Steven James Stannard has earned a remarkable reputation as artist, illustrator, and Landscape Architect. As an illustrator, his images have been published across the country. As an artist, his paintings appear in dozens of private collections, while his landscape and planning designs are found throughout Maryland, D.C. and Virginia.

Steve began his career in Detroit, Michigan nearly thirty years ago. He earned both a B. S. in Geography, and Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Michigan State, and an M.S.L.A. from Morgan. He pursued a successful career as Landscape Architect and urban designer in the Baltimore- Washington D.C. region. Then, somewhere along the way, Steve realized the value of the illustrations he was producing in conjunction with his projects, and in 2001 opened his studio- The Salient Group- to design and produce architectural illustrations and fine art.

Today, he maintains an open studio on Front Street in Traverse City, Michigan. Steve’s fine art follows a pattern complementary to his design and illustration work. He paints what he loves- the built environment. Fascinated by what people have contributed to the landscape, he works in oil and watercolor to produce images that evoke familiar emotions- those of home, of work, of family. Steve often works from life, and typically paints just where he is at the time. “I never leave the sketchbook behind. Subjects come along often in the places we all work and live. Painting these moments allows me to explore the lives of others as they go on about their day, doing what people do- they make things.”
 

Mr. Stannard’s images are widely collected, and he is represented by galleries in Delaware, Michigan, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC. He was a board member of the prestigious American Society of Architectural Illustrators (ASAI), where his art toured the country with their annual exhibit. Steve has also served six years as an executive officer in Maryland for the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). He is a member of the Mid- Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association (MAPAPA) and can be seen regularly in organized painting competitions. Steve has been a guest instructor at the University of Maryland College Park and at the Institute for Classical Architecture (ICA & CA) in NYC. He frequently gives demos and workshops across the country.