A.J. CATALANO

In January of 1955, I ventured across an open field of newly fallen snow on a cold winter day in New England, my Kodak Brownie box camera in hand, to capture an image of a lone, bare, majestic oak tree forming a black image against the stark white snow and winter gray sky.  I immediately rushed the film to the dark room to begin the process of developing the image, using the enlarger to "create" variations on a theme.  That experience was the genesis of my love of creating photographic art.

During most of my adult life, and my career as an attorney in Naples, Florida, I pursued both painting and photography, photographing wild life and nature throughout the Caribbean and the United States.  I worked in oils, acrylics, inks and other media as a member  of Atelier Lizio in Naples, Florida with Jo-Ann Lizio as my mentor.  I developed an abstract style using vibrant colors and textures to create direct, emotionally evocative works.  Throughout the process, both the subject and the voice of the canvas informed my visual image.

The advent of advanced digital photography technology allowed me to apply my painting techniques to photographs.  Today I use the abundant colors, varied textures and endless light-plays of nature as a foundation for my creation of my fine art digital images.

All my images begin as digital photographs of scenes or found objects in nature, particularly flowers and animals.  My pallet comes directly from nature, with the computer screen serving as my canvas, and the computer pixels as my paint.  The curser becomes my paint brush, conveying the inspiration I draw from mother nature.

My work seeks to bring the viewer into an active embrace of emotion by suggesting a variety of sensory experiences through the use of color,motion and theme.  If my creations give enjoyment to the viewer, my creations have been successful.