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Andy Volpe – About the Artwork
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About my
Artwork: (Art
Projects and Shows listing can be found on my Art Resume here) My
primary work is in Graphite/Pencils on Paper. I also love to work in Printmaking,
using Etching, Engraving, Wood Engraving/Xylograph and Linocut.
Sometimes I’ll work in Watercolor, and have also worked in Oil and Acrylic,
but I’m not big on painting. My
subjects are mostly on Raptors / Birds of Prey. I adore Hawks, Eagles, Falcons,
and Owls. I think they are incredible creatures with amazing abilities, and
dare I say, a unique character I also
will work on Landscapes and “Cape Cod Scenes” – Lighthouses and Tallships. I
consider my work in a ‘realistic’ style. I try not to be “hyper” or
“photorealistic”, I want to have a subtle element of character in my work,
while still having an element of an “open”, free, impressionistic feel to the
work. But, I try to maintain a sense of accuracy and precise
detail as well. Currently
I rent a studio space at Bella Luce
Art Café at the Whitin Mill Complex in Whitinsville MA. My path
in Art: I like
the tell people I have been drawing since I was old enough to pick up a
crayon and nibble on it. I have been drawing as far back as I can
remember. I also remember spending time doodling in my notebooks and on my
brown paper book covers, perhaps much to the dismay of my teachers. (But,
thankfully I was always good at school earning good grades) I started
taking private instruction around 1990-91 with Christine O’Brien in
Southbridge (L’atelier de Christine). Along with my sister, Elaine, we
started the typical structure on learning art, starting with drawing
(charcoal, pencil), then working on painting in oils, acrylics and
watercolors. Painting was never the big deal for me. I can do it, but I really feel at
home drawing. In High
School, I was able to take some classes in Mechanical and Architectural
Drafting. I loved it. I really think that precision and detailed
hand stayed in me as I moved into more of the Fine Arts stuff in College. After
graduating High School, I attended Westfield State College. (1996-2000) I
graduated with a Bachelor’s of Art in Fine Arts, concentration in
Drawing. I like to say my “unofficial” minors were in Printmaking and
Art History. Next to
Drawing, Printmaking is my favored medium. Within the first week of the
first class, I was totally hooked.
I really enjoy the ability to make my own copies of my works (as I don’t
like to sell original works), but also the whole challenge of making an
edition of ‘identical’ prints really fascinates me. Part of the blame can be
placed on the Old Masters, such as Albrecht Durer, Albrecht Altdorfer, Uls
Graf, Hieronymus Bosch, Lucas Cranac, and Rembrandt. Learning
Art History was another favored subject, and I was excited to be able to
learn and try the very techniques of the Masters I had been learning about. As you
can see, Durer also inspired me to use my “AV” monogram, based on his.
I started using this monogram in 2000, and it has now become my
“signature”. Printing
work in College consisted of Wood block, Wood Engraving, Etching, Drypoint,
Aquatint, Collograph, Monoprint, and Lithography. (Professors Jaimie
Wainright, Pat Conant, and Gerald Wise) But it was Intaglio (etching,
engraving, drypoint) that I really enjoyed and wanted to do more work in. After
College, I was a Teacher’s Assistant at Worcester Art Museum. I also had the
pleasure of taking Printmaking classes with the late Tom Lewis, where I
learned some Non-Toxic techniques for Intaglio; and also took classes later
with Randi LeSage, and more recently, with Eugene Charov. In
2004-05, I really started to dig into the research and experimentation of the
Old Master techniques, using references like Cennino D’Andrea Cennini’s “il
Libro De’Arte” (Book on Art, aka “The Craftsman’s Handbook”) from 1437, and
Gorgio Vasari in 1570. I gave a
lecture with a good friend, Julie Collier of Wingmasters in 2006, where I explained
some of these techniques I had just started to research, while she gave a
presentation with her Raptors on the sport Falconry. It was to be a catalyst moment,
during a conversation with Julie and dear friend, author Resa Nelson, about Art, Me, and where I
was going. Eventually it would
develop and lead to the “debut” of this presentation,
first in March with another “Medieval Art and Falconry” lecture, with friend
Larry Keating; and then my first school program in Shrewsbury that May. It was
August of 2009 that these nearly 10 years of research and art culminated with
another “Medieval Art and Falconry” presentation with Julie, in a “coming full
circle” experience. I
continue my study of Old Masters techniques in drawing and printmaking, and
have displayed and demonstrated at Renaissance Faires and the Museum of Printing in North
Andover. Thanks
for reading. |
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C: 2008 – 2009 A. Volpe |
