Stephen Namara creates monumental figures and still life drawings using dry pigment, ContÈ crayon and watercolor. Despite the limitations of a two-dimensional surface, his figures have a sculptural quality, as if one could wrap a hand over a shoulder or touch the curve of a jaw. Namara creates a physical presence in which figures seem to move and shift within the composition as he deliberately includes faint traces of alternate poses and gestures. Within each composition, Stephenís figures seem to breathe and vibrate.

Recently, he left behind a subtly narrative drawing style for one that is more directly involved with the figure itself. Consequently, his drawings are embued with intense power and rawness. By rarely including clothing, and always covering up his modelsí hair, he frees them form any worldly constraints and gives them a sense of timelessness.

Stephen was born in Kenya in 1953. He has resided in the San Francisco Bay Area for 22 years and received his MA in 1982 from San Francisco State University