Steve Langenecker
Steve Langenecker began painting at the age of 9 and has never stopped. Growing up in rural Wisconsin near the Horicon Marsh, he naturally began to paint the fields, woods, and marshes with special focus on the birds and animals that inhabited them. He sold his first painting at the age of 12 and became exposed to the popularity of "wildlife art" and the belief that he could make a living selling his art painting what he loved. He continued his study of art at Lomira High School and then at Cardinal Stritch College
where he was one of four to receive the Layton Art Scholarship. After receiving a BFA in Fine Art, Steve did an internship at the Milwaukee Public Museum where he had access to huge rooms filled with taxidermied birds and animals that he could study and paint. His view of "wildlife art" changed profoundly after viewing the international exhibit "BIRDS IN ART" at the
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum in Wausau and he was lucky to be juried into this show on his first try at 19.
Steve continues to paint daily in his studio in Waukesha. He considers himself a "nature" artist who paints landscapes and the birds and animals that first sparked his imagination as a boy.
"The elements of the landscape that I still love and need to have in my paintings are what I call nature's "special effects": misty mornings, sparkling lakes, transluscent leaves, storm clouds, fiery sunsets to name a few. I'm attracted to a certain quality of light and color, pattern and movement. I'm also excited by landscapes that show a human presence
including orchards, stone fences, farms, trails and rustic roads. Places that are "uninimproved" or being reclaimed by nature and that are accessible and familiar. Birds and animals will sometimes find their way into these paintings and favorites are still those of my youth: fox, pheasant, deer, herons, cranes, and songbirds."
