Hailing from Chattanooga, TN, but currently based out of Milwaukee, WI, Steve Willicombe is drawn to landscape, urban, and still life scenes that have dynamic value structures and luminous qualities. He then crafts compositions that guide the viewer on a journey into and around the paintings. Some viewers might sense a peaceful reminiscence or an encouragement to action.

Being “self-taught” would be a misnomer, since he draws on the influences of experiences with other artists, gallery & museum visits, art books & magazines, and the many videos artists share on YouTube.

Willicombe first started painting seriously in high school with watercolors. In college, he studied architecture but decided to pursue painting, showing his work in art festivals around the Southeast—where he won several awards. Over the next few decades, his vocational journey detoured to youth ministry and real estate while continuing to paint commissions and works for charitable auctions whenever he had the opportunity and time. However, in 2020 he found his artistic niche when he began to work in acrylics—seeking to better capture the glow and play of realistic light and shadow. Now, he is back vocationally to his first love: painting full-time.

Steve and his wife, Terrie, are now nomads, loving “life on the road” in their Airstream, where they travel around the country searching for inspiring sceneries, fresh experiences, and new friendships.