Cooks 2025 | Edible Notables

Stove Art

Nevada painter turns ovens into art.

Inside a converted 1938 baggage car from the Carson and Colorado Railway located in Dayton, artist Steven Saylor captures Nevada governors, celebrities, and the cowboys and saloons that define the Nevada’s rugged spirit, one brushstroke at a time.

Using a unique, layered varnishing technique with watercolors, Saylor has earned the opportunity to paint the likes of actor Hal Holbrook, famed photographer Ansel Adams, and even a commissioned piece for former President Ronald Reagan in honor of his inauguration, to name a few.

“I’m a realist and I’m drawn to painting people — people in their natural environment,” Saylor explains.

A Peopled Portfolio
After stints in Ohio and New York, Saylor moved west to work as an art director for a Reno-based ad agency while teaching art at the satellite Carson City campus of the University of Nevada, Reno.

As Saylor’s work became more well-known, notable commissions came along, including one from Dawn Gibbons, former Nevada Assemblymember and Nevada’s 28th first lady, to mark the 100th birthday of the Governor’s Mansion. Titled “Centennial Celebration,” the painting features a group of politicians and celebrities, all with ties to work in autism, outside the mansion, including Nevada governors Robert List, Jim Gibbons, Kenny Guinn, and Bob Miller, in addition to journalist Tom Brokaw and singer Wayne Newton. Proceeds from the piece benefited the Autism Coalition of Nevada.

Saylor’s portfolio also includes work inspired by The Silver State’s no-frills, iconic bars and eateries. In his painting “Landrums,” Saylor captured a cowboy playing a guitar for a cook in the South Virginia Street diner, which opened in 1947. In 1984, the diner was listed in the Nevada State Register of Historic Places, prompting a visit from Nevada Governor Richard Bryan to sample the beloved burgers and chili. Though the diner eventually was shuttered, the building returned to its burger-flipping roots when Beefy’s opened there in 2012.

“It’s a landmark in Reno, and we ate there quite often,” Saylor notes. “The Nevada Museum of Art bought the painting for its permanent collection.”

Using the backdrop of another well-known Reno bar, “One Night at the Little Waldorf” captures UNR coaches and other community members dressed in Wild West garb for a game of poker. 

Saylor currently is working on a painting for the Bucket of Blood Saloon in Virginia City.

“It’s a painting of the Cartwright family from Bonanza for owner Marshall McBride,” Saylor says of the 14-season show about a Nevada ranching family. “They shot a few episodes based around The Bucket of Blood.”

Another Virginia City commission also is in the works for the Mark Twain Saloon & Casino, featuring famous gunfighters of the West gathered at the watering hole, including Butch Cassidy, Sundance Kid, Belle Starr, and Annie Oakley.

Oven Pieces
In addition to his paintings, Saylor illustrates children’s books written by his wife, Johnye, starring their collection of rescue animals, and designs art-covered scrim vinyl covers for induction cooktops.

“When we got a new glass-top stove, my wife asked me to make a cover for it so it would stay nice, so I painted and laminated a cover for her, and when people came to visit, they fell in love with it and wanted one,” Saylor explains. “We decided to turn that into a business.”

From his website, Evergreenstudio.com, more than 40 different stove cover options, from close-up photos of hummingbirds and horses to chili peppers and sushi rolls, are available to purchase.

To view Saylor’s work at Evergreen Studio in person, visit his historic train-car-turned-studio-and-gallery at 400 Main St. in Dayton.