Artwork copyright Stephen Yates. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Currents, 1992

Stephen Yates
American (born 1952)

Location: Idlewild Elementary School, Tacoma

About the Artwork

Currents is a triptych painting created by artist Stephen Yates. He based the center panel on the landscape near his home on Marrowstone Island, near Port Townsend, Washington. The view looks across a salt marsh at sunset, with the Olympic Mountains in the background. He notes, "The evening light reflecting across the water creates the quiet abstracted patterns in the center panel. They are bordered on each side by twisting, flowing marks suggesting the ebb and flow of tidal currents that move water in and out of the marsh, the bay and Puget Sound. The title Currents refers to these physical forces of nature and also suggests the currents of thoughts and beliefs that carry us through life and shape and change the ways we perceive life."

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Clover Park School District.

About the Artist

Artist Stephen Yates creates paintings with bold, expressive strokes and abstract imagery. Inspired by landscapes, under water life, and the cosmos, his work investigates color relationships and the interaction of forms. Yates lives and works in Port Townsend, on the Olympic Peninsula in Northwestern Washington.