Artist Statement
“My goal as an impressionist painter is to capture the essence of what makes something beautiful. I use color and composition to tell a story about the landscapes that I encounter on my travels. Each painting is a project in arranging the most beautiful colors in rich, dynamic combinations. Thick paint is applied in loose, expressive brushstrokes without blending. This creates beautiful texture and movement keeping the painting looking fresh and lively. I hope that my paintings will inspire you to see beauty everywhere you look, even in the most ordinary places.”
-Stephanie Ashman
Meet Stephanie
Stephanie Ashman lives two lives; one with a paintbrush and the other with her flute! Stephanie is the owner of Tutti Flutes, an online music school specializing in flute. She has a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance from the Wells School of Music at West Chester University and has completed three levels of Suzuki Flute Teacher Trainings. She also specializes in early childhood music and has a certification in the internationally recognized program “Music Together".” However, a career in music does not keep Stephanie from finding time to paint! She has studied art her whole life and has discovered so many connections between music and visual art. She also finds working with children to be a constant reminder to prioritize play and creativity. She is a passionate advocate for art and music education and acknowledges the tremendous value of living a creative life.
Finding Inspiration
Stephanie has always enjoyed the outdoors and hiking, but it was not until she started traveling more extensively that it became a passion. After beating breast cancer in 2021 at the age of 27, Stephanie took a celebratory trip with her family to some of the US National Parks. This trip was life changing and opened her eyes to the incredible variety of landscapes across the country. Stephanie has also traveled across Europe and the Patagonia region of South America. She looks forward to exploring the world further and capturing her adventures on canvas!
The Process
Limited Palette
Stephanie pre-mixes her entire palette before ever picking up a brush. She uses a limited palette of only four-five pure pigments per painting. The pure pigments are the colors listed on the outside of the Quiller Color Wheel. Hues like permanent rose, ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow, and phthalo turqoise for example cannot be made from mixing any other tubes of paint. On the contrary, the colors listed on the inside of the Quiller Wheel are made from the pure pigments. You can buy these intermediate colors and many artists use them regularly. (Sap green, burnt sienna, yellow ochre.) Stephanie finds that by mixing everything herself, rather than buying more colors, makes the painting more cohesive and ensures that the colors are not muddy.
The Underpainting
Stephanie begins each project with an underpainting. In this first layer, the paint is thinned down with Terpenoid to create a watercolor-like consistency. The goal is to get rid of the white canvas and create a wash of transparent, vibrant colors. This will lay the foundation for a bright and colorful painting on top. If you look closely at her finished paintings, you can see the underpainting colors shine through in tiny places between the brushstrokes.
The Sketch
Next, a detailed sketch is drawn on the canvas in paint, usually ultramarine blue or magenta. This is a crucial step in defining the compositional aspects of the painting.
Impasto Brushstrokes
Finally, it’s time to start the actual painting. Stephanie uses “impasto” technique which involves applying paint in a thick texture with visible brushstrokes. She tries very hard to get everything right the first time and uses as little brushstrokes as possible so the painting feels expressive and impressionistic.
““Color is the heart of expression and the fuel that gives a painting life.”