Stephen Brehm’s oil paintings capture nature’s unscripted movements and serene subtleties
Written by Kristen Hamsphire
The Eastern Shore’s lively surf and dynamic waves offer endless material for fine artist Stephen Brehm, a longtime member of the Rehoboth Art League. Drawn to ocean scenes, he is intrigued by the interplay of light and shadow, of man and nature.
Inspirational settings are integral to Stephen’s creative process. His goal: to capture a gesture or object with as few brushstrokes as possible, focusing on essential elements that bring a subject to life.
“My evolution as an artist has led me to capture scenes with a limited amount of detail and fewer brush strokes,” Stephen shares. “For me, it’s all about keeping it loose and lively, not getting too stuck on details—and about creating focal points.”
Arguably, Stephen’s works are brimming with detail in the way colors organically create movement and emotive layers. Stephen speaks to how he translates what he sees in the natural world to the canvas, “softening edges” and exercising artistic license to interpret landscape and seascape scenes.
Much of his work is inspired by the local coastline, he says.
“There is a nostalgic quality,” says Stephen, remarking on the mid-Atlantic’s earthy green waters and waves that break right on the beach. “It makes for interesting seascapes because there is a little more drama.”
The swell and collapse create swashbuckling scenes that Stephen captures in his oil paintings. He is an artist who paints en plein air when possible. “I used to take a fishing rod along to the beach and now I take my easel,” he quips.
Early Influences
A life of travel informs the perspective Stephen brings to the painter’s palette. Born in Verdun, France, he spent his younger years—during his father’s military career—moving with his family to Germany, Italy and Puerto Rico, eventually relocating to the United States.
“My father was also a fisherman, and we always had a boat,” Stephen relates. “He was drawn to the water’s edge like many of us. It’s healing, relaxing and some of us are fortunate to live close to it.”
Stephen’s home base today is in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on a country property along the Conestoga River, which eventually flows into the Chesapeake Bay. For as long as he can remember, an annual trip to Delaware’s Dewey Beach has been a summer tradition.
By traveling to the Eastern Shore, across the country, and all over the world, Stephen has developed a profound appreciation for the land and sea.
He attended Millersville University where he studied painting and figure drawing, and before committing to a full-time art career, he worked as a 3D animator, graphic artist and courtroom sketch artist. One of his pieces for a national court case landed on NBC’s The Today Show.
By 2007, Stephen decided to paint full-time. He stopped at a local art store and found a book on Frederick Waugh’s seascapes. Ultimately, this triggered what has evolved into an 18-year career teeming with accolades.
“There is something about the look of fresh wet paint that moves my artist soul,” he says.
“There is something about the simplicity and the look of fresh,
wet paint that moves my artist soul.”
Capturing the Essence
Lately, Stephen says he is interested in painting a particular subject: the concrete observation towers along the coast, built from 1939 to 1942 during World War II to defend the Delaware Bay and River from a potential German attack. (Shots were never fired.)
“I’m very intrigued by the towers,” he says. “They are mysterious, and after all these years, they’re still standing. I imagine what it was like when they were manned.”
Stephen is completing a series of tower paintings, mainly depicting those in north Rehoboth Beach in the Gordons Pond area.
Stephen’s work is consistently shown at Rehoboth Art League shows, the St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Art Show in Lewes, Peninsula Gallery in Lewes and the Bethany Beach Boardwalk Arts Festival.
He hopes his pieces offer a glimpse into the spirit of ever-evolving landscapes. “I’m driven to capture the energy and essence of my surroundings,” he says. CS
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