Whether you're an art collector, a fan of abstract expressionist artwork, or just ventured onto the Internet super highway, this page was designed to help you get a better understanding about Steven Valentino and his emotionally driven art.

A native of Long Island, New York, Valentino grew up the youngest in a family of five. He was a daydreamer as a kid. It was, at that time, the only thing he could be since his family moved from a community with a ton of kids to an area that was wall-to-wall older people. So, it was easier to spend time outside, look up at the sky and let his thoughts run wild. He wasn't a top student in school and often had trouble dotting his i's and crossing his t's, but after a while, he found himself drawn to science and art. Remembering back to his teenage years, he felt very trapped and, as an outlet for his feelings, began painting his bedroom walls in an abstract manner. Of course, his parents were not delighted at the time by his display of expression, but, since it was his room and they didn't have to sleep in it, they let it be. Now he admits "it was a little wild"--there were slashes of paint all over the walls.

At about the same time, he developed a passion for motion pictures and would act out scenes with childhood friends. Before he knew it, he was dreaming up stories and documenting them on videotape. Valentino, upon looking back, reflects, "My passion for film stems from their ability to affect people and stir their emotions. I would see a film not once, but two or three times, and would sit up near the projector. This would enable me to see the reactions of those down below. It was like a sea of bodies moving to the same mix of sensations. The impact of the art of filmmaking was pure magic to me. I knew then that I wanted to participate in the magic."

With that in mind, Steven advanced his schooling and entered into a trade program, specializing in the areas of television and communication arts. Soon after, he found work as a camera operator for sports television programming. Also during this period, he began another learning experience in special effects artistry and puppet design, while continuing on with his television job and working on some low-budget student films. Valentino also developed and enhanced sculpting skills and learned about the myriad of art materials available and how they were used.

As Valentino continued on his career path, he suffered two horrible physical injuries, and had a tough time bouncing back. As he went through the healing process, he began to develop a strong taste for the abstract and art that was out of the ordinary. At this time he was also exposed to "Action Painting", typified by artists such as Pollock, de Koonig, Franz Kline, and Philip Guston, who put the focus on the physical action involved in painting. Also, during this period, he exposed himself to a new range of music, listening to everything from jazz to classical, and then a mix of R&B, Reggae, SKA, Rock and New Age. He was also drawn to subjects like scientific matter and energy. All these new interests played a part in forming and creating the man he is today.

The most powerful lesson of all in his young life was about love. On January 25, 1999, Steven's mother Karen Valentino, passed away after a losing battle with a transplanted lung that failed. According to Steven, "She was the glue that held the family together and slowly the family fell apart. To this day my family life is not the same. But I knew that I had to dig deep within myself and move on. Before she died, she wanted me to get some computer-related schooling and as a reflection of her wishes, I enrolled in a school that taught computer design."

He learned graphics and web design, as well as 3D animation, and hoped that these skills would help him down the road. But, after working for a few years in the computer design industry, Steven felt jaded and disturbed. He reflects, "Maybe I was just too hungry for money at that time, but I was poorly treated and was working in a negative environment and that started to eat away at my creative soul. I started to feel that my artwork was not appreciated and I actually was getting physically sick from dealing with people who were just on their own major power trips."

Valentino realized that he required more, and that he needed to reawaken the vivid imagination he had as a child, as well as have the mental freedom to create, nurture and develop his interests. He recalled his passion for art and expression, and that stimulated emotions that had been numbed for a while. He thought back to how it felt to paint the old bedroom, and started to use all those feelings to express himself again.

Valentino relates, "I started thinking about Jackson Pollock again and found myself really drawn to his works of art. As I began reading about him, Ed Harris produced, directed and starred in the film "Pollock." I was so moved by the film that it inspired me to delve deeper and learn more about Pollock's abstract expressionistic style. I had been sculpting for quite a while, but felt I was now ready to take the leap from clay to canvas. I began research on canvas usage and studied about paint viscosity and began testing and forming my own methodologies and style. After networking to promote my newly explored passion, I was commissioned to paint.

"Many Emotions was a project that I was very unsure of at first. It consisted of a large-scale painting measuring twenty feet by seven feet. There was over one hundred and fifty square feet of surface area and I used more than sixteen yards of untreated canvas. There were twenty different paintings that I designed into a puzzle form. Each canvas had a special representation of depth. Over five thousand staples were used in the project and the final piece weighed two hundred and forty pounds. Many Emotions was ultimately hung in a private home on the south shore of Long Island." Click here to view the Many Emotions project.

As an artist, Valentino believes there is positive and negative flow of energy in the world. The challenge is to be aware of both of these energies. As he's working, he lets the paintings flow into their own personalities. He says, "It's a matter of channeling your mind to receive and feel all the emotions and energies around you. This time-consuming process drains a lot of my emotional and physical being, but at the end of the day, I'm proud to say that my works of art are a true representation of the love and respect I have for abstract expressionistic artistry."