Uplifting Together : New paintings by Stephanie Hock Stephanie's paintings exude a charming simplicity, they are characterized by bold and bright colors, simple stylized figures and strong composition. Her artwork celebrates everyday activities and simple gestures and her paintings lends them a sense of unabashed joy. Not bound by the strictures of her formal training, Stephanie imparts her intuitive vision onto the canvas, frequently capturing home life with children, nature, and local places. Each brushstroke is an homage to shared memories, making every piece a personal narrative as well as a collective memento. Stephanie's artwork is stylized in a way that's uniquely unpretentious and strikingly direct. The charm of her art is its universal language of the heart and home. Stephanie Hock graduated from Utah State University with a bachelors in Visual Art, but struggled to find her rhythm as a painter. Two years after graduation (and less fulfilling office jobs), Stephanie met her husband who gave her three tubes of paint as a wedding present. He encouraged her to find her artistic voice, and through workshops and artist mentors, she finally did and now shows in several galleries. About her paintings, Hock says, "I'm fascinated with how art tells the story of people. It continues to be a favorite theme in my work-- watching individuals or groups of people unposed, living their lives. I find beauty and meaning in what our ordinary gestures tell about our feelings, relationships, values, humor and our society as a whole."