Brad combines his passion for making art with his concerns for our environment by incorporating a Japanese Zen philosophy known as wabi-sabi. His award-winning work is exhibited in both solo and juried group exhibitions garnering acclaim from environmentalists and art lovers alike. Currently represented by galleries in Colorado and North Carolina. Brad’s unique paintings are included in over 300 private and corporate collections both nationally and abroad.

Growing up in Central Pennsylvania, son to a successful sign painter, Brad must have inherited the creative gene. His grandfather was a stonemason whose decorative stone carvings can be found on the facades of New York City brownstones and public buildings in Washington, DC and an ancestor was recorded as an artist in Civil War muster roles. He can remember many days spent as a child at his father’s sign shop watching the exacting method of hand lettering his father was known for; eventually learning firsthand the sign painter’s craft. Those hours also instilled in him at a young age the business sense needed by a creative person to become successful at what they loved doing.

He showed signs of creative talent during his childhood as he spent hours filling sketchbooks with drawings from everyday observations of his personal environment to fantasy scenes from his imagination. Brad recalls, “I can remember in sixth grade being asked to stay after school by my teacher. It wasn’t for disciplinary reasons. On the contrary, the teacher presented me with a box of colored blackboard chalk and asked me to create a winter scene on one the classroom blackboards to decorate the room for the Christmas season.” His talent continued to mature as he progressed through the grades. In high school he took advantage of every opportunity to schedule time in the art room, even figuring out a way to escape taking chemistry his senior year so he could create art. It all paid off as he won a regional award for graphic design in his senior year. Inspired by his high school art teachers’ commitment to visual arts education, he made the decision to pursue the same field of study to become an art teacher himself. Upon graduation, he entered the art education program at Kutztown University.

During his 34 years spent as an art educator he received several honors through “Who’s Who of American Teachers” and the 1990 national ‘Art Teacher as Artist’ award from the Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation, Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was through this award that he participated in a residency program at Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO. While teaching, his own art took many turns in its development, from detailed wildlife drawings in scratchboard, graphite, and colored pencil (even working for a graphics poster company out of Woodstock, VT) to oil landscapes of the area to finally Zen inspired nature paintings in acrylics which he is most known for today. It was his continued concern for our environment and a visit to the natural beauty of Sedona, AZ and the Grand Canyon that guided him into this unique style of painting. Two of his works recently hung beside some of America’s greatest artists known for their inclusion of nature in their work. The 2010 survey exhibition was held at the Hudson River Museum, New York and presented over 60 original works by American artists from the Hudson River school to present day. The selection committee used one of his paintings as the frontispiece image for the exhibition catalog. He belongs to several professional organizations, one of which includes the Colored Pencil Society of America where he achieved Signature Status.

Brad recently moved from Santa Fe, NM to Flat Rock, NC where he maintains his painting studio in his home. He continues to support environmental causes and often supports local groups with donations from gallery show proceeds.

Education
Zenga: Zen Brush Painting Workshop, Blue Mountain Lotus Society,
Harrisburg, PA
Millersville University, Millersville, PA
Graduate Courses in Studio Art 1992-2000
Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg Campus, Middletown, PA
M.A. Humanities Graduate Studies 1976-1978
Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA
B.S. Art Education 1972

Awards and Honorariums
Recipient of the Lower Dauphin Distinquished Alumni Honoree Award for 2012
2011 First Place in Two Dimensional Art – Southern Appalachian Artist Guild National Juried Show, Blue Ridge, GA
Juried the 2007 Art Alliance of Central PA abstraction show
Honorable Mention in Acrylics, Hilton Head National Juried Art Exhibition
Local Artist of the Year, Sierra Club, Blue Mtn. Chapter, Harrisburg, PA
Colored Pencil Society of America Signature Member Status
Colored Pencil Society of America Five-Year Merit Award
Strathmore Paper Company Award of Excellence
Prismacolor Award for Outstanding Recognition
Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Teacher As Artist Award
Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers Award ’05, ’99, ’98, ’96

Published Articles
Carolina Home and Garden magazine Fall, 2011 issue, feature article,
“Let The Circle Be Broken”
October 2011 cover artist with feature article, Laurel of Asheville magazine, Asheville, NC
2010 museum show catalog, “Paintbox Leaves,” Hudson River Museum, New York
Happenings, Intelligencer Journal, “Earth Art: Zen and the Art of Art”,
by Carol DiFonzo, October, 2003
This Weekend, Lancaster New Era, “New Direction For Artist: Feathers and Nails”, By Jane Holahan, March, 2003
The Best of Colored Pencil, Vol. 5, “Forbidden Fruit”, 1999
American Artist Magazine, “The Coming of Age of Colored Pencil”, by Linda S. Price, December, 1998
The Best Of Colored Pencil 2, “Poppies By The Gate” and “Passageway”, 1994
“Earth Matters by Brad Stroman at the Juniata College Museum”,
artdaily.org, 2007
Harrisburg Magazine, Gallery Space, “Downtown Galleries Feature Variety”,
by Scott Campbell, April, 2007
USA TODAY Newspaper.
Laurel of Asheville magazine article, “Grovewood Gallery presents ‘Visions of Nature'”,
April 2017 issue