Artist Roster

Keith Steck's  primary medium is photography and  he's expanding into acrylic painting, a life-long interest.  He has always been interested in art and developed  his photographic skills many years ago while in the military.    Steck  is a  self-taught photographer, and largely put his serious pursuit of photography on hold while devoting  himself to his career in public service with the federal government.  In the past  three years, he has actively taken up photography again and has pursued it with gusto.  Since retiring two  years ago, he has also actively started painting, using his photographs as the inspiration for some of his paintings.

Steck's  photographic  style is what he calls "Stecktography", photographing common, everyday things of life like landscapes,  animals, sunsets, and buildings  with  an uncommon eye.  He  favorite subjects inlcude  wildlife, plants of all types,  and architecture.  His paintings range from loosely interpretive to wildly abstract and include the use of both a palette knife for impasto painting and brushes.

Moreover,  Steck's photographs and artwork are  particularly noteworthy because he has an hereditary shake--a tremor--in his hands  and  uses a common  digital camera.   He also uses a  monopod to steady the camera while shooting photographs.    He believes that he's proof that  anyone with patience and a good eye  can take excellent photographs without expensive cameras or photographic editing software. He also believes you can compensate for or put your physical attributes to good use, joking that some of his best impasto paintings are the result of letting his hands do what they want.

Steck is an active member of the Coastal Camera Club--a member organization of the Photographic Society of America--and the Roboboth Art League, the Millsboro Art League, and the Milton Arts Guild.  He has displayed  his photos in a number of shows and competitions in Sussex County where he has won a number of awards.  He is particularly proud of having been selected in 2012 as a photographer in the joint Children's Beach House & Rehoboth Art League plein air competition,  winning the first-ever Beauty of Prime Hook award in Oct. 2012 at the annual Prime Hook Photography contest, and best in show (emerging artists) from over 80 entries  at the 2013 Lewes Library Photography Contest.    He has sold a number of his photographs at various shows, and his photos have been featured in local papers.  In April, 2013, his photographs were the center of a Milton Arts Guild show in which five artists displayed  their interpretation of wildlife, streetscapes, and other photographs of the Milton area. In February, 2014, a similar show was mounted in Georgetown featuring noted Georgetown landmarks.

Steck  is available for exhibitions and to  speak with groups interested in his approach to photography.