Stella Violano was born in 1965 in Van Nuys, California where the Santa Monica Mountains National Park bordered her childhood home. Her youth was spent observing nature and exploring the grasslands and mountains seeking out glimpses of wildlife, remnants of old homesteads and fossils. Her father would tell her the stories of the Chumash Indians and the early California Settlers nurturing her love of nature and history that influenced much of her later work.
Much of her work has a historic theme and involves wildlife or domestic animals. In 2004 she traveled to the Florida Everglades to stay with fourth-generation Florida Cow Hunters and painted a series based on her experiences. She is planning to visit the Seminole Indians in the spring of 2006 and will be painting a series based on the Seminoles as well as the historic Marsh Tachie- the first horse brought to the United States.
Her passion as an advocate for homeless pets is often visible in even her major works. Some of the small studies she has painted of homeless pets in city animal shelters have been instrumental in finding homes for the subjects.
Violano received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biomedical Illustration from California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks. She then sought private tutelage under various artists such as Richard Morris, a talented artist who instructed with such artists as Jeremy Lipking and Tony Pro. Under the guidance of Morris she not only learned disciplined painting skills but also studied works of the Old Masters. Exploring the composition and components of each work and gaining insight to the process used in the creation of each.
Violanos major painting influences have been Richard Schmid, Timothy Tyler, Micheal Frase, Anders Zorn, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt and William Bouguereau. She credits Schmid and Morris for helping her define her style and for teaching her never to compromise when recording her vision on canvas.
Violanos work has been on exhibit in the International Animals on Art Exhibition in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where she received the honor of winning the Milford Zornes Award. Her work has also been on exhibit in the prestigious Art Show at the Dog Show in Kansas City, Kansas as well as the Adah Callahan Memorial Professional Art Exhibition in the City of Ventura, California. Her most popular work as a muralist can be found in the Channel Islands Medical Group where she was commissioned to paint the local Channel Islands marine wildlife.
Violano looks forward to life with the passion to learn and excel as an artist, seeking knowledge in the past while embracing the present.
