ournal

“City Park Lane” acrylic, 14 x 14 in. 

A PORTRAIT OF STEVE FRENKEL

“El Rancho Del Nopal Electrico” oil, 14 x 22 in. 

Tinker Toys and little boys

T he imagination of a child can take a simple object and remold into a
completely different entity. Communities for dogs, planes that turn into
homes, boats that drive down highways
and houses that fly are all examples of reality
gone mad as we age and lose our sense of
curiosity.
Steve Frenkel has managed to keep this
sense of intrigue and idiosyncrasy toward life
and brings back the image-forming part of the
brain that many thought was long gone to the
pressures and realism that we thought had to be.
In the acrylic paintings of Frenkel, you will find
yourself daydreaming of imaginary scenes that
spark a deeply hidden sport known as bliss.
S teve and his identical twin brother, Alan, were typical youngsters that would create small towns and
envision situations to tell a story. Frenkel remembers Gulliver’s Travels as a favorite imaginary game
where society was full of Lilliputians and gentle giants. “El Rancho Del Nopal Electrico” and “428
Agronomy Drive” are great examples of the mixture of realism and imagination.
Since his upbringing and schooling at the University of Michigan where he earned a Bachelor of
Science degree in Graphic Design in 1965, Frenkel has been involved in graphic design. Since 1997 when
painting became his passion, he has spread his work throughout museums, shows and periodicals. Over
160 pieces now belong to private, corporate, public and museum collections across US states. His first
solo museum show took place in 2006 at the LaGrange Art Museum in LaGrange, Georgia where his work
was first seen and
admired by many. “428 Agronomy Drive” oil, 16 x 16 in. 
Imaginary
landscapes is the
focal point of all of
Frenkel’s work and
started out using
traditional acrylics
in 1991 for all of
his paintings.
Switching to
Winsor & Newton's
Griffin Alkyd Oils
for about eight
years in the early
2000s was the
paint of choice but
then he moved
back to acrylics in
2006. A difference
can also be noticed
in the
expressionistic
tone during this
time frame with a
change to a more
realism in the
more current
years.
The Maumee
Quartet is a series
of four oil
paintings of a
bridge in
northwest Ohio
that displays the
fantasy of the theme instead of viewing a real place. Shown on the back cover of this feature, they are all 13
x 39 inch and were completed during 1999-2000. Fantasy isn’t just dragons and castles but a fictional
way of entertaining the senses with realism as the basis. Steve Frenkel does a superb job of unleashing the
timeless imagination in all of us if we just allow ourselves to be free.
Look for more of Frenkel’s work in New American Paintings and American Art Collector Annual or
visit www.stevefrenkel.net for a series of paintings throughout the years. His paintings can currently
be seen at the Swan Coach House Gallary in Atlanta, Georgia, where “Little Things Mean A lot” is
premiering through January 2011. Artist Frenkel lives with his wife, Donna, in Marietta, Georgia, where
he continues his work.
 “Across the Maumee”  
“Maumee Autumn”  
“Maumee Winter”  
“Night Falls on the Maumee”  

                                                                                                www.arttoartpalettejournal.com                                                                                       01‐2011