Nocturnes 
Last Full Moons of the Twentieth Century

through December 19, 1999

The exhibit represented the tranquil splendor of our surrounding environment at night. The artists, Lee Steadman, an illustrator and painter who primarily uses watercolors, and John Vahanian, explore the natural world around us using the habitat we reside in as a stimulant. They process and apply the simple, everyday phenomena that people take for granted and create fascinating artwork.

Lee Steadman was born in McKean, Pennsylvania on a dairy farm, an environment flourishing with beautiful landscape and various wild plants and animals. His interest in nature began as a child where he would wander into the woods and lose himself in the natural boundaries. Steadman explains, "I always see something new when I am in the woods probably because I take the time to notice." All of the sights sounds and smells of nature travel back with him to his art studio where it is translated into a painting.

His interest in art began an early age and was seriously perused at both Edinboro University and East Carolina University. Steadman then went on to graduate school at the Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Natural History where he received a degree in Scientific Illustration. After college, Steadman decided to expand his learning process by travelling beyond the dairy farm he grew up on. In 1985, Steadman and his brother, David, a geologist with the Smithsonian Institution, traveled to the Galapagos Islands on a two-month long excursion. Steadman was eager to learn, observe and illustrate the exotic land and its animal inhabitants. Several years later he had the opportunity to travel again, this time to Labrador. For a month, Steadman wandered the land he had longed to visit since his childhood. As in Galapagos, he again faced the challenges of producing fine art paintings with scientific accuracy. "I feel fortunate because it was the techniques that I learned during these two very different excursions that have had an impact on my artistic style and ability", Steadman proclaims.

His paintings have been portrayed in museums and galleries all over the United States including the Smithsonian Institute, New York State Art Museum, Harvard University and the National Geographic Society Headquarters. Steadman also taught art education in illustration and painting at Edinboro University and Mercyhurst College. His paintings have appeared in numerous magazines, informational television programs and newspapers around the country such as the Smithsonian Press, National Geographic Society, and P.B.S's Fred Rodgers Television Program. Steadman's paintings prove to be outstanding and educational as well as recognized throughout the art and science world.

John Vahanian is a skilled artist of many media including sculpture, glass making, and photography. His numerous artistic abilities date back to the early 1960's, where he started as the Art Director of the Public Library System in Columbus, Ohio. Although raised in Erie, P.A., his artistic means provided him with many attributes allowing him to work at various jobs across the country. In 1968, Vahanian worked as a designer for Ad Art Sign Agency in San Rafael, California. His remarkable designs led him to begin a partnership called Seitzinger/Vahanian Studios, where he designed and fabricated kinetic sculptures known as "flying machines". This expansion allowed Vahanian to focus on creating 3D sculpture and glass commissions full time, which he is still presently active in. He has had the wonderful experience of exhibiting his artwork in Canada, Germany, and Switzerland.