Work in Progress

 Hello, everyone! 

Welcome into Maria Rizzo's art studio.

Below are two paintings I'm working on. 

The one on the left is called "Green Lakes" and the other one is called "City Tree".

After months of not painting, I finally had a day to create and focus on the new piece (City Tree).

What a feeling! I can't describe the happiness I've felt to be able to focus on a painting, again.

   The way I've approached this painting was very different from my usual method.

    The first stage was to block in all the values using only layers of black and white paint.

    This strategy helped me see the values of the objects more easily, because I didn't have to worry about their hues. Painting this way makes the process much easier!

    I'm thinking to go back to my Green Lakes piece and use this technique to finish those parts that I've been having some problems with.

    I've been working on this piece for a while now and it needs a lot of work on the grassy area in the foreground, as well as the leaves on the right.

    I am confident that, using black and white layers on those parts will help me finish this painting once for all!

These pieces will be included in a three-man show at the Red House Gallery in Syracuse, NY in   August 2013.

Trees: Totems of Life At Saint Peter's Church in the Living Room Gallery

Reception for Maria Rizzo’s traveling painting exhibit Trees: Totems of Life


At Saint Peter's Church in the Living Room Gallery

 619 Lexington Ave. at 54th Street, New York, NY, 10022


July 13th, 2013 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.


Tree-Totem 20 by Maria Rizzo

 New York, NY (June 20, 2013)—Syracuse-based Italian artist Maria Rizzo will be speaking about her art and artistic process at the reception for her traveling exhibition, Trees: Totems of  Life, on display from July 1st to August 15th in the Living Room Gallery at Saint Peter's Church, New York. Fine art prints of her paintings will be for sale at the opening; the event is free and open to the public and refreshments will be served.

 

Tree-Totem 15

Exhibitions at Saint Peter’s Church explore spirituality in its broadest sense, provoking discussion on the role of the arts in our culture, in our spiritual thought, and in our daily life. Maria Rizzo’s paintings reflect this theme by celebrating the reverence and enthusiasm she feels for trees and nature. This series, Trees, Totem of Life, was inspired by the memory of a solitary, solemn, “almost sacred” tree she saw growing in the ancient ruins in Sardinia, Italy. In Rizzo’s paintings, the tree becomes a spiritual being ready to emotionally connect with the viewer to elicit a visceral reaction. 



   Maria Rizzo’s paintings have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout New York State and abroad, including the Red House Gallery in Syracuse, the Frederic Remington Museum in Ogdensburg, and the Museo d' Arte Contemporanea di Lissone in Italy. She is a NYFA MARK 12 alumni and the 2013 Artist-in-Residence and Curator at The Tech Garden in Syracuse, New York. Maria Rizzo was born in Bologna, Italy in 1987.

Music Among Trees

Reception for Maria Rizzo’s painting exhibit Trees: Totems of Life and live rock performance by Wagner 3000


At bc Restaurant, 247 West Fayette, Syracuse, New York, 13210


June 14th, 2013 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.


 

   Syracuse-based artist Maria Rizzo will be speaking about her art at the opening reception for her traveling exhibition Trees: Totems of Life (on display during the month of June, 2013, at bc Restaurant, Syracuse). Local and original band Wagner 3000 will perform alternative rock music at 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

   Artist Maria Rizzo and band front man Dan Wagner have been married since 2009 and, with each others' support, they have independently shown and performed throughout the state of New York. This event is the first time they have combined their unique visual and musical arts together to create a highly entertaining event.

Tree-Totem 20 by Maria Rizzo

Dan Wagner

     Maria Rizzo is known for her paintings that celebrate trees, nature, and life. bc Restaurant will be the last Syracuse venue in which Rizzo's series, Trees: Totems of Life,  will be shown before hanging on the walls of the Living Room Gallery at Saint Peter's Church, in New York City. 

Dan Wagner's unforgettable alternative-rock performances, which include hysterical lineups, are reflected in his band's logo, which is a clown sitting on the toilet. Wagner creates shows that combine humorous lyrics and stage charisma. The band Wagner 3000, in each performance, proudly embraces a variety of moods and styles of music with entertaining commentary in between songs.

This event is a celebration of local and original arts and June 14th is a date that shouldn't be missed.

"[Rizzo’s] trees breathe life into the room…they are almost storytelling, are spiritual and always have wonderful moodiness."       

—Artist and Curator: Linda Bigness

"The most original and entertaining band that has crossed my desk in the last four or five years. What comes naturally to them has absolutely not been done before, and they produce an amazingly wide swath of unconventional but immediately infectious music."
—Terry Nails: Bassist- Tommy Tutone, Steve Jones, Ozzy Osbourne, VP/A&R Full Entertain Music Entertain Music