Meet Anastasia Steuterman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anastasia Steuterman.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Art has been my passion, since I was a young girl. My first recollection of picking up a pencil was when I was about 5 years old. Sitting at my grandfather’s giant wooden desk in his leather seat and drawing Zoo animals after my trip with my Grandmother that day to the Zoo. I remember my Grandfather walking in, taking a look at the drawings and approvingly nodding to let me continue to draw. I was thrilled at the reaction and continued to draw off and on during my childhood. When I was a teenager I remember rushing off after school to take a bus, an underground train and another bus (an hour and half one way) to get to my favorite Art Museum, Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, to see new exhibits and browse hallways, more times than I can count, to see my favorite artwork. I was the youngest attendant at the art lectures. All I wanted to do was to be in presence of Renoir, Monet, Degas, Cézanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Picasso. Later I got a degree in Marketing and followed a business path of a project manager. While working in business, I made time to come back to Art and started studying under Artists. My rule is every city I go to, I make sure to find an Art museum. It might be my only venture in that city, but if there is one I will make sure to find it. I love to draw. I teach my children how to draw.

Please tell us about your art.
I believe as an Artist it is our duty to go beyond the photograph or a scene, we have a need to capture the “essence/spirit/mood” of what or who we see not dutifully duplicate the exact realistic rendering of the scene. Technology is a wonderful thing, but nothing replaces a traditional Art Masters century proven and refined method of working by hand with a brush or a pencil on paper or canvas. I love capturing moments of people’s everyday lives with my pencil and turning them into a timeless piece of art to be cherished by generations. I love animals and children. They are the best and purest energies in this world. They are authentic, there is no pretentiousness. So, I try to capture their inner spirit to the best of my ability with my pencil. I also love taking photographs and drawing every day moments like sitting on the beach and watching sunset or being served an amazingly delicious cup of latte with a foam heart on the top, seeing a perfectly blooming rose on my daily walks around my neighborhood. These everyday things bring joy to my day. I always carry my phone to capture an amazingly perfect formation of the clouds on my walks or a painted pink rock on the path. There is beauty everywhere, we just need to pause from our fast-paced lives and appreciate where we live. It can’t get better then living in San Diego, 100% guaranteed!
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

What do you think about conditions for artists today? Has life become easier or harder for artists in recent years? What can cities like ours do to encourage and help art and artists thrive?
Being an Artist is not an easy job regardless of where or what century you live in. I always feel very vulnerable showing my work and I am my own worse critique. I have an emotional connection to all my pieces. Pencil drawing is a very slow process, so you get attached to your work regardless if it is a commission of someone’s dog or drawing a koi pond. I do believe with today’s social media exposure of one’s art is a lot wider and now an Artist’s physical location is no longer restricting to where and who can view one’s Art. Technology is working to Artists’ advantage no doubt in my opinion. Artists can exchange their expertise virtually, create a following world-wide without ever leaving their Studio. Creating local Art exhibits, doing write ups about local artists (like SD Voyager) is a great way to encourage and help local artists. Maybe creating a network between Art Patrons and Artists, hosting events where you bring people live and let them interact and display their work during the year would be a great way to connect and promote Artists.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.momentsintoart.com/
• Email: momentsintoart@gmail.com
• Instagram: moments_into_art
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Momentsintoart-141161799292452/

Image Credit:
Anastasia Steuterman

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