Fantasy never took on a more literal state than in the dreamscapes designed by John Stephens. Religious themes – both man-made and natural – are solidified in impressions of stained glass and gushing waterfalls, and each painting feels strangely grandiose and awe-inspiring. From a lack of proportion reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, to the depiction of entire mountain ranges residing within cathedrals, the absurdity of the subject matter is offset only by the philosophical symbolism it’s underlined with. (http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/21622/1/ten-artists-that-changed-the-face-of-fantasy-forever) John Stephens is a scholar as well as an artist. He first taught art as a volunteer instructor at Vermont State Penitentiary. He continued to teach painting and the history of art, and until his forced retirement due to poor health, he headed the art department at Hanover High School in New Hampshire. In the last 2 years of his teaching post he taught with the great German painter, Hannes Beckmann. Born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania in 1945, he graduated from Dartmouth College with a BA in 1970. He studied under George Rickey, Richard Anuskiewicz, Walter Murch, and Varujan Boghosian.... exhibited his works in solo shows at Gallery 2, Woodstock and Vermont Artisans Gallery, Stafford, Vermont. His paintings have also been exhibited at the Jaffe-Fried Gallery, Dartmouth College, Lord & Taylor Art Gallery, NYC, and the Art Center Gallery in Honolulu, Hawaii. When John Stephens chose an artist's career due to his health conditions, he felt compelled to measure his painting ability against those of the great masters, particularly the visual richness of the fifteenth-century Flemish painters. Combining his technical ability with a brilliant ease of color value, the artist's finished works are worthy of comparison with the mystical realism of the Viennese fantastic realists. (http://www.askart.com/artist_bio/John_Stephens/11142745/John_Stephens.aspx) undefined

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