case flowers and stone are used to create textures.
In Pieces.jpg

Layered figure with rock and flower textures as a metaphor for time and space.
Reaching Out.jpg

Flower layered with a figure in a dream like setting.
Stones.jpg

Blending of a figure in the stones along the water. The layering of form fitting like pieces of a puzzle.

Interwoven

In this series Spartana creates dreamlike landscapes by combining the human form with multiple organic elements. It continues a concept from his earlier study, “Human-Nature,” which explored the interplay of black and white forms overlaid with details of flowers. Here, he expands the use of natural elements to include landscapes and details of nature during times of growth and decay.

Spartana says they are “like the strata of memories. The mirrored surface of water reflects skylight into a hidden hollow, revealing something new, yet familiar. The patterns of leaves or sedimentary rocks naturally suggest intricate tattoos. These compositional layers of elements give the viewer reason to look closer, to see beneath the surface. The interplay between the human form, organic elements, and the landscape create incredible beauty for me, as they are intertwined on earth, coexisting as one. We are of the earth, and how we treat our environment affects all of us.”

Leaves in Fall.jpg

Series is about nature, textures and the transition through time. The human element is man's influence on nature.
Seasons Change.jpg

Multi-layered image that combines both digital and analog images printed on bamboo paper.
Rooted.jpg

Multi-layered image that combines both digital and analog images printed on bamboo paper.
In Blue.jpg

Multi-layered image that combines both digital and analog images printed on bamboo paper.
Redwood.jpg

Multi-layered image that combines both digital and analog images printed on bamboo paper.
Water Dream.jpg

Lonely figure layered with beautiful reflections of fall trees on the surface of the water, almost as if they are pieces of fabric.
Spinal Drip .jpg

The beautiful layering of seasons within a human figure, using an icicle as structure of the human form.
Hug.jpg

Series is about nature, textures and the transition through time. This image also shows unity and love.
Fall Transitions.jpg

Series is about nature, textures and the transition through time. Timeless qualities to the seasons despite mans interference.
Moss .jpg

Series is about nature, textures and the transition through time.

Human Nature

A earlier body of work layering images of human figures and flowers done in analog, concentrating on strong colors and composition. The work is a complement to the macro flower paintings of artist Georgia O'Keefe. Her work was my inspiration and the beginning of the study that I'm doing today.

Surrounded.jpg

Soft blend of an form , hands sweeping the body encased in the flow of a petal.
Petel Wear.jpg

Layered flower petal and human figure combined on analog media, so Georgia O'Keefe
With Wings.jpg

Another of my analog images that layer flowers and figures that are a tribute to Georgia O'Keefe.
Iris.jpg

Marry a photo of an Iris with a human torso done with B&W film and polaroid color film.
Pirouette.jpg

Play of shapes and textures caused by using color polaroid film and infra-red B&W film.
Hug1.jpg

C flower petal close-up forms the backdrop to a woman in a man's embrace.
Stillness.jpg

Body floating as if in deep dream floating through space and time.
Flight.jpg

Another in a series of human figures blending with tight flower photographs.

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