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artist
Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art. ~ Leonardo da Vinci
What would it be like, at a very early age, to know the direction of your life’s career? To know exactly what you would be doing for the rest of your life? That was how it was for me. I was going to be an artist, I even knew what kind of art I would be doing. All my friends wanted to be cowboys & policeman. I wanted to be Norman Rockwell. That was 1959. I was 6 years old. My name was Steven Paul Carlson.
Even at that early age I knew I had been given something very special, a divinely given gift…
one I’ve been grateful for every day of my life.
I would call myself a portrait artist, although I do much more than portraits; I approach every subject, whether human, animal or nature, as a portrait.
I spend numerous hours studying the many profound details of my subject, not just the visible
information, but the non-visible as well. I call it discerning the genius of the subject. The
careful recreating of my subject takes weeks, even months of applying many fine layers of detail.
Within these subtle layers I can imply a wide possibility of human or animal expression. For
example, my faces look like they might breath or sigh, move, blink or change their mood at any
moment. The subjects in my art look like they are in the process of thinking!
By immersing myself into the intricate details of my art, I experience moments where the subject
and I, whether a human or an animal, connect. It is a very special occurrence, Zen like, even
sacred. I sense and feel the subject’s emotions. I feel their innermost being and I see the world
through their eyes, capturing the inner essence of my subject and watching their image emerge
and come to life. For me, this is what creating art is all about.
The aim of art is to represent not just the outward appearance of things, but their inward
significance. ~Aristotle
From a very early age I took up two other art disciplines: the art of sleight of hand, close-up
magic. I was the resident close-up magician at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. As
well as martial arts. I hold a 5th degree blackbelt and have 12 world championship titles as well
as 32 international and grand championships titles.
Magic Videos
Along with being a portrait artist and illustrator, I am also a sleight of handartist, a magician. As an artist when you display your art creation it may ormay not get a response. Magic, on the other hand, always gets aresponse! When something vanishes from my hand and appears in yourhand you respond! People love magic! Unlike any other art form magiclets you experience the totally impossible!
Here are three short videos, I hope you enjoy the magic and the wonder.
Art Booth
Art Booth at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival
2002 - 2018
My Minnesota Renaissance Festival shoppe. It was a beautiful artisticlooking booth,
First Art Booth Arizona Renaissance Festival
2003 - 2017
Arizona Renaissance Festival shoppe,
Art Booth at the Colorado Renaissance Festival
2004 - 2009
Colorado Renaissance Festival shoppe,
Art Booth at the Arizona Renaissance Festival
This was my first booth at the Az Renaissance Festival, I quickly outgrew itand moved across the lane to the more spacious shoppe.
Street Art Show tent
For street shows I used this beautiful tent.
Gallery
Portrait artist, sleight of hand artist, martial artist. That is what I have donefor most of my life. Each of these art forms enhances the others. Myvisual art abilities strengthens my magic. My magical abilities improvedmy martial arts. You have seen plenty of samples of my art so now I wouldlike to share some photos of the other sides of my life.
Photo shot on the movie set of the full length motion picture Jackpot,directed by Academy Award nominee John Goodell. In the movie younever saw my face, only my hands. I performed all the playing card andpoker chip manipulations throughout the gambling sequences.
A promo shot with Mr. Goodell.
Performing magic on stage at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in LasVegas.
Performing magic at the Renaissance Festivals. Performing coin magic atthe Theater in the Round.
Martial art awards acquired over many years of competition.
Photos shot at tournaments.
Awards
I did not compete much with my visual artwork. However, on the occasionwhen I did, I almost always won the “People’s Choice Award”. Which, forme, was the award that meant the most.
The Minnesota Governor’s Quality Service Award 1996.This was probably the single most satisfying award I ever won. Itrepresented not a single work but many years of consistent, diligent andcaring effort. The award was presented to a very small group ofMinnesota business owners annually for exemplary service in theirbusiness.
The Master Artist award, given by the Masters Guild at the MinnesotaRenaissance Festival in 2004. Only a handful of artists ever achieve thisprestigious award. The nomination and election process took three years.
World Championship titles,1996.
These represented many years of discipline, dedication and intensetraining. I traveled all over North America, Canada, Mexico, SouthAmerica and western Europe competing . I won 12 world titles. My finalcompetition season I traveled and competed with the prestigious NealAdams, Fire Fighters Marital Arts Team.
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This means you can use the camera on your phone or tablet and superimpose any piece of art onto a wall inside of your home or business.
To use this feature, Just look for the "Live Preview AR" button when viewing any piece of art on this website!
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