Artist Ron Stivers’ Paintings Come to Life at Waller Park in Santa Maria
SANTA MARIA, Calif. – He may be one of Santa Maria’s best hidden gems. Artist Ron Stivers has been painting since he was 16 years old.
You can find him at Waller Park painting for hours on end.
“In the end when I actually will end up with something that even the public realizes and says that’s awesome, well I have the same reaction, I’m like oh my God I did that,” says Stivers.
In fact, his first painting was something accidental and he wasn’t quite sure what he was doing. He says once he was done with his first piece everyone commented on his attention to detail and lighting.
He says it was then when he realized how much he loved to paint and the gift he had. “The main thing to get of this level of passion is I don’t like to be distracted from the fun,” he says.
He says his work is something straight from his imagination. He can recall only ever using a reference three times in his life, and has been painting for more than 50 years.
His secret he says is “if you’re crazy, just more crazy, that’s the secret, you’re going to make a mark somehow, hopefully a good one.”
About three months ago Stivers became homeless. His painting is what keeps him going “this is just keeping my sanity to be out here…creating.” He hopes to soon get back on his feet.
He says for the most part he is known for not selling his paintings. But, it is something he is willing to consider on one condition–his collection of 70 paintings and 1,000 drawing be sold all together.
“Like most people in life if you’ve lived long enough you have some bad moments but I have had some beautiful moments,” said Stivers.
