The artist, Steven Walden, grew up in Hope, Arkansas in the 70s and 80s. Now he lives in St. Louis, where he is now a full-time artist, known for his vividly colorful renditions of sports figures. The painting he calls DMac is being donated to be auctioned at this year’s United Way Gala on October 17. Bids will be accepted starting October 10th. This year’s event, to be held at the Hope Country Club, is called A Night in Monaco. Proceeds will go to the many local charitable agencies the United Way supports.
On Walden’s website, he says he only began painting in 2014 after only having drawn a little as a youngster. (This reporter saw him drawing on a moving school bus in the early 1980s.) “I have no formal training as an artist. I'm self-taught and kind of stumbling and figuring it out as I go along,” he wrote in a 2017 blog entry.
Art came to Walden after a decision to make a career change from copywriting to mental health therapist. But around that time he was also recovering from a divorce and the death of his father. “On the heels of these devastating personal losses, I was broke, alone, severely depressed, and trying to figure out how to make my way through grad school,” Walden wrote.
It was at graduate school at Webster University that Walden saw he could take an elective course in art therapy. “I took it,” he wrote. “And I started to paint.” By the time he graduated his program, he was still painting.
“When you see my work, know that it's the product of all of these: failure, reinvention, rejection, stubbornness, hope, resilience, and lots and lots of stumbling and trying to figure it out,” Walden wrote. His paintings have typically been of sports and pop-culture figures and sports-related locations. You can see a sampler of them on his website. They are alive with color and seem to burst from the canvas.
But there’s also great beauty there, as Amanda Lance, Chair of the United Way Gala, attested. “We are thrilled that Steven would donate such a special print for our gala! The moment he captured of D-Mac running past several LSU linemen is incredible in detail and sentimentality. It marks a moment in Razorback history when we had so much hope as fans. That hope shines through with Steven’s unique artistic expression. Steven had said he wanted to donate something to our Gala that would be massively appealing to our community, and I believed he nailed it.” she said. She also expressed thanks for Walden’s gift to the Gala. “I am so grateful for Steven making a beautiful life of hope through his giving nature.”
Donating his art is a thing Walden often does. As he explained in the Youtube video “Artist Steven Walden” produced by First Person Classroom, Walden saw a way to help people through his art work when he inquired whether he could help with a charitable event St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright was planning at a children’s hospital. Soon after, Walden’s phone began to fill with calls and messages.
“Twitter notifications are going crazy, and Adam has posted an image of himself next to the painting that I did of him. The tweet said something to the effect of ‘Stephen Walden, love your work. … That was such a watershed moment of knowing that I can do this in a way that I can help other people,” Walden said in the video.
As of the time the video was made, in 2022, Walden said his art had helped raise $250,000 for charitable causes. He said he hoped to continue this work and also develop other ways to help people through his art. Along those lines, he made a March 10, 2023 appearance at the Klipsch Birthday Bash not just auctioning off and promoting his art just outside the entrance of Klipsch Auditorium in City Hall but also actually painting a new piece as attendees watched. The proceeds went to the Klipsch Heritage Museum Association.
For the DMac painting by Walden, bidding will open October 10th here. The Gala itself, on the evening of Thursday, October 17th at the Hope Country Club, in keeping with its “A Night in Monaco” theme, will include a gourmet dinner and cocktails, several traditional casino games, dancing to music spun by DJ Stanley and an awards ceremony for the best in philanthropy over the past year in Hempstead County. Tickets are available with sponsorships are on the United Way Golf & Gala site.