January 31, 2018 through June 5, 2018
Canyon Country Library
18601 Soledad Canyon Rd.
Santa Clarita, CA 91351
Having grown up on the Los Padres National Forest, artist Steph Darling developed the perception that art is a creative expression derived from ones natural surroundings. While drawing and sketching the surrounding plants and animals, the artist meditates on natures’ connection with people and the language we use to understand them. Playing with words and the images they produce, the resulting twists and turns lead one in various directions.
Much in the same way writing is a necessity for authors, Darling’s work is the visual expression of her thoughts, moods, experiences and ideas. These works of art are the voiceless stance of herself as a human being. It is her love, life, passion, and confidante. When painting, Darling, frequently reflects on the experiences her ancestors faced while living on this untamed landscape, when the coyotes and lions where once fearless and powerful. This was a time when humans where not so prevalent and the Wild West was not about cowboys, but the wildness of nature. Here native lives were woven together, one existence bound to another.
