Stephanie Birdsall – Oil Painting

Painting from Life, How to Really See

WEDNESDAY, June 25, 2025, 6:30 PM

RAA&M Members: $35 | Non-Members: $45

The intention of this demo is to share the joy of really seeing from life. The information we get is so rich in color, form and value. Painting from life enables us to see around and behind our subject. When we observe how the light travels across the subject, we are able to understand not only the form, but the subtle color differences and values, creating space. How many yellows are in a lemon….how many pinks in a peony? Really learning to slow down and look, and “see” will bring life to your paintings.

She’ll also talk about how she sets up the composition. Stephanie will paint what is in season…flowers and/or fruit, something that she finds beautiful.

“My inspiration comes from my joy in living in  a world full of color. I am constantly awed by what is around me. I’m fascinated by the pattern that light makes, falling or drifting across my subject. Everything I paint is from life.

My relationship with my subject matter is very personal and my goal is to share that experience with my viewer. I want you to feel the delight that I feel that the colors in nature even exist. How do colors like purple red, yellow, green, etc… even exist without a power greater than ourselves?”

“I paint because I love it. If the excitement I feel for the subject and the magic of the process come through in my painting then it hopefully speaks to the viewer as well. God has blessed me with the freedom to live my life as a painter. There has never been anything else I wanted to be or do.”

Stephanie Birdsall loves to paint from life. She is enchanted by the way light falls on her subject and travels though it. Her goal is to share the softness and mystery that it brings to her paintings. After spending many years as a plein air painter, the heat in Tucson, AZ, chased her inside and she began painting what she describes as “a natural still life”., everything from nature or natural materials. She graduated from The City and Guilds of London Art School, London, England.

In 2004, she was invited to paint with the Putney Painters, founded by Richard Schmid and Nancy Guzik. This ultimately inspired her move to New England and the close proximity to VT. She currently lives in a converted barn with a huge north light window.

“There has never really been anything I wanted to do, other than paint. I never travel without my supplies. There is so much beauty around us and I don’t want to miss an opportunity to capture a beautiful moment, be it a desert landscape or a glorious flower garden or simply light with its unique ability to transform whatever I am looking at. Painting is about seeing, each in our own individual way”.

Stephanie is a Pastel Society of America Master and is Master Circle with International Assoc. of Pastel Societies. She is also  a signature member of OPA. She’s been featured in many publications and has four dvds available.

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