PHILIP CATANIA

Garrattsville, NY

My interest in painting and drawing started as soon as I could hold a pencil. My education includes graduation from the High School of Art and Design in New York City, Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y. where I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, and the College of New Rochelle, N.Y. who awarded me a Master of Arts Degree in Art Education. As an artist from Central New York State, I create surrealistic fantasy pieces using figures and flowers. Living on a farm allows me to utilize my greatest source of inspiration…. nature. Because of the complexity in my work, each completed canvas tends to reinvent itself over time.

I draw a drawing. I paint the resulting painting. I look back at the original sketch and I compare the two. For me, painting opens a doorway to a very creative vision, making my mind go spiritually deeper. The process of mixing colors and brushing paint onto canvas allows my thoughts to formulate ethereal ideas into substantial identities in my painting, giving substance to beings from the world beyond. Oil paint has lots of nuances. Brushing the oil mixture on a canvas brings a dynamic reality to the completed piece. The completed painting becomes more involved than the original depiction could ever be, resulting in a powerful statement. The drawing is a pale imitation of the final painting.

www.philipcatania.com