Hello! I'm Stefanie Babb, a writer and self taught artist living in South Florida.
The overtones that inform the direction of each piece are minimalism, contrast, and natural beauty. My work is meant to be meditative and evoke a feeling of yearning, reflective gratitude, or perhaps even wistfulness by the viewer. Its abstract appearance opens a space for the viewer to enter freely and without reservation.
My inspiration is drawn from my world travels, be it the landscapes and oceans, or the light reflecting through the skies and clouds. These journeys around the globe have revealed a multitude of natural palettes as well as the beauty of the human spirit, which is found in every culture. A challenge of mine is to capture the complexity of that spirit by using very little: a delicate dance between softness, minimalism, and completion of a work. The negative space and intricate folds represent the unseen force, perhaps even the transcendent unknown, that disrupts the fragility of mortality and materialism. I’m also drawn to the physical arrangements found in nature, which inform my own compositions.
Most pieces reflect a fragment of our natural surroundings, whether it be a petal, pebble, or cloud pattern. Some pieces are more abstracted than others, but all are meant to be interpreted by the viewer in the context of their own memories and experiences. Our shared world offers us beauty and pain, but I focus on the beauty, in it's most multi-faceted sense. I hope that my paintings bring joy and positive reminiscence, but ultimately, as with most abstract art, the interpretations belong to the viewer.
I work primarily in oil paint on canvas, using gestural and contradictory brush strokes to illustrate the dichotomy of human perception, and to achieve the ethereal yet chaotic quality of my paintings. Each piece is finished with danmar varnish and UV protectant to lengthen its archival duration.
My inspiration is drawn from my world travels, be it the landscapes and oceans, or the light reflecting through the skies and clouds. These journeys around the globe have revealed a multitude of natural palettes as well as the beauty of the human spirit, which is found in every culture. A challenge of mine is to capture the complexity of that spirit by using very little: a delicate dance between softness, minimalism, and completion of a work. The negative space and intricate folds represent the unseen force, perhaps even the transcendent unknown, that disrupts the fragility of mortality and materialism. I’m also drawn to the physical arrangements found in nature, which inform my own compositions.
Most pieces reflect a fragment of our natural surroundings, whether it be a petal, pebble, or cloud pattern. Some pieces are more abstracted than others, but all are meant to be interpreted by the viewer in the context of their own memories and experiences. Our shared world offers us beauty and pain, but I focus on the beauty, in it's most multi-faceted sense. I hope that my paintings bring joy and positive reminiscence, but ultimately, as with most abstract art, the interpretations belong to the viewer.
I work primarily in oil paint on canvas, using gestural and contradictory brush strokes to illustrate the dichotomy of human perception, and to achieve the ethereal yet chaotic quality of my paintings. Each piece is finished with danmar varnish and UV protectant to lengthen its archival duration.
My Story
Art has always been a part of my life. As a child I was always creating, whether it be a story, a drawing, taking photos or choreographing a dance. As I grew older, I started doubting myself. I was living in the shadow of my incredibly talented sister's drawings and paintings. My father was a musician, painter and wood worker, and undeniably one of the best I'd ever seen. And so, in my self doubt, I slowly backed away from visual arts and eventually from my writing and dancing before pursuing an education in history. I studied renaissance and reformation art, as well as 20th century modern art, from a historical perspective. During this time, I fell in love with and married non other than an artist. I continued my post graduate education in world history and obtained a master's degree in South Asian history and British Imperialism. During my graduate studies and while teaching college history, I was overwhelmed by my research. As an empathetic person, I was deeply affected by the lives of the people I studied and the horrendous experiences through which they lived and died. I became pregnant with my youngest son and knew I needed to separate myself from the negativity and pain of my work at the moment. I chose to not continue teaching college to stay home with my children. I worked for my husband, acting as a business manager for his ever growing art career. Together, with our children, we traveled all over the United States and Europe. I homeschooled my oldest son from the top of the Rockies and played with my youngest son in front of the Duomo in Milan, all while never losing my love of the arts. In between meetings, I'd read books about composition and technique. I'd steal an hour before dinner to experiment with paints in the backyard on an old canvas. Then one day I woke up and realized I was consistently creating. Day after day, I'd finish another painting or jot down the stories that lived in my head, and I just knew. My fears about being an artist were gone and my self doubt had disappeared. I was me again, unabashedly. I was a mother, wife, historian, cook, and friend. I was a writer. I was an artist.
Art has always been a part of my life. As a child I was always creating, whether it be a story, a drawing, taking photos or choreographing a dance. As I grew older, I started doubting myself. I was living in the shadow of my incredibly talented sister's drawings and paintings. My father was a musician, painter and wood worker, and undeniably one of the best I'd ever seen. And so, in my self doubt, I slowly backed away from visual arts and eventually from my writing and dancing before pursuing an education in history. I studied renaissance and reformation art, as well as 20th century modern art, from a historical perspective. During this time, I fell in love with and married non other than an artist. I continued my post graduate education in world history and obtained a master's degree in South Asian history and British Imperialism. During my graduate studies and while teaching college history, I was overwhelmed by my research. As an empathetic person, I was deeply affected by the lives of the people I studied and the horrendous experiences through which they lived and died. I became pregnant with my youngest son and knew I needed to separate myself from the negativity and pain of my work at the moment. I chose to not continue teaching college to stay home with my children. I worked for my husband, acting as a business manager for his ever growing art career. Together, with our children, we traveled all over the United States and Europe. I homeschooled my oldest son from the top of the Rockies and played with my youngest son in front of the Duomo in Milan, all while never losing my love of the arts. In between meetings, I'd read books about composition and technique. I'd steal an hour before dinner to experiment with paints in the backyard on an old canvas. Then one day I woke up and realized I was consistently creating. Day after day, I'd finish another painting or jot down the stories that lived in my head, and I just knew. My fears about being an artist were gone and my self doubt had disappeared. I was me again, unabashedly. I was a mother, wife, historian, cook, and friend. I was a writer. I was an artist.