Steve Morris inside his studio. Transparent watercolors and graphite are the mediums he most frequently uses.
The artist found his subject in the simple gift of a bird’s nest. Years later, Steve Morris continues to be awed by the intricacy and beauty of its construction.
By Virginia Quick
On September 11, 2001, graphic designer Steve Morris was on a plane heading to New York to meet a major client to discuss a big new marketing campaign for the client’s travel business. As his plane turned back to St. Louis after the terrorist attack on theTwin Towers and the subsequent standstill in nationwide travel, Steve realized that he would have to rethink his own business future. He was going to have to go back to the drawing board. And so he did.
He decided to retire and stepped into a fine arts career without missing a beat. Artist friends of his were renting studios in the Foundry in St. Charles and invited him to join them. It was an easy decision; his wife Gloria was a prosecuting attorney in St. Charles, and she could drop him off at the Foundry every day and pick him up again in the evening. He began painting daily in the studio. His subjects were botanical, mostly fruitand vegetables. His medium was watercolor. When asked: “Why watercolor?” he responded, “Because I had some.”
One day someone brought him a bird’s nest. Intrigued by the intricacy and natural beauty of the construction, he made a painting of it. And with that, he had found his subject! Since painting that first nest, Steve has gone on to win many national and international painting competitions with his bird’s nest watercolors. They have been featured in several art magazines, including International Watercolor and Watercolor Artist.
Steve paints each bird’s nest in exquisite detail and on a grand scale to emphasize the beauty and skill involved in its construction. When asked about his process, he said that when he finds a nest, or a friend brings him one, he will first photograph it outdoors,
deciding on the perspective and the background for the painting, which often reflects the site where it was originally found. Then he will enlarge the photo to the size he wants to paint. He carefully traces the photo and transfers it to the watercolor paper, a process that takes two or three days. He tries to be as accurate in the drawing as possible.
He works on Arches 300 lb. hot pressed paper and generally paints on dry paper, building up layers of color. He completes one small section at a time rather than laying in color over the whole drawing. He rarely uses masking materials. Sometimes, if his intended background requires it, he will mask out the nest with a transparent x-acto knife, tamping down the edges with a special tool. He paints from light to dark, and when he has finished, he reviews the whole painting, adding darks where needed. He uses very little paint, squeezing his colors into little flower petal palettes. Working steadily, he can complete a bird’s nest in a week or two.
In addition to bird’s nests, Steve continues to paint botanical subjects and currently has botanical paintings in exhibitions, including his painting of a branch with leaves, in the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) annual exhibition with the Salmagundi Club in New York.
“Bird’s Nest In A Barn,” by Steve Morris.
The ASBA’s 2025 exhibition will be at the Foundry in St. Charles. Steve points out that entering a botanical art show presents a double hurdle for the artist: the piece must first be judged for botanical accuracy by a botanist before being judged for artistic merit. In a departure from his very realistic work, he is currently venturing into abstract painting, often with an underlying botanical theme.
Steve has had great success in having his paintings accepted for competitions, and his work often wins. So many prizes are given in art supplies that he rarely must purchase paints or brushes! When asked what advice he would give to aspiring watercolor artists, he was quick with the following list:
(1) “Practice, practice, practice!”
(2) “Learn how to draw; drawing is the number one thing that people don’t want to do. If the drawing is weak, it makes the painting weak.”
(3) “Really work at things; really observe.”
(4) “Don’t be afraid to enter competitions. If you don’t get in, you may learn something. If you do get in, it gives you confidence.”
(5) Before entering a competition, look carefully at the costs which may include entry fee, framing, shipping to and from, handling fee and you may even have to become a member of the sponsoring organization.
Steve was of four artist owners of the OA Gallery in Clayton, and later in Kirkwood, and is a founding member of the Heartland Art Club. He is currently a signature member ofthe National Watercolor Society (NWS), the Missouri Watercolor Society (MOWS), the St. Louis Watercolor Society and serves on the Board of Directors of Heartland.