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When I began painting in Italy in 1996, where I had been living since 1984, and continued to live until 2005, when I relocated to the East Bay Area in California, and after a two-year artistic journey, studying the various painting and drawing mediums in workshops given by Italian and international artists, I realized that my most lasting and intense interest was in watercolor painting. I then decided to dedicate myself entirely to the study of watercolor. I found that my interests in various subjects changed over time, although I have always remained faithful to my two principal interests: the portrait and the cityscape. My principal influences have been Charles Reid for the portrait and figure studies: his wonderful book, The Natural Way to Paint, has probably been the most important and influential book for my artistic development. I also owe much to Jeanne Dobie's wonderful book, "Making Color Sing". I found my Italian cityscape and landscape material by walking around the various Italian cities, and, for my portraits, I still use my friends for models or faces that catch my eye in newspapers and magazines, where there is a strong emotion displayed, the subject usually taken unawares by the photographer, exhibiting the intense feelings of the moment. When someone or something catches my eye on my excursions, I take photographs and do quick pencil sketches, mainly to capture a sense of freshness and immediacy, along with the lights and shadows. Back home in my studio, I use the sketches and photographs as a base to compose the finished watercolor, although I have begun, weather permitting, completing
both the preliminary drawing and the painting outdoors, the pleasure of "plein-aire" watercolor attracting me more and more. Back to the Artist
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