FEATURED WORK

Westwood-On a hot summer day, in the beautiful countryside near Vinci, Tuscany, local artist Frank Ferrante assembled his small sketching easel, his camera, his hat and ascended the Italian hills to paint a landscape seemingly from another century. While there have been many modern conveniences added to the Tuscan way of life, much has remained the same over the past 500 years. The simple pleasures of food, friends, family and wine, coupled with the timeless vistas and warm sun create a sense of place like no other in the world. There is only one Tuscany and artist Frank Ferrante has captured its essence in his exhibit: Ricordi Della Toscana, -Memories of Tuscany, opening this Sunday, June 13th at the Westwood Gallery from 1- 5 PM
In a recent interview in his Emerson Studio, Mr. Ferrante spoke of his love of painting and all things Italian, " In July 2008, My wife Kate and I traveled to Italy for an extended tour through the Tuscan region. Every day we visited vineyards, farms and pastoral hills and I took many photos and did some fast sketches to help me retain the Tuscan patchwork quilt landscapes. Upon my return I started painting small oil sketches which led to the studio paintings in the show.
Painting and teaching for the past thirty years, Ferrante got his start in the Marine Corps where he was a member of the Marine Corp Band ( saxophone) stationed at Parris Island. There he began painting "plein air" along the South Carolina Coast and teaching the marine's young children on the base. Ten years later he began studying with John P. Osborne at the Ridgewood Art Institue, concentrating his skills using the methods of the American Impressionists to capture light, atmosphere, weather and time of day, doing quick outdoor sketches year round and in all seasons. In January of this year, at the urging of his students he moved his school to a larger space now called The Studio.With north light and plenty of space for easels, paints and storage, this former office space is now the ideal environment for artistic advancement. Weather the student is a seasoned veteran or a beginning novice, Frank Ferrante passes on the tradition and the knowledge that transforms paint and canvas into light and atmosphere, opening windows to the soul. His current students have been accepted to FIT and The Chicago Art Institute.
Memories of Tuscany is free and open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 10 - 6 PM and continues to July 17th. For more information call 201 666 1800 or visit westwoodartgallery.com