Portola Art Gallery Presents "Animals in Art," Watercolor Paintings, Pen and Pencil Drawings by Teresa Silvestri

Portola Art Gallery Presents “Animals in Art,” Watercolor Paintings, Pen and Pencil Drawings by Teresa Silvestri

EXHIBITION: “Animals in Art” -- watercolor paintings, pen and pencil drawings by Teresa Silvestri

DATES: June 1-30, 2015

RECEPTION: Saturday, June 6, 1:00 - 4:00 P.M

LOCATION:
Portola Art Gallery at Allied Arts Guild, 75 Arbor Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, 650.321.0220, https://www.portolaartgallery.com

HOURS: Monday – Saturday, 10:30 A.M. - 4:30 P.M.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Teresa Silvestri, https://www.silvestristudios.com

The Portola Art Gallery presents “Animals in Art,” an exhibit of animal watercolor paintings, pen and pencil drawings by Belmont resident Teresa Silvestri. Teresa’s love of animals and nature has inspired these new works, from the realistic to the whimsical, featuring domestic, wildlife and farm animals.

While Teresa’s representational painting style is characterized by its softness, her passion is capturing the expression, personality and essence of her subjects within their eyes. She has developed her unique painting style utilizing many layers of paint and bright colors to create the soft texture of fur. Much of her work has a simplified or no background, placing all the focus on the animal.

Teresa learned to paint late in life and began painting full-time in 2008 as a pet portrait artist, completing more than 100 watercolor portraits. The demands of commission work soon gave way to her desire to paint works reflecting her love of all animals, in real and imagined settings.

Thanks to several recent experiences, Teresa began exploring drawing as a new medium and direction for her artwork. She was recently commissioned to draw animals inside the book covers of children’s books for a special library collection. In addition, Olivier Dunrea, a best-selling author and illustrator of children’s books, began mentoring her in book illustration. Explains Teresa: “I found the pen and ink so freeing and joyful compared to the tight and controlled painting work I do. I love the simple, loose and fast process in drawing.”

In both mediums, Teresa’s favorite subject matter is rabbits. She enjoys partnering with various Rabbit Rescue agencies to paint from their photos of rescued rabbits, and in turn donate her artwork to benefit their cause. She describes this work as “deeply rewarding, and a chance for me to help raise awareness and funds for these rescued animals who need adopted homes.”

Inspired by the life and career of Beatrix Potter, Teresa’s dream is to live on a rural farm where she can rescue animals and paint them. Until then, she paints in her Belmont home studio, where she is inspired by her adopted dog and the surrounding wildlife. More information about Teresa's artwork is available online at https://www.SilvestriStudios.com.

Gallery Group Show on View Through July

Also at Portola Art Gallery during the month of July, artists will showcase original works of art that are smaller in size but large on value and creativity. The diminutive original paintings and fine art photographs make owning an original piece of art easier for the first time buyer, and make wonderful gifts for those on a special gift list.

About Portola Art Gallery
Portola Art Gallery exhibits high quality, representational art by 17 award-winning Bay Area artists. Painting, pastel, photography and ceramics can be viewed at the gallery, located at the Historic Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park, CA.

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