Recently I had the exciting opportunity to help the call center I have been working in decorate for potential client visitors.  Unfortunately, due to a strict no camera or electronics policy, I was not allowed to take photos of the finished piece for our guests from Expedia, but I was able to take some pictures of a few of the planes that I made by smuggling them to an area where I could take their pictures.  The full piece was a world map labelled with pins on various vacation decorations, connected by string to the plane-shaped landscape drawings, which we later detached and gave to our guests as souvenirs.  Everyone was incredibly kind to me about the work I had done, and it was an exhilarating experience for me.

The second project is actually, at the time of writing this, still in the works; I've done all the drawing and cut out all the figurines, but they have yet to be assembled.  The concept will be silhouetted, abstract figures performing a variety of fitness activities, with props such as balls, bike wheels, baseball bats, etc. being replaced with fruits and vegetables to show support for a healthy lifestyle.  For example, one of the figurines will be walking the cauliflower dog (or collie-flower, as we called it) pictured above.  I'm hoping to have more photos sent to me of the finished product later this week.

The two projects, as well as several dry erase board decorations, took a little over a week to complete.  It was easily the best time that I had with the company.  It isn't often that corporate offices take the time to recognize their employee's talents or support the arts, and so it was a very pleasant surprise to be doing what I love and helping the company.

My latest experiment in painting has been learning to use only the pallet knife to apply the paint, and it has not been disappointing.  The acrylic paint dries fast enough that I can add several layers very quickly, and and there are many ways to lay art paint over dry paint.  The end result is almost a relief sculpture, which catches the light in a way that flat paint cannot.

I did this for a contest, and what I love about it is it's both stepping out of my comort zone and staying well within it at the same time.  I'm all about cute dinosaurs, but my style is usually much more extravagant and colorful.

"Fish in the Sea" 

I cannot change the world, so I'll create my own.  But to try to change the audacious nature of cats.....that would be ridiculous.  Giant mushrooms are more believable.

I've gotten really into painting with watercolor in the past few months, as well as experimenting with color.  Sometimes it's all I can do to keep myself sane, just creating my own little world within the paper and seeing what works.  There always seems to be something to discover in color, and it feels more fruitful trying to figure out color than trying to figure out the rest of the world around me these days.

Welcome to Jurassic Parkans, home of the artwork by Steph Parkans.  I work with a multitude of different media, and my strength comes from mixing them as needed.  I also have a wide range of styles, from cartoony and whimsical to more serious and realistic, and a great many points in between.  Those who know me recognize me mainly for my dinosaurs and plants, and I carry a reputation as "The Dinosaur Lady".