Stephen Lyman was an explorer who specialized in painting the most elusive moments in nature with a quiet realism. Inspired by the writing and teachings of famous naturalist John Muir, Lyman was a "naturalist artist" who painted from his experience of both the deep wilderness and the wildlife which inhabits the serene sky and remote forest and mountainous landscape. Lyman's commitment to the wilderness was fostered by a childhood spent in the Pacific Northwest, where hiking in Snake River country was a frequent family ritual; he also intuitively knew that he was an artist. After studying commercial art at the Art Center School of Design in Pasadena, Lyman began his career as a commercial illustrator in Los Angeles but soon discovered that the call of the wild was stronger than the lure of the city. Returning to Idaho, he spent two years exploring and developing his own style of painting and living in a simple natural manner. Striving for a natural balance at the source, his harmonious lifestyle and treks into the wilderness added clarity to his painting. "All my paintings have their origins in my experience and perception of beauty in the wilderness." Lyman died in a 1996 hiking accident in Yosemite National Park, one of the places he most loved to be. Love of life, family and the wilderness was the very essence of the artist, and his legacy lives on in the steady fire of his art. Collected nationwide, Lyman was a regular participant in the annual by-invitation-only show at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, and was named "Artist of the Year" by the Snake Lake Nature Center Foundation for the 1991 Pacific Rim Wildlife Art Show.
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