In His Own Words

My father was in the Air Force, and his military assignment brought him and our family here while I was still in High School. After graduation, I left San Antonio and traveled the globe for the next 25 years, then returned here to settle my own family.

I could have settled anywhere, but I liked the environment here, the reasonable cost of living, the food, and the people. San Antonio is a fairly large city with a “town” kind of atmosphere. It’s a place where an artist can create work without going broke.

It is also a place where other artists encourage each other, and opportunities abound to exhibit and sell artwork. It’s centrally located in the country, so travel from here to other states is easier. San Antonio has an art community that is vibrant, exploding with creativity, and has the potential to be one of the country’s art destinations. I think the future for artists in this city is bright and promising

Landscape, spirituality, and the figure all serve as inspiration for me. Collectively, my work often reflects upon primal questions about origins, the expressive beauty of the human figure, and the aesthetic power of light moving through an imagined atmosphere.

I enjoy creating work that conjures up a sense of mystery and ethereal light–both figurative and abstract. My interests are evenly split between the two.

As a boy, I was always fascinated by the greenish patinas that appeared on bronze sculptures. Wanting to find a way to incorporate that texture into my paintings, I began to experiment with various chemicals on metal leaf, until a process surfaced that gave me the qualities I was looking for. Once I solved the technical problems associated with oxidized metal and oil paint, I began to create a body of work that made reference to places and landscapes of my imagination. Over time, I began to see the potential for incorporating the process in my figurative works, making them more expressive and light-filled.

When asked how I would categorize my work, I became frustrated. It wasn’t pure realism, wasn’t impressionism nor expressionism, and did not seem to fit neatly into a specific “genre”. So, I decided to come up with a term that seemed to apply to both the abstract and figurative works I create. That term is “Neo-Luminism”. Rather than concoct a literal story, I strive to evoke a feeling–a kind of unspoken connection between the work and the viewer.

Biographical Information

Born in Hanford, California, Steve’s art studies were interrupted by a decision to serve during the Vietnam War era after just one semester at San Antonio College. While serving in the Air Force, he completed a BA degree in Social Psychology, and an MA degree in Management. Throughout, he remained devoted to making art in his free time.

After living 13 years in other countries, Steve retired from the Air Force, and re-engaged his lifelong passion for art by resuming his studies at San Antonio College, where he completed an AAS in Graphic Design. He completed the Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree (Summa cum Laude) in 2003, with a concentration in painting from the University of Texas at San Antonio. The City of San Antonio’s Fiesta Commission selected DaLuz’s painting, “Dance of Fiesta” for its official Fiesta Poster for 2007.

He was selected for acceptance into the 2009 Biennale in Florence, Italy, and his works have been published in art periodicals, such as Fine Art Connoisseur, Art Calendar, and Poets and Artists magazine, where he received the cover for the Nov 2009 Issue. He recently had two works selected for publication in the book, Strokes of Genius 3: The Best of Drawing, to be released in 2011. Naming his “72″ exhibition one of San Antonio’s Best exhibits for 2008, Dan Goddard, San Antonio Express-News Art Critic, called the artwork, “…perhaps the city’s most creative response yet to 9-11.”

Steven donates artwork and portions of proceeds from sales of his work to benefit many charitable causes.

To learn more about the artist and see more examples of his work, please visit his online gallery at stevendaluz.com.