While
at the AAR, I studied the life of Garibaldi, utilizing their rather large
research library. The saga of Garibaldi and his wife Anita is monumental in
complexity and drama. I was impressed by his life story and by the ideals
of humanitarian socialism and secularism that he upheld.
Those that follow my painting style, know by now that I am a
student of the I Macchiaioli painters of Tuscany who were the painters of
the Risorgimento. They initiated an early form of impressionism that was uniquely
Italian. Their focus was "spot painting" ("macchia") and
working rapidly from life. Abandoning academic preparatory drawings in many
cases, they combined drawing and painting in a simultaneous expression of
gesture, light, and calligraphic brushwork.
The work shown above, "Passeggiata con Cinghiale",
depicts a fashionable Milanese couple taking their evening stroll (la passeggiata)
and coming across a large Cinghiale, a large Italian boar, which is a metaphor
for all the ills that beset Italy today (the Mafia, corrupt right-wingt government
of Berlusconi, etc.). The characters in the painting are based on faces I
actually sketched and photographed in Milan. The lady in black with a veil
is based on Novecento references. Although not directly related to Garibaldi
and the Risorgimento, it is a comment on contemporary Italian life.
"This painting seems timeless. At first the
colours and the style seems aged, like an 19th century photograpgh. But then
something subliminal starts nagging at you and suddenly it all becomes very
actual, strongly tied to Italian current news. And maybe this is what really
gives strenght to this composition. It captures Italy. An ever present past,
looming on today's events. A history so rich that shapes the present and the
future. Even if Italians seems to forget, to not care, to wanting to turn
the page and start building a new Italy, the faint colours of the past, of
traditions are always there. At times a strength, at times a drag, but ever
present." -- Andrea, Life in Italy.
Portraiture has defined my work for many years. Here my portrait
of Angela ("Angela a Go-Go") shown below is part of the Jazz Station
show. The portrait didn't win the go-go contest (Oregon Arts Alliance) but
it captures the light on the Oregon coast as it falls on the face of a beautiful
woman (my wife) with Scapigliatura (wild hair) blowing in the wind. The deliberately
unfinished style complete with paint drips accords with the Jazz Station theme
of improvisation and invention.
$6000
"Girl on the Train" -- $630
Sometimes you meet or see people on the train that remain mysterious.
Travel in Italy typically means a lot of train riding. Is she Italian? Serbian?
Moroccan? In this case her eyes were enchanting and not a word passed between
us. I painted this when I got back to Eugene. The corrective drawing became
parts of the painting. Brilliant blues have been sneaking into my paintings,
of late. There is something very compelling in her expression.
Portrait of an Italian Artist, 2011 --- $429
"Man from Milan", 2011 -- $429
"Portrait of Wolmer, Milano Sculptor, in Party Hat",
2011 -- $1600
More to come: Landscapes and Cityscapes:
"Il Cannaregio di Venezia ", oil on canvas, 2011
-- $825
Eugene Landscape, 2010 -- $726
I have always loved painting landscapes, probably because that
was my first subject matter as a child artist. I was at the Buffalo Art Academy
and we were taken outside to paint from nature. Hopefully my landscapes are
not the ho-hum variety but expressive of something deeper. I have learned
to do the color mixing wet into wet to deepen the darks greens with reds.
I am adhering to the "spot painting" methods and am able, in this
manner, towork quickly from a rapidly changing vista. Most of my paintings
are influenced by the Italian veduta tradition (very distant views) but this
next one went beyond that.
It was painted during the Eugene Celebration, outdoors in front
of a jazz combo, and based on sketches made from nature. "Oregon Coastal
Range" is a hawks-eye view of the mountain range and hopefully expresses
the expansiveness and power of "mighty Oregon" and its vast mountain
terrains. There is a beauty and grandeur that exists in Oregon but here the
jazz music allowed the expressiveness and spontaneity in composition, drawing,
and painting to take over.
"Oregon Coastal Range", 2010, oil on canvas ---
$825
t.
View of Eugene, oil on canvas, 2010 -- $330
"Oregon Vista", 2011 -- $720
"Evening Sky", 2011 -- $330
Tuscan Landscape, 2010 -- $420
"the Grand Canal, Venice", 2010 -- $3000
My painting table
Beach Paintings:
I am exhibiting a few works from my beach paintings series.
These were painted on the Adriatic coast of Italy at Martinsicuro, Sympathy
Hotel beach. These are ones that remain from a show at La Follette Gallery
last year.
"Martinsicuro Beach", 2010 -- $474
"La Donna e il Bambino al Mare", 2009 -- $429
Additional Works for consideration: (These were added to the
inventory late)
"Umbrian Landscape -- $420
"Velasquez Study" -- $175.00
Summary
Price List
