Silvio Silvestri

Artist's Biography

Carmel Mission

Silvio Silvestri is a plein air artist in the Northern California area who paints on location throughout the western United States and Europe. Silvio comes from a long linage of artists including his father, uncle and grandfather all being in the arts or allied fields. Since childhood, painting has been his love. Growing up as a teenage, he painted apartment buildings for his uncle and painted houses to make his way through college. He minored in art, taking sculptor and watercolor. After graduating with a masters degree in psychology in 1974, he began painting on his own while living in Venice beach, Ca, with acrylics and watercolor. He was a psychotherapist for 30 years, painting part time various subject matter including coastals, desert, and California foothills.

Seeking a stronger statement and more involvement in art, he began oil painting in the late 1980s. Self taught until then, frustration with limited skills motivated him to seek outside instruction and studied with Kenn Backhaus, Ron Rencher, George Strickland, Jove Wang, TM Nicholas and Robert Sandidge. He began winning awards for his art in the early 1990's and began entering plein air events in 2001 where he won an honorary mention in Carmel, Ca and numerous awards in the last ten years. He also began teaching other artists in order to share his gifts and skills. Of Late, has been studying figure painting under the tutlege of Don Hatfield. He has been influenced by French, American, Spanish and Russian impressionists and seeks a loose interpretation of his subject matter. Qualities of painting like luminosity, gradation of light and different color mixes continue to evolve under his ongoing activities. He loves painting in the mountains, often traveling in the sierras for days at a time and enjoys challenges where he can develop his skills, however, he spent time in the desert as a child and seeks to render increased beauty in his desert paintings.