Stephanie Shank, born in St. Louis, MO, is an abstract expressionist painter who studied painting at Lindenwood College in St. Charles, Missouri and University of Missouri in Kansas City where she received her B.F.A. Shank was privy to the exposure of a life shaped by painting and creative independence. Her mother was a fine art major studying painting at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. which at a young age nurtured her natural independence of mind and spirit to live the life of an artist.

Working in mixed media, the surface is manipulated in layers of acrylic paint with a variety of oil pastel, acrylic ink, colored pencils, and markers, glazed on the surface until a depth of color and nuance is achieved. Nothing is preconceived. Color leads every painting, moving freely across the full spectrum, allowing shifts in hue, tone, and saturation to create tension and release. Through gestural expression and immediate mark-making, the work captures raw emotion and the intensity of the present moment.

Shank relocated to Tucson, Arizona in the mid-80’s where the brilliant sunshine and desert warmth illuminate and inspire the vivid colors of her paintings. Her paintings have been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout the country and are included in many noted private and corporate collections. Her work can be seen at Blue Print Gallery in Dallas and Austin, TX; Costello Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ; and Globe Fine Art in Santa Fe, NM.

Artist Statement
My tendency to live inwardly naturally led me toward abstraction. I invent and reinvent images, absorbing and arranging color and form, constructing a pictorial language that feels both personal and universal. Nothing is preconceived. Each painting arises from organic rhythms and an inner narrative that feels primal in origin. The imagery is meant to engage the subconscious, evoking primal responses rather than literal representation.

Shank currently lives and works in Tuscon, Arizona.