A little late, and my apologies... is a look at the life and art of one of the GJWP, Peggy Bruno. Aside from just having her first grandchild, Peggy has a lot of star-power behind her. She is a past President of the North River Arts Society, and is a member of 3 prestigious pastel societies, which you can read about HERE.
Here's what Peggy had to say about her journey
1.
Describe your
personal Art Journey-
Even as a very young child, I always had pencil and paper in hand.
The summer of my senior year in high school, I was given the opportunity to
apprentice under a local professional Scituate artist. Every day, I would ride
my bicycle to the Minot Beach area to her studio and also once a week we would
be joined by this wonderful group of professional artists. We would work in
plein air and from models using pastels and oils. What an incredible learning
opportunity that was. From there, I headed to NYC to attend and graduate from
Pratt Institute, a professional Fine Art and Architectural school. I launched a
three-pronged career as a fine artist, portraitist, and illustrator. My love of
the ocean, light, atmosphere and South Shore brought me back to the area and is
a tremendous influence in my work.
2. What brings you the most joy while painting?
Honestly, the whole process of painting gives me so much joy. You
start with this idea, whether it be in the form of the landscape or portrait
presented before you or a conceptual idea you are challenging yourself with and
you work out the design and/or sketches and then you jump into the heart of the
painting. It is both frightening and exhilarating. I guess you could compare it
to a roller coaster ride. If you make it to the end without being flung out of
the car, it’s so much fun. And of course you want to run and get
back in line again.
3.What is different (and
special) about your art?
There are often times that I’m
looking for challenges when I paint. Ways to possibly present a scene or idea
using a different approach. I try to emphasize that aha moment that made me
want to paint a particular scene or portrait. This can be achieved in two
manners, boldly and deliberately or softly and subtly. Choosing this bold or
subtle path many times defines the piece and offers that special quality.
4. Describe your inspiration
(muse)
In describing my personal inspiration I have to simply present my
Artist’s statement, “I am
continually humbled and honored with the beauty of color and light whether it
be on the soft face of a precious child or on a majestic landscape before me. I
hope to always consider it a privilege, a blessing and a challenge to be
inspired by that beauty.”
As far as artists who have been an influence, there are so many,
both contemporary and historically. A few historical artists that come to mind
and are also an influence to many are Sargent, Sorolla, Zorn, with their
masterful handling of brushstrokes, color, line and the figure itself and also
Edgar Payne’s landscapes with his glorious use of broken color and
perfect values. A few contemporary artists I admire are Harvey Dinnerstein,
Burton Silverman and Daniel Greene. There are so many talented artists nowadays
it is hard to name only a few.
5. Any personal statement/life
motto/ favorite quote?
There is one quote I recently read that I’ll mention since I have already defined my Artist’s statement. I am currently reading Andrew Wyeth’s biography A Secret Life by Richard Meryman. A
very interesting book, but I was enthralled when the author quoted Wyeth as
saying, “People are a marvelous mystery to me. I often see them
in color; some are ruddy and some are silver gray. They’re moods in themselves. To me everyone is as important
as everyone else; everything is as important as everything else. In some way a
tree is just as important as a person, in its own life.”
The last two lines, especially, spoke to both the human rights
activist and the conservationist in me. We need more compassion, kindness and
generosity for our fellow humans and we are losing a battle to save our
landscapes and wildlife that serve as the subject matter in many of our
paintings. Hopefully an artist’s works will still reflect
our surroundings in our future and not be a reminder of what once was.
