b i o g r a p h y

Born Steven Arnold Janssen on September 22nd 1969 in Los Angeles, Steven loved to draw from the age of four. Always doodling and never paying attention in class, he quickly developed a passion for the arts. In school he won numerous awards for student exhibits, and participated in his first formal group show at, then, the Otis Parsons School of Design in 1983. Moving on to college, Steven graduated with a B.F.A with life drawing and painting as his focus, from Cal State University Long Beach in 1994.

Stepping into the real world, Steven started part time work with a small production company called "Monkey". Working in the art department, he went in knowing nothing about "scenic" painting or prop making. Janssen was taught "on hands" and went on to do jobs for Showtime, TLC, ABC and The Golden Globes. In between jobs, Steven was working as a barista at Starbucks Coffee and went on to management back when only drip coffee and lattes were served.

As corporate coffee soon burned Steven out, he returned to the paintbrush and tended bar on the side. Steven met a small network of painters and they were a complete inspiration for him, including artist Jeff Kane. Soon he developed a unique artist style all of his own, incorporating the abstract with the human figure, resulting in very sensual artwork. With this style, serving as his signature style, Janssen went on to have numerous exhibits in galleries, tv shows, and feature films.

Today, Janssen has taken the art world into his own hands by opening his own gallery in Palm Springs, California, simply named, "Janssen Art Space." It opened it's doors April, 15th 2006 with a packed house and sell out sales for Janssen attracting such celebrities as Kirsten Dunst, Lucy Liu, Jennifer Aniston and Michael T. Weiss. The mid-century modern influence of Palm Springs, has diverted Janssen's tight signature style to a more abstract, relaxed approach. The future looks bright as he is concentrating on upcoming exhibits for other artists, as well as himself. Janssenartspace is also available for photo shoots and studio rental.