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Knowing Philip Steel by his many talents is like knowing a dozen different people. He’s an artist, an architect and an active preservationist. He teaches watercolor, he sails, he plays the piano and the concertina. He’s
a world traveler and has taught watercolor workshops in Italy, France,
Scotland, England and on Mediterranean cruises. Phil has illustrated a book with author Evelyn Wilde Mayerson. Phil and Evelyn have documented the fascinating history of Florida’s commercial coastal fishermen. The
result, “NET LOSS,” was performed across the entire State
of Florida as a unique combination of a one-man monodrama and a
traveling art exhibit. “Net
Loss” set tongues wagging about its controversial theme: the
banning of certain types of net fishing and the staggering effect the
ban had on generations of fishing families. “Net
Loss” broke ground as an innovative partnership between a
dramatist and a painter, with both disciplines sharing equal billing in
the production. “Net Loss” also focuses on a larger issue, the issue of art as a social commentator. Phil has completed his paintings of the Watermen of Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay. Author Roger Vaughan and Phil are capturing the uniqueness of this Island and the challenges facing these watermen. There will be ten performances in eight museums and two colleges around the Chesapeake Bay in the Fall of 2009. To request a schedule for these performances, please go to the page contact. Maine lobster men will be Phil’s third study with author Frank Reilly. Phil is currently painting for this performance. Much of Philip’s subject matter reflects his love of the sea and the people whose lives are affected by it. To paint the excitement, speed and grace of sailing craft as they move through the water represents a formidable challenge. His
ability to capture the power and energy of wind and waves, ever
changing light and tension in sails, rigging and crew is unique. Philip has gained world recognition as an artist. His work is found in many corporate and private collections throughout North America and Europe. His
numerous awards include The National George Gray Medal for the United
States Coast Guard and the Silver Brush Award in the Florida Watercolor
Society’s Annual Juried Show, The Sanford Award in the New
England Watercolor Society’s Annual Show, and the Gallery Award
in Tallahassee Tri-State Show. He is a Signature Member of the Florida Watercolor Society. To win signature status, an artist must be juried into the show three times, which is difficult in itself. Steel accomplished this in three consecutive years. He
is a signature Member of the American Society of Marine Artists and a
Fellow of the American Artist Professional League at the Salmagundi
Club in New York where he won awards for his paintings at the national
show. He has held a number of one-man shows
in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maine and Florida, and he is the first
member of the Florida Association of the American Institute of
Architects invited to have a one-man show of his paintings at the
institute’s headquarters in Tallahassee, Florida. He is listed in Who’s Who in American Art. His painting career began as a teenager in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He studied drawing and painting at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Chester County Art Association. Philip graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Architecture and a Commission in the Navy. His Navy career took him to the South Pacific and the Orient, where he was a passionate student of the art of these regions. After
his Navy tour, he completed a Master of Architecture Degree from the
University of California at Berkeley where he continued his painting
studies.
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