Bio
Stephanie Ressel is a German-Guatemalan artist, designer, creator, and keen observer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from California College of the Arts and a Bachelor of Arts from Lehigh University. Her background spans, among other things, architecture, urban planning, interior design, and entrepreneurship. After having painted for many years in her free time, she began her journey as a full-time visual artist about a year ago, working in various media - photography, acrylics, watercolors, colored pencils and charcoal.
She is subletting a studio in neighboring Somerville, MA, USA where she dedicates focused time on new work, exploring her conceptual goals and developing technical painting skills - she is creating carefully composed figurative watercolor and colored pencil still lifes depicting objects like cut flowers, fruits and vegetables, and has recently started working on portraits.
Stephanie does most of her work out of her studio in Somerville, MA, USA, but is also available for comissions.
Residencies
1 week residency at the Ladera Resort in St. Lucia, Nov 2025
Continuing Education
She is continuously taking classes to expand her conceptual and technical knowledge at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education in Cambridge and at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She is also currently working on her Certificate of Botanical Art from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in Wellesley, MA, USA.
Works exhibited
Listening to a Podcast, Mary Schein Fall Salon, Juried Exhibit, Cambridge Art Association, 2025
Asclepias syriaca (Common Milkweed), 2025
Acer rubrum (Red Maple), 2025
Towel, Berta Golhany Juried Exhibit, Cambridge Center for Adult Education, 2025
Peppers and Onion, Locavore Juried Exhibit, Somerville Open Studios, 2025
Watercolor Nude, Juried Exhbiti, Cambridge Center for Adult Education, 2014
Awards
Hydrangea, Honorable Mention Teravarna 11th Flower Competition, 2026
Artist Statement
While compiling my architecture portfolio about a year ago as I prepared to reenter the workforce after raising two children, I rediscovered a diverse collection of artwork created over the years—many pieces produced through classes at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education (CCAE). This collection included detailed still life drawings (featuring subjects like carnations, peppers, onions, clementines, grapefruit slices, and seed pods) executed in colored pencils, ink, and watercolors; loosely rendered charcoal studies of the human figure; and watercolors capturing serene natural landscapes.
Recognizing the potential of this work, I organized and cataloged the pieces to share them with a broader audience and evaluate their reception. An impromptu presentation during Labor Day Weekend 2024 followed by a successful showing at a holiday market in December 2024 provided surprisingly positive and encouraging feedback, which motivated me to pursue a career as an artist.
Though my work depicts varied subject matters and uses various media it is still cohesive: it is figurative, realistic, and informed by classical principles of proportion and composition. My goals are to engage the viewer deeply, inviting them into a sustained, contemplative experience and to encourage them to return time and again and engage in an enduring exchange.
Currently I am focused on capturing the understated intricacies of the fauna of Fresh Pond, Cambridge—its details and constant changes—through macro photography and detailed painting. I am also engaged in research of contemporary art and artists, in order to refine my conceptual themes and I am taking painting and drawing classes to further my abilities and sensibilities.
