To work with a genius, an innovator, a person who can create artistically through truth. You would have to know Steve Parke. It is awesome we have worked together for over 20 years and will continue to do so. No one can make me look like how I feel, except Steve.
— Sheila E.

 

Steve Parke is an award-winning illustrator, designer, and photographer. He worked for Prince for 13 years as his in-house art director at Paisley Park—doing everything from designing album covers and hand painting guitars to enlisting every spare pair of hands to melt candles for an impromptu music video. He’s also worked with David Bowie, Bon Jovi, Bob Dylan, AC/DC, Marcus Miller, and the Grateful Dead, and has long collaborated with Sheila E., The Family/deluxe, Victor Wooten, and Stanley Clarke, among others, both as a photographer and a designer of numerous album covers and promotional materials and merchandise. His work for the NBC Heroes soundtracks featured photos and illustrations of Wendy and Lisa, Iggy Pop, Wilco, and other musicians. He’s also collaborated on various photographic novels and children’s books, including me, Paparazzi, and In the Shadow of Edgar Allan Poe for DC/Vertigo Comics and Catie 

and Josephine for Houghton Mifflin. He’s also done retouch and composite work for DVD packaging including “The Comeback,” “The Sopranos,” “Six Feet Under,” “Rome,” and “30 Rock.” Speaking of television… he also once played a dead drug dealer on Homicide: Life on the Street. His fine art photography has hung in the Baltimore Museum of Art, the American Visionary Art Museum, the Eduard Planting Gallery in Amsterdam, Proud Galleries in London, and the Mouche Gallery in Beverly Hills, Key West.
He is currently a photographer and photo editor for Faerie Magazine, which the New York Times called “what would happen if Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene and Martha Stewart Living had a magazine baby.” He’s also working on a book photo project for Simon & Schuster written by Alice Hoffman.

 

Steve Parke is, by far, the best photographer/art director I've ever worked with. I describe him as "Living Creativity" because he continuously has great ideas. As long as I continue to do projects that need artwork, Steve Parke is who I'm gonna call.
— Victor L. Wooten Author and 5 times Grammy Award-winning musician

 

Steve Parke is the best photographer I have ever worked with. We have done many projects together, and each one of them is significantly different. He is creative, passionate, has a wonderful eye, and seems to know exactly what I am looking for every time! Steve also has an uncanny ability to make you feel at ease in front of the camera. He always comes up with unique locations with so much life! Not only is he a brilliant photographer, but he also has put many of my CD packages together. I give him a general direction, and then I let him go "do what he does." This allows him to bring his creativity to life. I am always blown away by the results that I get. Bottom line, you will not be disappointed if you work with Steve Parke!
— Paul Peterson singer, musician, and songwriter

 

Steve has photographed nearly every artist in our agency with fabulous results. He is amazing -knows how to work with artists to put them at ease -gets absolutely beautiful photographs every time and then can turn it all into a cohesive marketing package: CD design-promotional materials-posters-ANYTHING. He is the best all-around art source I have ever known. You can’t do better! Steve is an artist.
— Margie T. Farmer

 

(photo of Steve by Dave Pugh)