Sacramento Artist Has Eyes On New Inspiration: The Downtown Arena

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A Sacramento artist is expecting a busy year ahead, painting pictures of the new Downtown Sacramento Kings arena.

Steve Memering's cityscapes already hang inside homes and offices throughout the region, and now he has a new inspiration.

Inside his studio, Memering works as if he's in his own world, but he creates magical versions of the world we all see every day.

"We have such a diverse look in Sacramento," he said.

He paints portraits of Downtown Sacramento buildings.

"It takes me a long time to settle on this is what I want to celebrate in a building," he said.

That includes the Elks Tower, the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and the Tower Theater.

"On some of my work, a lot of people say, 'You make it look so good!' and they don't realize that it really is good," he said. "We have an extraordinarily beautiful city."

He works from a K Street gallery next to the Crest Theatre close to the construction zone for his next subject, the downtown arena.

"I see it as one more member of the family," he said.

Memering is still trying to picture how to paint the portrait.

"I don't think of myself as an architectural renderer. I am really not interested in getting every line straight and right," he said. "For me, these things have an emotional impact and that's what I strive for."

An artist inspired by an arena that will soon serve as Sacramento's new signature look.

"This town should not be a museum," he said. "It's a living breathing developing growing thing, and that's what I try to show in my work."