Steve is an artist and designer, living and working in Northumberland. He combines a love of walking and nature with his art and fills his notebooks with poetic and immersive responses to nature and the world around him. He is also leading a workshop in Creative Nature Journaling for us on 13 Sept.
In recent years Steve has been focussing on designing and producing art for outdoor spaces.
In August his sculpture Lace and Grace was unveiled. The brief was to explore stories about Olney (a small Market Town, near Milton Keynes). From early discussions with the client the name Lace and Grace emerged and from the subsequent site visit a form grew.
The focus for the artwork brings together the colliding themes of Lace and Grace. Lace offers a way of combining strands of thought into a unifying image. The threads are carefully connected together with seeming ease and without obvious joins. The delicate tracery of lace is like streams of consciousness that is woven from thin air.
“The patterns created offer strength in unity and grace in thought. The words from Amazing Grace bring together John Newton’s bitter life experience and subsequent conversion to the anti slavery cause into a hymn that has been adopted by diverse communities across the globe. These two themes show that we can all weave our own threads in life.”
Read more about Lace and Grace here: differentia.co.uk/news/2025/7/29/lace-and-grace-installed
Perhaps the most significant piece Steve will be installing this year is Figures of Tyne. This is destined to adorn the wall of the new HMRC regional headquarters in Newcastle City Centre. The piece is very much a celebration of the history, architecture and people of Newcastle. It is a look at the architectural gems of Newcastle.
“There is a lot of hidden iconography above doorways, high up on tall buildings and above windows. There are also some quirky features inside and outside buildings – the Black Rabbit/hare at Cathedral Buidlings for instance.
“The imagery feeds into the ornate steel work of the artwork and is also informed by a public engagement project where I worked with artists and staff at HMRC guiding them through a process of creating Chapbooks allowing them to take their own personal and creative view of Newcastle. The subsequent work is on display in the Grainger Market.”
More about Figures of Tyne: differentia.co.uk/news/2024/10/11/figures-of-tyne-october-update
Steve has been working on his nature based art recently and this is now his focus going forward. This has long been a hobby and main interest and he has been creating nature journals for many years. Steve now teaches people how to see nature and record what they see using their own creative voice. “I don’t teach people how to draw as such, its more about seeing what people do and helping them to develop their own style and technique”.
“My own work is personal (creating nature journals from observations) but also adding my own feelings and thoughts; sometimes poetry, lyrics and quotations, into my journals. My aim is really just to notice nature and the beauty of the natural world, which speaks for itself.
“My journals are continuous and record a journey (usually with my dog, Jess). When I look at them, they offer not only a useful scientific record but also a visual and immersive prompt. When teaching journalling I provide a background, as well as all of the materials needed to create a beautiful little journal and help to tease out the unique voice and style of drawing that is innate in everyone.”
You can find out more about Steve’s journals here: stevepardue.art/my-nature-journals
www.stevepardue.art I nature journals I public art I paintings I illustration I differentia.co.uk for public art.
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