It still seems very surreal to me and it is with great sadness and regret to write about the sudden passing of my friend and internationally acclaimed artist
Steve Walker at the age of 50 on January 4, 2012. We here at
Art Frenzie in
Wilton Manors, Fla. are mourning his loss along with his family, other friends and the international art world.
We first met Steve in 1997 when we had a problem getting a shipment of his work from his distributor. Their lateness, which screwed up Christmas orders for our clients, prompted us to contact him directly. That initial contact blossomed into not only a wonderful friendship, but also a great business relationship with us becoming his Southeastern distributor…which, by the way has been imitated but will never be duplicated. We invited him to come down to do exhibitions with us when we had our first gallery in the
Shoppes of Wilton Manors.
The first time he came down here it was unannounced. He surprised us and we introduced his work to Wilton Manors and South Florida, which of course was, and still is, greeted with an awesome response. We had the pleasure of his visits every two to three years since that first one for signing events. We were always joined at the hip during his stays and would book him for as many exhibitions as time allowed. His work has appeared at such places as
Georgie's Alibi, Cathode Ray, AnyWayz and many private showings. We even took him up to
St. Pete Alibi so we could share his work up there. He loved our community. We always had a great time meeting and greeting fans of his work, and introducing many others to his work.
"Guesthouse"We would get together every afternoon during his visits and stay together through the exhibitions. We’d hang out until the wee hours sharing lots of laughs and solving all the world’s problems. While visiting he always found his solitary time to explore Fort Lauderdale to get more ideas for future paintings. Steve was a news fanatic and
CNN would keep him keenly aware of world events, as he would work on his paintings. He was kind of shy in his own way. He was quiet, introspective and reflective, which always spoke volumes in his paintings. He'd always say "there’s so much strength in silence.”
He taught himself to paint after the AIDS epidemic and always hoped that his work would enlighten people. He taught himself to paint and regularly used the themes of love, light, loss, touching, watching, thinking, yearning, reflecting and fearing.
"I paint about life, mine and yours,” he always said. His brilliance and insight was absolutely incredible.
I must say: he's one of the most talented and visionary artists I ever met in 23 years of being in this business. It was always like Christmas getting the shipments of the new originals he would create for each show. Just seeing the new concepts was very exciting and amazing. Every image tells a myriad of stories and evokes a great variety of emotions in people viewing them.
Steve WalkerHe always said, "I hope that in its silence, the body of my work has given a voice to my life and lives of others, and in doing so gives dignity to all the people I paint about.”
We always sold out of his originals every time along with hundreds of reproductions on canvas and print. It was difficult for him to keep up with the demand for originals at the various galleries around the world.
Steve was very profound beyond his years. He was always making notes and sketches of conceptual thoughts for fear that he might forget them. Favorite songs, phrases, movies, celebrities and the great masters he got to see in his travels through Europe influenced his work.
Just the titles he would come up with are part of the works of art themselves.
He never liked painting faces much. We stayed up all night while he continuously kept signing prints I was feeding him, talking about
Barbara Streisand and his fear of not being able to paint her. Not long after that trip he called me said "I did it!!" He had painted an absolutely stunning rendering of a self-portrait of himself as a young man watching
Funny Girl, titled
Funny Boy. How many of us remember the feeling of watching that for the first time? He never did sell that original.
We had a lot of great times together. He had a hysterically dry sense of humor. We would always find time during his visits to go somewhere and sing karaoke for him. He loved anything my business partner
Bernadette would sing for him. I of course always had to sing
"My Man" for him.
Many have compared his work to the likes of
Hopper 's realism. I believe his unique style has made him comparable to the
Norman Rockwell of our society.
"Funny Boy 2"His artwork has also been used on over 20 books worldwide and his works have made their mark all over the world and has received international acclaim.
I would just like to say bravo to our beloved friend Steve Walker. You really have left a legacy behind in your paintings. We are very proud to have his entire collection of reproductions for viewing and for purchase on our Facebook Page and in the gallery, while our website is currently under reconstruction.
We also carry an extensive collection of Steve's works at
Art Frenzie, 2055 Wilton Drive, in Wilton Manors, FL. To our most loveable, pragmatic and sensitive friend Steve, you will be sorely missed here, your beautiful smile, your quick wit and one of a kind charm, simply put - your sheer brilliance. I know you are with the angels now, yet, you have gone way too soon. Rest in peace my friend. From all your friends here at Art Frenzie and in South Florida.
We are also planning a local memorial tribute to celebrate Steve's life here locally, date and location to be announced shortly. Please call 954-560-3684 or write
[email protected] .
