Stephanie Schechter

American, b. 1972

Stephanie Schechter is a contemporary realist painter known for her bold, stylized depictions of commercial signs. To Schechter, signs embody much meaning beyond the words on their surface. She sees these place-markers and advertisements as reminders of a community’s culture and history, the evolution of commerce, design and manufacturing trends, impermanence and obsolescence.

Schechter’s striking painting style is strongly influenced by her background as a designer. She started her creative career as an industrial designer and graphic designer, but soon found that she has more to express than is possible through design alone. She began painting as means to articulate and document the beauty she finds in the everyday, man-made world.

Her process starts with extensive photography of a subject. She then creates a drawing— editing and enhancing to hone the composition and the focus of the work. After transferring the drawing to canvas, she uses a hard-edged, precise method of painting. The result is an idealized portrait that reflects what she find most poignant about that particular sign.

Schechter’s work has been displayed in exhibitions throughout the United States.

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Artist Statement

“My process starts with extensive photography of a subject. I select a painting's source photograph based on the angles, shadows and highlights that best accentuate the subject. Working from the photograph, I create a drawing- editing and enhancing in order to hone the focus of the work. The drawing is then transferred to the canvas, where I use a direct, hard-edge, precise method of oil painting. One of my greatest joys is the moment a three-dimensional form starts to come to life on a canvas.”