Steve Satushek is a Bellingham resident that has traveled all over the world to find inspiration for his photography. He recently started painting. He visits our retail store, Otion, to purchase mica for his artwork. Big thanks to Kat over at Otion for alerting me to this super cool use of micas. I was blown away when I saw Steve’s work and I hope you’re equally inspired.
“Macre 2” is made of opalescent mica for a shell look.
“Planet C” is made of metallic and glittery mica.
I was so inspired by his artwork that I emailed Steve to ask if we could blog about him. Luckily he agreed. Here’s what I asked and his answers…
Steve Satushek: I have been working with resin (several kinds of polyurethanes and epoxies) for the last 3 years but I only do this in the warm part of the year. I have a big workshop with giant doors that I open so I am almost working outside. I use a very good mask as the fumes can be nasty. I do my photography compositing work at my computer in the cold months with my nice heated floor under my feet. Professional photography has been my career for more than 20 years.
Anne-Marie: How did you stumble upon micas and oxides for your artwork?
Steve Satushek: Over the last several years my wife and family and I have been doing many outdoor art projects at our place outside of Bellingham. One of my missions is to bring artwork to our outdoor sanctuary in ways not usually done. We have many 3’x4′ weather-proof photos hanging on the side of our house (printed at Appplied Digital Imaging). On my website you may have found the spot called “installations” that shows some of these prints. I also wanted to make paintings, that could be outdoors, hence, the resins. The clear medium is used on big trucks and airliners so it should last a long time outside. UV rays will eventually take their toll, but part of my quest is to find out firsthand what the longevity will be- so far so good.
I started out using liquid acid stains on white cement and I love the look but there are limited colors. I used some powdered pigments on our cements columns that we made in our Mediterranean entryway. I had no idea how to apply the color so I painted on a sticky, milky, medium let it get tacky and then applied the pigment with a dry brush with a plastic bag to catch most of the powder. I had no idea if it would stay on, but it has held up very well for the last 5 years. It was just a progression of trying everything I could get my hands on from there. I am somewhat of a mad scientist always using products in ways they were never intended for. So when I call up the tech reps at some industrial company they probably are chuckling at my ideas while they are trying to figure out what I am doing.
Anne-Marie: I can relate to that, Steve. I’m always trying new things with soap and sometimes that means asking the weird questions. Thanks for letting us blog about you and good luck with all of your projects! You’re an inspiration!
Check out his Artist’s Statement and visit his website here. You can purchase some of his stock photos here and here. And, if you’re lucky enough to live in my neck of the woods, hopefully Steve will do a gallery show soon. When I hear of one, I’ll let you know!
