Steve Penley,
One of America's Preeminent Artists

Over the course of his thirty-five-year career, Steve Penley has emerged as one of America's preeminent and most sought after artists. To own a Penley sends the message that you prefer history be told through a bold and vibrant palette, an explosion of color, rather than some dull textbook version of the past with just the facts. To watch Penley paint is a revelation, as familiar shapes manifest from nothing into cohesive, recognizable forms always rendered uniquely new and exciting. No Penley painting is ever the same. As such, the name Penley connotes a bold and striking vision, one that has become synonymous with a brave new world of color, familiar yet novel, always capped off with the unmistakable and distinctive Penley signature.

For Steve Penley, the journey began in Chattanooga, Tennessee at his birth into a family of musicians on December 29, 1964. After spending his childhood years in Athens and Macon, Georgia, Steve attended the School of Art at the University of Georgia where he cut his teeth on the theories and teachings of such esteemed professors as Jim Herbert and Art Rosenbaum. After further study in New York at the famed School of Visual Arts in New York City, Steve returned to Georgia where he developed a close friendship with Atlanta attorney Bob Steed, an eager patron, eventual mentor, and lifelong friend. Pretty soon it seemed everyone in Atlanta knew of Penley thanks to Steed's tireless crusading and enthusiastic support. A growing fan base and swelling tide of collectors could not seem to get enough of Steve's historical icons, Coca-Cola bottles, American flags, landscapes, and what would become one of his trademarks: technicolor florals composed in paint so thick it seemed like ice cream that refused to melt suspended in time on the canvas.