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Friday, January 16, 2004 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 8 





FOR TIMES LEADER/AIMEE DILGER &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Stephen Conley, a former art director for Time magazine, was taken by art
at a young age. Several of his recent works, depicting sex and guns, are on
display at the Artists for Art Gallery in Scranton. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Artist of the Week: Stephen Conley &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Conley at a glance: Stephen Conley, 66, says he wanted to be an artist or a
major-league baseball player when he was a child. Art stuck because his mother
did fashion advertisements for Bloomingdale's, and he became awestruck by the
colors and design. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``It was like magic to me,'' says Conley, who lives in Union Dale with his
wife, Ellen, a novelist who grew up in Carbondale. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Conley was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and raised in Connecticut. He went to
college in the Midwest and took a number of art classes while studying art
history. He returned to New York madly in love with abstract expressionism. In
the city during the 1960s, he undertook private art studies and continued
working on his craft. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 During his early days as an adult in the city, he says, he struggled to
support himself and to get settled. He took up odd jobs such as one in
interior construction and another at a paint factory. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 By 37, Conley realized he needed a regular job so he could support his wife
and children. So he took a job in graphic design at Time magazine in 1976. He
says he had no experience, but a contact at the magazine hired him anyway. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Once at Time, he moved up to assistant art director, working on layouts for
major stories such as the bombing of the World Trade Center and the siege in
Waco, Texas, both in 1993. In his final years at the magazine, he was promoted
to international art director overseeing layouts for Time's foreign editions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 While New York was a big influence on his life, Conley ventured out for
some peace and quiet and some time away from the city. Over the years, during
the summer months, he and his family would visit their home near Crystal Lake. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Even though he worked on his art while living in the city, Conley decided
by the late 1990s that it was time to pursue his passion as a full-time job.
So in 1997, he ditched the city, took an early retirement and bought another
house in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Now he calls Union Dale home. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I figured this was my chance,'' he says. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In Union Dale, he built his fantasy art studio on the property. That's
where he paints nearly every day and makes large acrylic pieces and portraits.
He says his early works were much more abstract than many of his recent
pieces, which he crafts on a computer in a grid style before moving to canvas.
Several pieces from the 1990s deal with two historical topics: sexuality and
violence. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I'm pretty obsessive about sex and guns,'' he says. The two issues are as
``American as apple pie in this country. ... I'm terrified of guns.'' He calls
Hollywood shoot-'em blockbusters ``the real pornography,'' meaning those types
of flicks show guns as nothing more than fun. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 To get his thoughts across, for example, one of his paintings on display at
the Artist for Art Gallery in Scranton combines a vagina and a gun in a grid
pattern of overlapping color and darkness. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And now, despite his daily painting schedule, he still finds time to dabble
in the magazine world, he says. Six to eight weeks per year he fills in for
vacationing Time staffers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``It helps keep me in art supplies,'' he says. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Words to paint by: ``I don't think anyone's art comes from a muse. ... It
comes from what you're doing in life.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Advice to aspiring artists: ``Find another way to make a living.''
``You've got to love to paint and work hard whether you get attention or
not.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Studio: Works in a space he built at his Union Dale property. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Web site: www.conleyart.com &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Shows and exhibits: ``Totem, Taboo, Turbulence,'' acrylic paintings using
unique stencil and industrial spray technique. Through Jan. 31 at Artists for
Art Gallery, 514 Lackawanna Ave., Scranton. The gallery is open noon to 5 p.m.
Thursday through Saturday. Information: 969-1040 or artistsforart.com. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Marques G. Harper &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Artist Of The Week: Stephen Conley