 Stephen Kade grew up basking in the glow of his television set learning life lessons from various wonderful characters and creatures from children’s shows. From there, he developed his love for art and drawing and attributes his continued love of children's media by continuing to hang on to that child that still resides inside him.
Ignoring all the cartoon voices in his head, he chose the practical career route and went to Oakland Community College, graduating with a degree in Graphic Design. From there he has been a professional graphic artist and muralist for almost 20 years. Continuing to follow the passion of his youth, he attended the College of Creative Studies in Detroit graduating with honors and a BFA in Illustration. He later returned for his Art Education Certification and currently teaches illustration courses at CCS while teaching high school art classes as well.
Learning from his students, he never underestimates the discerning taste that kids have for good stories and pictures. A strong illustration will hook the reader and draw them into the story, no matter the age. More than anything, Steve loves to use his imagination to create delightfully colorful and whimsical illustrations for both the young and young at heart. He finds inspiration from his travels using a diverse body of reference to create images that capture, for the viewer, action adventure, humorous or historical stories.
For now, Steve has settled into a particularly sunny spot near the waters of Walled Lake, Michigan with his amazing family. There, he works feverishly to build up his illustration freelance business while continuing to show his art in galleries and many Art Fairs and was the featured artist of the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair in 2011. He has also appeared on several television shows talking about his art, including Michigan Matters on CBS, and Ariel, Zoey, and Eli Too on PBS. Thanks for stopping by the website. Please feel free to contact Steve with questions about his artwork or, to just say “Hello.”
Ariel and Zoey PBS TV Show Appearance
Michigan Matters Live Interview 2011 |
