Biography

 

Joseph Terrone is a professional Delaware based Artist. He graduated from Pratt Institute with an MFA in painting and has earned New Jersey State Certification as an Instructor of Art. Mr. Terrone’s plein air paintings have been collected throughout the country.

After completing graduate school, Mr. Terrone worked abstractly in mixed media on paper. The success he was enjoying was met head on by a strong desire to revisit realism. He began to paint outdoors. The experience was a spiritual awakening and he decided to move his energies into landscape painting. This combination of realism and abstraction was transformed into the unique energy evident in his work.

Originating from his abstract art background coupled with his response to plein air painting, his paintings act as vehicles to express his love of nature through color and movement. His work has been influenced by Emile Gruppé and other artists of the Cape Ann and Bucks County area.

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It doesn’t matter how much or how little you put into a picture, as long as you make a clear statement and give the viewer a sense of your feelings toward a subject…learn to look for the essentials and you’ll discover that both painting and life are simpler than most people suppose.

Emile Gruppé

Philosophy

 

Gazing through the mist I am moved beyond description at the beauty around me; the misty morning sky rising from calm moving water. As the sun forces its way through the moisture laden atmosphere, the picture changes, yellows begin to invade the blues, purples and grays. The mist begins to lift and a new picture unfolds.

Local artist Joe Terrone tries to capture the early morning majesty of snow and light at the Arboretum. PHOTO COURTESY of TED BURKEFrom the first time I painted the landscape I was both moved and challenged by trying to capture the overwhelming beauty before me. Learning to see, feel and express the environment on canvas. I studied the works of artists from the Cape Ann and Bucks County schools, and revisited the impressionists and the immediacy of my earlier non-objective paintings. This brought me to a point
where the expression of the object, through light, began to create a spiritual connection with the landscape.

In the past, my painting was a means of expression, transferring my feelings into non-objective emotionally charged abstract imagery, adding layers upon layers of textures, materials, colors and shapes. Today my landscape painting is done exclusively on location. The connection I experience with nature and the challenge of getting it right is what brings me back time and again.

Joe Terrone, Plein Air ArtistI was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and lived throughout the borough until 1994, when I moved to Bergen County NJ, where I live with my wife and children. We recently moved to Rehoboth, DE, where I am painting and teaching. I studied drawing, painting and sculpture at Brooklyn College and then graduated from Pratt Institute, with an MFA in painting. I am a member of the Plein Air Painters of New Jersey, The Society of Plein Air Painters, The Blackwell Street Artists, The Lower Hudson Valley Plein Air Painters, The Mid Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association and the Rehoboth Art League. I have had numerous exhibitions, including a group show at the Brooklyn Museum. I have been selected three times to participate in “Paint the Town” a premier plein air event being held in Cranford, NJ as well as the North Bennington Plein Air Competition in North Bennington VT. My painting “Last Snow” was selected as a finalist in The Artist’s Magazine’s, 28th annual competition and “Time for a Change” won first place in a Regional Juried show in New Jersey.

As in life, my painting has evolved. I now look for the important things and try to connect them to my feelings, expressing them as simply as possible.

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Joe is excellent at working with individual students, helping them find their own unique way of artistic expression. In the 15 years I have served as Executive Director of the Center, I have not seen another instructor gather a following as quickly and keep it as long as Joe.

Executive Director, Art Center of Northern NJ
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Having taken classes with Joe Terrone for over two years (and having studied with many other instructors),I have had the opportunity to observe, to experience, and to some extent analyze his teaching. Here is how I would describe his work as a teacher.

First, I believe that Joe is what is called a "natural teacher." He has a love of teaching, a genuine concern for his students, and a passion for his subject. He is exceptionally able to help students at all levels of their development, whether beginners or advanced. He is also able to work both with realistic artists like himself and with abstract painters like me...

Paula Schiller
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Joe Terrone is both a gifted teacher and gifted artist, a rare combination. I have been an expressionist painter for over forty years. Three years ago, I began painting in Joe's plein air class. Joe respected my style, but nevertheless tuned in to what I needed allowing me to consolidate forty years of art making.

Now, my painting is much more thought-out, my palette is more interesting. Needless to say, painting out of doors is a marvelous experience. Many thanks to Joe for giving me the tools to make my paintings both more expressive and more unique .I would compare Joe to a Master Chef. The person who is fortunate enough to study with Joe will learn the secrets of painting, as well as develop the ability to use your new knowledge in any kind of painting that furthers expression of your own unique style.

Elizabeth Rundquist
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...Joe is a serious and reliable teacher. He arrives early and prepares the environment so that the class will run smoothly. He sets a relaxed but serious tone so that students can focus on their work without interruption. Joe has done an amazing amount of study and research into the theory and principles of art. He often presents a lecture on this material -sometimes brief, sometimes more involved-before class. He has created an extensive set of handouts about various topics relating to art, such as color theory with all its ramifications (he has also given semester long classes and workshops on this topic); balance in composition; thoughts on light, color, and emotion; tips for strong compositions; things to consider in landscape drawing; and palettes, paints, and brushes. Joe is constantly learning and is generous and eager to share his insights with his students...

Paula Schiller