Rick Citta
Sabaneta
American artist living in Medellin, Colombia. Diverse creative experiences. Present and primary focus are his abstract paintings in acrylic or mixed media.
Message
As a child Rick loved to sketch the world around him, creating drawings of buildings, people, trees and flowers. His art education includes studies in high school and college in Wisconsin.
He uses acrylics for his mural and abstract work, water-based paints for decorative finishes and often pastels for his fine art paintings. Whenever possible he will research and utilize healthy, alternative products/materials for his clients such as non-toxic, low VOC paints, all natural plasters, etc.
Rick especially enjoys depicting local architecture and scenes throughout the USA, Ukraine and Colombia. He will often work in a representational style with touches of impressionism. Typically he draws inspiration and details from his own photography or from subjects at hand, occassionally as a plein air painter.
His work has been displayed in Wisconsin, New Mexico USA, Ukraine and soon Colombia galleries and coffee shops. In past years Rick’s pastels have been juried into several national art competitions sponsored by the Pastel Society of North Florida, the online Period Gallery and the Austin Pastel Society. He was a past member of the Great Lakes Pastel Society, previous President of the Southeast and renamed Wisconsin Pastel Society, and a former member of the Museum of Wisconsin Art.
In Ukraine, November 2010 to January 2011, he had exhibited his acrylic paintings on prepared panels at Nika gallery and Korobchinskiy Art Centre in Odessa. Future exhibitions are in the plans, for Colombia, including some figurative work, a new and exciting topical tangent for Rick to revisit and invigorate.
Presently Rick is living in beautiful, stimulating Medellin, Colombia. Arrived October, 2016, and is enjoying the great potential for creative release in such an energized environment and friendly culture. Looking to now feature an abstract series of paintings for gallery exhibition and also painting purchases, bringing colorful, appealing art to businesses for lobby, conference room or main hallways as well as residential living room and foyer areas.
Statement
ARTIST STATEMENT – ABSTRACTS
Artist Rick Citta
My intrigue with abstract painting came to the surface of my mind and spirit very slowly. The catalyst, stimulus for such intrigue was birthed about 20-25 years ago. I began to work for a muralist and decorative wall firm and was fascinated especially with the many interesting, specialized products that were made for an array of real and faux effects.
My intrigue with abstract painting came to the surface of my mind and spirit very slowly. The catalyst, stimulus for such intrigue was birthed about 20-25 years ago. I began to work for a muralist and decorative wall firm and was fascinated especially with the many interesting, specialized products that were made for an array of real and faux effects.
At the same time I was creating traditional, pastel landscape paintings in my home studio. Some years after working for this mural and decorative company I moved on and starting my own mural and wall finish business. Yet the lure, intrigue, and amazement of what could be done with all these decorative products and finishing tools continued and increased.
It was refreshing and exciting to combine abstract and atmospheric backgrounds to my mural assignments. It was a synergy of two passions, such mural work.....the passion of creating dreamy, free form, softly meandering, flowing forms and shapes to support and contrast pleasantly...against detailed and identifiable, realistic subject matter in middle and foreground areas, this being my other main passion...realism.
The energy and enthusiasm for my present time abstracts, fine art paintings is driven by the spontaneous and emotional release I receive from the creation of my abstracts. My important and main objective, however, is to stimulate, even provoke, and touch upon the emotions and feelings of the viewer. I don't know what my painting will emote, to the viewer. That is very individual and perhaps even private. However, I admit I am curious what effect my abstracts have upon you, the viewer.
It is easy to envision many possible environments for my abstract paintings. Places such as offices, conference rooms, hotels, hospitals, clinics and spas, public spaces, residential living rooms, foyers and more....are comfortable, suitable resting places for my abstracts.