Join Us In Welcoming... John Veteri - Opening Reception Thur, 11/19/09

Personal Statement

My mother was an artist, and I was inspired by her miraculous ability to take a blank canvas and create it into a work of art.  My father, a house builder, had the remarkable ability to sketch buildings and house plans.

I used to doodle on anything that I could find, from a piece of paper to a concrete sidewalk.  I tried numerous times enrolling into art classes, but ended up failing or dropping out each time.  Finally I realized that these classes were trying to teach me techniques that I didn’t feel comfortable with; so I started drawing what came natural to me.  Over the years, family and friends would tell me my drawings were really good and that I should continue to draw more.  My inspiration came one day three years ago when my older sister found a doodle of a city that I created in 1985; that doodle, and the fact that my family just returned from a trip to Italy in 1999 made me start drawing again.

When I view these buildings I see them as others do.  But, as you will notice in the work, from my eyes to my hands I interpret these structures different on paper.

“I am inspired and motivated by many things: my parents, architecture and the many cities I have visited.  When I view buildings and cityscapes, I see them as others do, but from my eyes to my hands I interpret these structures different on paper.”
- John Veteri