Today we’d like to introduce you to Patricia Busso.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
Photography was my first love. I so enjoyed going for walks and seeking beauty in unexpected places. Then back in 2002, I signed up for a month-long artist’s retreat deep in the woods of British Columbia living in a tent on a mountainside with no electricity or running water. My camera broke the first day there….so I picked up some pieces of discarded wood, bought some paints from the on-site “store” (a little woodshed with basic supplies), and started painting. I haven’t stopped since.
I started with acrylics, and now favor oils and encaustic paint. The latter is the most fun for me. The encaustic process allows for quite a bit of freedom in creating layered, mixed media pieces and also provides an element of serendipity due to the fusing process inherent in the technique. Happy accidents often occur, which add an air of spontaneity to my paintings.
I have had the pleasure of having a studio in the SoWa district in Boston for about 10 years now and it has been so great being able to share my work with the public via this venue. And although I have been (temporarily) living Italy for the past 2 years (I know…swoon…) my Boston studio is still my main “gallery” which I am continuously refreshing with new Italy-inspired works.
Oh…..and I happen to be a high school math teacher. Although I am currently on leave from the school where I taught for 25 years, I hope to return when we my husband and I move back to the Boston area.
Please tell us about your art.
Although my work is constantly evolving, I would say color is the main element that drives what I make when I sit down in front of a blank panel. I want there to be energy and vibrancy in the piece… and something unexpected. Some words that come to mind when I think about how I would like my work described are suggestive, lush, lyrical, spontaneous. I want them to sing.
I guess I hope they bring the viewer a sort of joyful serenity. I always seem to be pulled toward the natural world and find myself painting trees (I love the power of their verticality) and flowers (I would say my work is expressionistic and I find them the perfect outlet for being expressive) a lot.
Since being abroad, I have incorporated vintage Italian wallpaper in many of my pieces which started when I questioned why a wall with torn layers of old wallpaper is so appealing. I’m still not exactly sure why. Maybe the nostalgia, the texture, the irregularity, the layered past, the mystery – ?
Do you have any advice for other artists? Any lessons you wished you learned earlier?
For advice, I guess I would say don’t let the desire to make something that will sell creep into what you decide to create. I have not gone with gallery representation because I believe most will dictate what they want from me and that commercial side has always bothered me. I want my work to always be fresh. I want to keep experimenting. For that reason, my work can be all over the map. And I know galleries want large, consistent bodies of work. But that’s not what I want to create.
The first time I try something new always yields my best work. So, I don’t try to repeat successes.
Ok…sometimes I do.
But it just doesn’t work 😉
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
My work is shown regularly at 450 Harrison Ave, Studio #325, in the South End. Although I myself am not always there, my doors are open every First Friday of the month from 5-9pm, as well as for the yearly SoWa Art walk (the weekend of May 5-6th) and during the South End Open Studios (September 15-16th) which I plan to be home for. You can also follow me on Instagram to see what I’m up to in Italy (www.instagram.com/patriciaybusso) and check out my new website www.patriciabusso.com.
Thanks!
Contact Info:
- Address: Patricia Busso
450 Harrison Avenue
Studio #325
Boston, MA 02118 - Website: www.patriciabusso.com
- Phone: 617 460-6005
- Email: patriciabussoart@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/patriciaybusso
- Facebook: facebook.com/patriciabussoart
Image Credit:
Nick Simone, Gianni Busso (for the portraits of me)
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