Three Wise Men by Steve Puttrich
When I was in college, one of the most profound things I learned about stories was this: the hero’s worst possible scenario needs to happen for him or her to be transformed. It’s an uncomfortable truth that is just as valuable for our own lives. Unfortunately, we often shy from all deviations from our plan without entertaining that there might be abundance beyond our own means and foresight.
This truth is exquisitely evoked in plein air painter, Steve Puttrich’s, art and life. Raised in the Northwest side of Chicago, Puttrich was born into a family that encouraged his art and his faith. Years later as student of architectural illustration at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Puttrich deepened in both and met his wife of 36 years, Bobbie-an artist herself.
““Then about four years ago, things took an unexpected turn.””
As any young graduate could only hope, Puttrich found work within his field under the employment of Parsons, an engineering company based in Chicago. Over the course of 25 years, Puttrich grew and expanded his skills, working his way up in the company to oversee teams and management. Then about four years ago, things took an unexpected turn. Puttrich’s corporate chapter came to a close when company restructuring prompted the retirement from his executive position.
“I was vice president at the time,” Puttrich explained, “and they laid off a whole slew of middle and upper management. Now looking back I was one of the lucky ones to be chosen.” Startling at the use of the word, Puttrich graciously explained it to me. “If that didn’t happen, I’d still be there, neck-deep in stress. As soon as I got laid off my stress levels dropped and my health improved dramatically; it was a blessing.”
Puttrich teaching plein air in the Chicagoland area. Image courtesy of Puttrich’s website
As it turned out, this blessing was one that triggered another-one had been set in motion years before. See, 19 years prior in the thick of his corporate career, Bobbie took her husband aside. “She said, ‘Steve you’re not painting anymore; you’re going to lose those skills. Let’s buy some equipment and start plein air painting.” Due to that decision, Puttrich and Bobbie two decades later had the artistic experience and means to pursue teaching and painting full time after his corporate career concluded.
Puttrich, who became friends with Jonahre CEO, Christine Gunn-Danforth, through their arts ministry at church, was commissioned for three original oil paintings for multiple Christmas Art Walks. Each piece depicts a different scene from the Christmas story, yet all do so primarily through the narrative within landscapes.
As Puttrich prepared for the first piece for the Christmas Art Walk, he called an old friend and fellow Jonahre artist, Ted Stanaszek. As the designer and web designer for the Barrington Art Walk, Stanaszek collaborated with Puttrich to create a strong background piece to fit the theme of Light. As they considered Puttrich’s commission of the three wise men who journeyed to worship a king they only knew of from the skies, they were captivated by how the 80:20 principle could convey the deeper drama of the Gospel.
““The next time you look at any type of art, be very mindful about what your eye is attracted to.” ”
“The next time you look at any type of art, be very mindful about what your eye is attracted to.” Puttrich, who calls this principle the David and Goliath principle explained the symbolism. “If 80% of the painting is dark and cool colors, this is the Goliath part of the painting. The smaller portion, the 20% which is the contrasted warmth and light, is what I call the hero. Or the underdog. Or David. We want the hero to win.
You see this in movies, novels and art all the time. You can’t have a hero shine if you don’t have it dark enough. It’s hard to know what warmth is if you don’t have cold areas for a reference. And if all you have are soft edges, it’s difficult to know what to focus on without the contrast of the sharp ones.”
The Journey by Steve Puttrich which is also heavily influenced by the 80:20 principle
Within 5 minutes after their call, Puttrich gathered his supplies outdoors and says the painting painted itself. It was the fastest painting he had ever done, and his process is already quite efficient with 90% of the painting done usually in 30 minutes. If you examine, The Wise Men, or the two subsequent pieces, it’s clear the artist is intimately familiar with this dynamic in himself as much as in the landscapes. Contrasts of light and shadow, the cataclysmic movement of the heavens blending and blurring into earth.
““It gives me motivation to create further because you see that art is all about connection.””
“I thoroughly enjoyed being in the spaces where the paintings were,” Puttrich said with great warmth. “As people are looking, I’m telling the story and what inspired me to create that piece, and most of them get it. Its a really good feeling to see that. It gives me motivation to create further because you see that art is all about connection. God’s creation is shouting and pointing. As an artist, if you can incorporate high quality painting [with that] it just deepens the connection that people have with that piece, and perhaps with that message too.”
As I listened to Puttrich share the story of his life, his love for nature and art, I saw the way in which he extended the gift of it all to others. In the luminous expression of that sacred hope, I felt pulled close, connected, and stitched deeper into the same narrative of shadow and light that is the story of all our stories.
Steve puttrich
Discover more of Puttrich’s current work, classes, and blog here.