Steve was also extremely sensitive to the social issues in New York City at that time.  He would make graffiti murals all over NYC: murals honoring Malcolm X, raising AIDS awareness, profiling NYC homeless, and promoting racial harmony.  Upon graduation, Steve opened his art studio.  He rented a townhouse from a guy that did not follow city codes: the building had no heat or hot water.  It was just an empty building with electricity only.  Steve rented it from him, with the agreement that he would rent it cheaply and would not give the landlord any problems.  Steve liked it that way, and had no problem with the landlord’s rules.
     “Just don’t burn the building down,” the man told him.  It was a 3-story townhouse.  Steve rented the first floor for parties, the second floor to artists, and the top floor was his studio.  The party floor was a brilliant way that Steve made a lot of money.  He would plan a party, buy some food and liquor and have music.  He would make fliers and place them all over the city.  He would charge an admission, and had huge crowds attend.  Aside from his own parties and Studio 54, Steve also promoted parties for other popular clubs in the city during those years.  Those were crazy party years with big crowds and drugs.  Steve had not yet defined his art at that point.  He made brochures for companies and worked with graphic art.  He did some graphic art for shows like Saturday Night Live and other venues.

It wasn’t until Steve moved to California in 1992, that he realized which direction to take.  Steve was 32.  His first project in Los Angeles was at Spago’s, the restaurant on Sunset Boulevard.  He painted a mural on their wall, outside the restaurant. 

Steve’s passion at the time was superhero art.  All of his art was of superheroes.  All were hand painted with oils on canvas.  On the weekend, he would go to a park where all the local artists set up tables to display and sell their art.  Steve received a lot of attention.  A major gallery approached Steve about painting a series of art just for their gallery.  This is when Steve Kaufman started using all the knowledge he learned from his years of working with Andy Warhol and silkscreening.  This is the point when Steve went totally POP.  He did a limited edition of Marilyn Monroe that was absolutely stunning.  Steve was never a person to get stuck with an idea and stay.  His creative passion guided him to not only paint 20th Century icons, but also the great masters of the past.  He painted Mona Lisa, Shakespeare, Napoleon, Mozart, and Beethoven in fabulous colors and details that popped right off the canvas.  This combination of old mixed with this new, exciting media really separated him from the good to the best.  His editions sold out fast.

Moving on his own into a new building he bought in L.A., Steve Kaufman set up his own Art Studio.  There were no boundaries.  He had made a name for himself in the art world, and painted for himself what he wanted to paint.  His Neo Pop Art style was an evolution from the pop art world.  Steve made silkscreens using the same technique that his master teacher, Andy Warhol, had taught him.  But then Steve would go back to the silkscreen and hand paint over it.  He coined the phrase “hand-embellished oil on canvas silkscreens.”  He would paint limited editions using the silkscreens, but by hand-embellishing them, he made each one an original because no two were the same.  He would use different color combinations and different detailing.  So even in an edition of 100, they would all be different from each other.  Art collectors embraced his art.

Steve would study trends, icons, fads, people, news, movies, products, television, and life, and painted what he felt would capture that moment.  In the following years, Steve was commissioned to paint animation art for Warner Brother retail stores, Campbell’s 100 Anniversary, and many wonderful projects.  He held exhibitions globally, and gained recognition from celebrities and politicians. 

Steve initiated and ran a charity for kids with social and economic problems, and also contributed to many other charities.  His heart was as big as his 6’ 6” body.  He told me many times he had trouble sleeping because he couldn’t turn off his brain.  He painted from early morning until late at night.  Painting was his world and life.  It was all he wanted to do.  We never spoke without laughing.  He was a genius with a tremendous personality and amazingly funny, a great story teller, and loved by many.

From 1999 until the day he died Steve and I spoke every day.  Holidays, weekends, whatever, every day or night we spoke with each other.  Many times he had so many ideas in his head, that he couldn’t talk fast enough.  He bounced many ideas with me.  Even after years of working with him, I was never unimpressed by his creativity and love for life.  I don’t think there is a surface that Steve Kaufman wouldn’t paint on.  Glass, canvas, walls, motorcycles, cars—Steve even did body art.

Steve had another passion in his life—drama.  He loved drama.  He never really caused drama.  He was just drawn to people that created it.  Especially women.  He loved beautiful women who were crazy.  The crazier, the better.  From his teenage years, throughout his adulthood—Steve loved disorganization, drama, and confusion.  His desk in his office was completely covered with piles of notes, letters, books, magazines, photos, sketches, and food.  All were piled so high that he never saw the desk.  When I asked him how could he work like that, he looked at me a bit confused.  He thought everyone’s desk looked like his.  He was a free spirit, and someone who never judged people.  I never heard him say anything bad about anyone, unless they really did something bad.  Steve trusted people because he was honest and sincere, and in his world everyone was the same.

In his mind, Steve Kaufman saw so many things at once.  It was like he knew he would die young, so he wanted to cram everything into the short time he had.  He was brilliant, and one of the most exciting people you could possibly meet!  But as the song goes, Steve was “A Candle in the Wind."

- Diana Vachier, 2016