About the Artist

Stephanie Hilen, the youngest of 5, grew up in a home with white walls, a large backyard, and the occasional hot-air balloon sighting in Jessamine County, Kentucky. She is the granddaughter of an Austrian immigrant artist, Erika Kaiser, whom she inherited the "art genes" from. She began drawing before she could write and won various school and local art contests. 

In 2010, Stephanie began studying Studio Art at Centre College under Professor Sheldon Tapley. Here she discovered and fell in love with oil paints, in tangent with an appreciation for the accuracy of realism. Trips to the Met, MoMA, Louvre, Kunsthistorisches Museum, and a studio session with David Kassan further fueled her inspiration to create. However, after years of figure painting, Stephanie decided to paint landscapes for her senior exhibition in 2014. The success of the near sell-out exhibition motivated her to continue painting after graduation.

While also working a full-time day job, Stephanie gradually started taking on commissions from friends, family and coworkers. The business grew into a steady side-hustle that kept Stephanie busy on nights and weekends. Finally, in 2020, Stephanie was able to go full-time as a professional artist and never looked back!

Stephanie resides in Lexington, Kentucky with her husband, Sean, and daughter, Cora. Inspired by the beauty of horse country, Stephanie’s landscapes and equine paintings have found their way into homes and business across the country.