Romel
De La Torre
Born in Cebu
City, Philippines in a community of artists, Romel de la Torre's
artistic interest started at a very young age. With the encouragement
of his parents he began sketching the world around him. He started
getting awards and recognition from school competitions and at
age 10 appeared on TV after receiving a medal for his painting.
In the late 70's
Romel and his family migrated to the United States where he began
going to museums studying and learning on his own; works of famous
artists like Sargent, Sorolla, Fechin, Mucha, and the American
Impressionists. The exposure to these masters' paintings laid
a strong foundation to his belief of what great art is.
He attended the
American Academy of Art in Chicago, where he was awarded the
President's Foundation Award and the Union League Scholarship
Award. After graduating with a fine arts concentration, Romel
continued to paint in the Chicago area and joined The Palette
and Chisel Academy of Fine Arts, where he began painting with
nationally renowned artist Richard Schmid and a community of
other painters. It was a turning point of his creative and artistic
career.
"My painting
is the world, channeled through my eyes, through the prism of
my own feeling, emotions and preferences. It is a unity of the
visual world and the internal, abstraction and realism..."
the artist's says. A consummate artist in all media, Romel de
la Torre is one of today's most highly regarded artists. His
figures, landscape, portraits, and still life paintings display
unparalleled technical skill, fluid style, and thorough understanding
of light, color, form and design.
The artist has
been painting full time and currently instructs advanced painting
and portraiture at The Palette and Chisel Academy on Fine Arts,
Chicago. He is a signature member of the Oil Painters of America
& the Portrait Society of America; his oils, pastels, watercolors,
and portraits are housed in private collections throughout the
United States and several foreign countries. His paintings have
been published in The Artists Magazine, Southwest Art Magazine,
U.S. Art Magazine and the American Art Collectors Magazine.
Among his most
important honors is the Oil Painters of America National Exhibition/
Grand Prize and the Artists Magazine Portrait Artist of the Year.
His most recent award includes; 2007 Raymar Fine Arts Competition,
2008 Gold Medal & the People's Choice Award from the Palette
& Chisel Academy of Fine Arts Gold Medal show and one of
the top finalist in the 2007 and 2008 International Portrait
Competition given by the prestigeous Portrait Society of America.
Artist's statement:
"I find spiritual beauty in all the things that I paint.
The innocence of a child's face, the endlesss blue color of the
sky, the smell of flowers in the garden, the sound of raindrops
falling on the roof. These gives joy in my heart, inspiration,
and gratitude...... of being an artist."
|