Stephen Bach's work is often compared to a dream. His canvases have an ethereal quality, often slightly out of focus and enlivened with a soft palette. It is this command of light and composition that make Bach's work stand out and highly sought after.

Raised in Orlando, Florida, Bach attended New York's Pratt Institute to study automobile design.  After a year he changed his major to painting and illustration.  Becoming an illustrator after college, he worked on numerous advertising and editorial assignments.  In 1985 he was commissioned to paint a few murals in an upstart restaurant chain called the Olive Garden.  Originally thought to be a very temporary assignment, it soon became a full time job.  For 14 years, Stephen was sent to nearly 500 locations in 47 states to paint Italian murals on the walls.

By 1999, Olive Garden had undergone big changes in corporate leadership. It became clear the murals were no longer a part of the next design phase.  But what seemed at the time to be misfortune would later be recognized as a gift.

Storm FrontToday, Stephen still takes photos when he travels. He loads them on a laptop and studies the frames one by one. "This is a critical part of my process.

   "The best compliment I receive is that the works have a feeling of serenity or solitude.  It's not what I consciously started out to accomplish but I see it has developed into that and I'm happy about it.  I'm pretty sure we can all use a little more serenity in our lives."