About the Artist

Stephanie Brown - Biography

Stephanie Jean Brown is a representational painter based in Philadelphia. After years as a hobbyist, she left a multi-decade legal career to pursue painting professionally, and she enrolled in Studio Incamminati's Advanced Diploma of Fine Arts program in 2023. Though she'd made significant progress as a self-taught artist, she knew that the rigorous training provided by a classical atelier would provide her with the technical skills she needed to progress.

Though originally a watercolor painter, Stephanie has now found a more natural home for herself in soft pastel, which she loves for its combination of drawing and painterly effects. She also works in oil, charcoal and graphite, and is often exploring new mediums and techniques.

Her choice of subject has also shifted throughout the years. She started as a floral and still life painter, and though she still pursues both subjects, her move to the East Coast ignited a love for the landscape and for Philadelphia's historic architecture. Stephanie is primarily interested in conveying a sense of place in her work. She has a deep love for her surroundings, and she spends many hours hiking and walking through Wissahickon Park and the neighborhoods of Northwest Philadelphia, observing the impact of the changing seasons on her environment. She also enjoys plein air painting and uses the studies from her outdoor sessions to inform her studio work.

Stephanie's work is collected internationally and has been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the US. She is the recipient of numerous awards in various pastel and all-media competitions, including BoldBrush and the Pastel 100, and she exhibits in art fairs on the East Coast. She is a signature member of the Philadelphia Pastel Society, the Maryland Pastel Society, the Pastel Society of the West Coast, and the Pastel Society of America.

Stephanie lives with her husband Martin and works out of her home studio in Roxborough.

Exhibitions and awards:

2025

Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show, "Power of Creativity" Booth Award, September
American Impressionist Society 4th Annual Associate Member Online Exhibition
Philadelphia Pastel Society's 4th National Open Juried Exhibition, "Visions in Pastel"
Pastel Society of the West Coast's 39th Annual International Exhibition, "99 Voices In Pastel"
Pastel Society of Southern California's 7th Annual "Make Your Mark!" International Online Open Juried Exhibition
Pure Color 2025 9th International Online Juried Exhibition
BoldBrush International All Media Juried Competition, awarded FAV15% for "Sundown in Violet," May
Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show, "Power of Creativity" Booth Award, June
BoldBrush International All Media Juried Competition, Outstanding Pastel for "Three Little Figs," April
Philadelphia Pastel Society's Online Members Exhibition; Honorable Mention for "Summer Trio"
Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival Emerging Artist
Coconut Grove Arts Festival Emerging Artist
Tucson Pastel Society's Juried Webshow, "The Power of Pastel"
Pastel Society of Colorado's 2025 International Online Show, "Expressions"
Pastel 100, Honorable Mention in Landscape/Interiors category for "Andorra Gold" and "Goldenrod, Golden Hour"

2024

Dakota Pastels contest, 2024 Overall, Fourth Place in Emerging Artists category for "Goldenrod, Golden Hour"
Southeastern Pastel Society's 2024 Juried Virtual International Open Exhibition, "Luminosity"
Philadelphia Pastel Society's 3rd National Open Juried Exhibition, "Visions in Pastel;" Constance J. McClatchy Memorial Award of Excellent for Use of Color for "Day's End"
Pastel Society of the West Coast's 38th Annual International Exhibition, "99 Voices In Pastel;" Pat Stoddard Aragon Award for "Bloom and Shimmer"
Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show, "Power of Creativity" Booth Award, September
Connecticut Pastel Society's 31st Annual National Exhibition, "2024 Renaissance in Pastel"
Achieved Signature Member status with the Pastel Society of the West Coast (Earned)
Southwest Florida Pastel Society's National Juried Online Show
Pure Color 2024 8th International Online Juried Exhibition
Pastel Society of Southern California's 6th Annual "Make Your Mark!" International Online Open Juried Exhibition
Dakota Pastels contest, second quarter, Honorable Mention in Emerging Artists category for "Goldenrod, Golden Hour"
Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show, June
American Impressionist Society 4th Annual Associate Member Online Exhibition
IAPS Juried PastelWorld – 44th Open Division
Dakota Pastels contest, first quarter, Third Place in Emerging Artists category for "Left Out"
Pastel Society of the West Coast's Members Only Online Show, Third Place for "Goldenrod, Golden Hour"
Achieved Signature Member status with the Pastel Society of America (Juried)
BoldBrush International All Media Juried Competition, awarded FAV15% for "Yellow Radiance," "Left Out," and "In the Bag," multiple months
Pastel 100, Honorable Mention in Landscape/Interiors category for "Blue Sky Day"
Philadelphia Pastel Society's Juried Members' Exhibition, Second Place for "In Full Bloom"

2023

American Impressionist Society's All Member Online Exhibition
Pastel Society of Eastern Canada's Online International Exhibition, "Pixel Pastel"
Dakota Pastels contest, third quarter, Fourth Place in Emerging Artists category for "Then There Were Three"
Pure Color 7th Annual Online International Juried Exhibition of Pastel Paintings
Connecticut Pastel Society's 30th Annual National Exhibition, "2023 Renaissance in Pastel;" Board of Directors Award for "Goldenrod, Golden Hour"
Pastel Society of Alaska's "Summertime!" Open Online Art Show
Chicago Pastel Painters' Ninth Biennial National Juried Exhibition, "Pastels Chicago 2023"
Pastel Society of Southern California's 5th Annual "Make Your Mark!" International Online Open Juried Exhibition
Philadelphia Pastel Society's 2nd National Open Juried Exhibition
Pastel Society of the West Coast's 37th Annual International Exhibition, "99 Voices In Pastel"
Dakota Pastels contest, second quarter, Second Place in Emerging Artists category for "Andorra Gold"
BoldBrush International All Media Juried Competition, awarded FAV15% for "Left Out," May
Northwest Pastel Society's 37th International Open Show
Achieved Signature Member status with the Maryland Pastel Society (Juried)
Achieved Signature Member status with the Philadelphia Pastel Society (Earned)
BoldBrush International All Media Juried Competition, awarded FAV15% for "For Sofía," multiple months
BoldBrush International All Media Juried Competition, awarded FAV15% for "Yellow Radiance," multiple months
Pastel 100, Fourth Place in Still Life/Floral category for "Yellow Radiance"
Pastel Society of the West Coast's Members Only Online Show
Philadelphia Pastel Society's Online Members Exhibition

2022

BoldBrush International All Media Juried Competition, Honorable Mention in the Semi-Pro category for "Sundown on the Ridge," December
American Impressionist Society's All Member Online Exhibition
DailyPaintworks Monthly Contest, Second Place for "Fall in the Meadow," October
Pastel Society of New Hampshire's 14th Annual National Juried Exhibition
BoldBrush International All Media Juried Competition, awarded FAV15% for "Yellow Radiance," multiple months
BoldBrush International All Media Juried Competition, awarded FAV15% for "Sundown on the Ridge," multiple months
Dakota Pastels contest, third quarter, Fourth Place in Emerging Artists category for "Sundown on the Ridge"
Philadelphia Pastel Society's 1st National Open Juried Exhibition
Pure Color 6th Annual Online International Juried Exhibition of Pastel Paintings
Great Lakes Pastel Society's Online National Exhibit, Terry Ludwig Award for "Three Limes"
Pastel Society of Maine's Annual Open Juried Exhibition, CMPS Award for "Andorra Gold"
Central Massachusetts Pastel Society's National Exhibition "Marks of Distinction"
Pastel Society of Southern California's 4th Annual "Make Your Mark!" International Online Open Juried Exhibition
Pastel Society of New Mexico's 30th National Pastel Painting Exhibition
Featured in "Find The Artist's Top 50 Philadelphia Artists"
Red Rock Pastel Society of Nevada's International Live Exhibition
Philadelphia Pastel Society's Spring Members' Exhibition
Dakota Pastels contest, first quarter, Honorable Mention in Emerging Artists category for "Blue Sky Day"