From glowing portrait paintings to serene plein air landscapes, Felipe Salsano captures the beauty, fine details and overall mood of everyday, fleeting moments.
The Brazilian artist left his home country after high school to complete intensive training at the Fine Arts Academy in Florence. He graduated in 2010 with honors, working under the supervision of master artist Andrea Ortuño, a figurative painter who also studied at the Academy.
Between group and solo shows, he has an extensive record of exhibiting in Italy, France, Brazil and the United States. He currently lives and works in Italy and is continuously inspired by Florence’s rich history, culture and art. In addition to creating his own works, he also teaches painting, passing along his technical skills and knowledge to his pupils.
Miles away from home, Salsano now wants to be inspired by Florida’s culture. At Charlie Parker Pottery, he plans on showing seven new oil paintings, which are thick with textural brush strokes. The softness in his painted portraits is invigorated with his intense, yet calming color palette. On Saturday night, Salsano will be doing a few painting demonstrations from live models.
While chatting with Charlie Parker, self-proclaimed “Clay Genius” with 47 years of experience, he showed his excitement in working with the Brazilian painter to combine their talents during his visit. Parker will be creating his famous large-scale wheel-thrown bowls for Salsano to use as his blank canvas for painting and carving. They have already completed a few collaborative bowls, which will be available for purchase on the night of the event.
This free painting exhibition and demonstration will be happening 5-9 pm on Sat., Aug. 15, at Charlie Parker Pottery, 2724 Sixth Ave. S., St. Petersburg. … And make sure to pack that umbrella for more rain this weekend.
This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2015.