Paolo was born in Modena, Italy. After scientific studies at the local lycée, he moved to Pisa where he earned a Masters Degree in Computer Science. In 1995, Paolo moved to Laguna Beach, California, to study at University of California Irvine, and subsequently to work as a network engineer for an nationwide Internet Service Provider (ISP). So how did Paolo develop his interest in art? In 2004 Paolo met renowned maestro Javier Alvarez Palomar in Laguna Beach CA, and from that point, art became Paolo's main interest. By 2005 he was dedicating himself to art on a full-time basis. Maestro Javier Alvarez took him on journey of learning through classical and modern idioms, from the chiaroscuro to abstract expressionism, using different media: oil, acrylic, pastel, charcoal, watercolors. You can trace some of these explorations in the Archives section of my website. The teacher-‐student relationship soon developed into friendship, and to this day Maestro Alvarez remains a "lighthouse of art" for Paolo. Maestro Alvarez's approach to art is based on his conviction that, "I can teach you how to paint, but I can't teach you to paint: that is your personal engagement in art!" In 2006 Paolo moves to Trieste, Italy, where he studied with various local artists. An abstract painting from this period based on a view of the gulf of Trieste from Molo Audace become the cover of a book on the philosophy of Jacques Derrida in 2012. In 2010 Paolo moved to New York to study at the Art Student League, to which he was admitted as a full member 2011. At the League Paolo has worked with a range of artists always with a view to exploring different avenues of creativity and consolidating his own personal style: Mary Beth McKenzie, Terence Coyle, Costa Vavagiakis, Gary Sussman, Frank O'Cain, Bruce Dorfman are some of the artists Paolo have been studying with. Recognition for Paolo's art came from his earliest days at the League: on a number of occasions he has been awarded the jury's "Blue Dot" – for highly commended work – in class shows. He also received the Ruth Katzman Scholarship for the Artist-‐ in-‐Residency Program at the League's Vytlacil Campus for 2012. Most recently, Paolo's journey of artistic exploration has led him to study mixed media with Bruce Dorfman. In so doing, Paolo's aim is to investigate the creation of pictorial space using the four key components of color, value, intensity and texture. Any one of these components might be assigned priority in a given work. In this most recent phase, Paolo's paintings become assemblages, where the canvas edges are often "broken" by different elements. Some of these works have a sculptural feeling, reminiscent of bas-‐relief. Despite the undeniably contemporary nature of these works, they preserve the classical elements of lines, planes, etching and cross-‐etching, albeit using a range of materials that includes unconventional elements such as copper and burlap. Glazing also has a fundamental importance in Paolo's work, creating the transparencies and translucencies he seeks. In short, his work encompasses modern composition and formal elements without abandoning key classical components. Paolo uses only permanent artist grade paints to guarantee the archival quality of his work.
ARTIST STATEMENT My main aim is to investigate the creation of pictorial space using the four key components of color, value, intensity and texture. In my most recent phase, my paintings became assemblages, where the canvas edges are often "broken" by different elements. Some of these works have a sculptural feeling, reminiscent of bas-‐relief. Despite the contemporary nature of these works, they preserve the classical elements of lines, planes, etching and cross-‐etching, albeit using a range of materials that includes unconventional elements such as copper and burlap. Glazing also has a fundamental importance in my work, creating the transparencies and translucencies I seeks. In short, my work encompasses modern composition and formal elements without abandoning key classical components.
SHOWS
November 2015 : Group Shows at First Street Gallery , 526 west 26th NY;
May 2015 : Sing For Hope NY : Pianos Operation in NY. Selected to paint one of the 50 pianos that were distributed in the city during the month of June 2015
May 2014: Representation by Laguna Gallery of Contemporary Art - Laguna Beach , California ;
October-December 2013 : Laguna Beach City Hall Juried Exhibition, Laguna Beach, CA
July - November 2013 : Wells Fargo-CAP Gallery : Group show Southern California Artists Association, Laguna Beach, CA
May 2013 : Selected to be part of a group exhibition through the Art Student League -NY -‐Outreach program at A.T. Kearney Inc. in Times Square, NY;
April 2013 : Sing For Hope NY : Pianos Operation in NY. Selected to paint one of the 88 pianos that were distributed in the city during the month of June 2013.
December 2012 : Art Students League ‐NY Holiday Exhibition, group show (2 artworks sold), Art Students League of New York,NY,USA;
April 2012 : Art Students League ‐NY show concours (Terence Coyle), group show, Art Students League of New York,NY,USA;
March 2012 : Art Students League‐NY show concours (Frank O'Cain), group show, Art Students League of New York,NY,USA (awarded "Blue Dot", Special Mention);
December 2011 : Art Students League-‐NY Holiday Exhibition, group show, Art Students League of New York,NY,USA;
July 2011 : Night of a Hundred Angels, group show, Whelean Galleries, Laguna Beach,CA,USA;
May 2011 : Art Students League -NY show concours (Gary Sussman), group show, Art Students League of New York,NY,USA;
April 2011 : Art Students League-‐NY show concours (Terence Coyle), group show, Art Students League of New York,NY,USA (awarded "Blue Dot", Special Mention);
February 2011 : Art Students League-‐NY show concours (Frank O'Cain), group show, Art Students League of New York,NY,USA (awarded "Blue Dot", Special Mention);
December 2010 : Art Student League-‐NY Holiday Exhibition, group show, Art Students League of New York,NY,USA;
February 2010 : Southern California Artist Association, solo show, Laguna Beach,CA,USA;
March 2006 : Accademia del Vedere, group show, Trieste,Italy;
E-mail: paolo@pecchi.com Website: www.pecchi.com
Painting has always been an outlet for me as is for most artists. I get lost in my thoughts of where I am going with my art. I am free to express my self with my brush strokes and in color. I feel the ideas and creations flowing through my mind to my hands. Sometimes I can not stop thinking about what I am creating, and the ideas just flow through my body and take on their own life on the canvas. Most pieces I have thought up in my mind and I can see myself painting each brush stroke before I even start to paint. I feel a sense of accomplishment and pride when I am finished with my work.
I like to photograph a subject and then paint it. I look at my photos for little details I may have missed at first glance. If I am happy with part of what I have created, then I will take my favorite part of that painting and spin it into it’s own work of art. I usually will add a textured medium or heavy brush or knife strokes to make it it’s own piece. I like to think of it as building on a foundation to a series.
I stopped painting for many years. Working and then having babies made it hard to make time for my painting. Oddly enough, I started to help at my daughter’s schools and rediscovered my passion for art. I would spend hours and hours painting murals for the teacher’s boards in the hallway. I am so thrilled to be creating again. I would like to be a part of OCAG to share my work with other artists and learn from them. I would like to find a creative group to talk and share ideas with. I would hope to be an inspiration to other women who have the same story as myself. I am finding my passion again and hopefully I can help others find theirs again too.
E-mail: mamamaras@earthlink.net
Born in Havana, Cuba and immigrated to the U.S.A. in the late 1960's. I was raised in Northern California ( Bay Area native ). I always remember having a fondness for cartoon characters and reading many Superhero comics growing up. I was fascinated by animation and wanted to be an animator for Disney.
I studied Life Drawing, Commercial Illustration and Color and Design at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. When I moved to Southern California I pursued my dream of becoming an Animator, and studied animation for film and television at the Associates of Art College in Sherman Oaks.
Most recently I began working with Oils, painting under the tutelage of two dear friends, whom I met through joining the la Habra Heights Art group. One is Don Read who is a pleine-aire artist and Mickey Mc Ilwrath who was a former Disney artist and former art teacher in Chicago. I find that working with oils has released a world of imagination and endless creativity and also learning what a wonderful medium this really is.
RESUME
The San Francisco Art Academy: Commercial Art Illustration, Life Drawing and Color and Design Techniques
Associates in Art School, Sherman Oaks: Film Animation, Story Boarding for Film and Television
Member of the La Habra Heights Fine Artists and Artisans and the La Habra Art Association
Member of the ACW (Artist Community of Whittier )
My first love of the arts was with Disney Classic Animated films and comic book art. Growing up in Northern California, I was always surrounded by creative art expressions in my family. This included my mother's love for writing poetry and music.
I have a very imaginative and creative mind which has allowed me to draw and paint expressive works of art. You will notice that my art work contains vibrant colors. What I most enjoy as an artist is to express myself without boundaries and create people or places that only exists in my mind's eye.
E-mail: juliojeannie@yahoo.com
