Joe Mancuso Fine Art

Photo by Carl Mancuso

Brothers Joe and Carl Mancuso worked at the lodge in the 80s and continue to visit the area. You may recall the wood-burned scenes of the lodge Joe created, which some of us still possess. I recently ran across an ad for a painting by an artist named "Joe Mancuso" and discovered it was indeed our own Joe Mancuso. He's become quite an accomplished artist, and many of his paintings are of the Sierras. Here's his bio and a link to his Web site:

Some of Joe's earliest memories are camping trips to the Eastern High Sierras and taking walks with his father down the railroad tracks to the rabbit fields near his home. This was his wilderness as a child and he credits his father for his early introduction to nature and the outdoors.

Joe's first art instruction began early in school when he would receive instruction on how to create shadows on simple shapes using a pencil and paper. This really began Joe's enthusiasm for drawing. One summer, while visiting an art fair in Mammoth Lakes, he came across some drawings by Helen Seal, a southern California artist. The beautiful simplicity of her High Sierra sketches made a lasting impression on the young artist. At that moment, he says, "This was something I knew I wanted to do." His mother, recognizing his obvious enthusiasm, purchased one of her drawings, which still hangs in his studio. He admires contemporary artists such as Clyde Aspevig, Matt Smith and T. Allen Lawson as well as many others.

Joe is best known for his landscapes. He is greatly influenced by the changing of seasons and weather, and the more dramatic the weather, the more inspired he feels. "Light on the landscape and the way it plays with and reveals its forms and color is extremely seductive to me. Painting on location and in the studio is a way I can interact, participate in, and respond to the magnificence." Joe celebrates the moods each season brings and he works on location often to accurately see and capture the changing light.

Joe holds signature membership with the Pastel Society of America, and The Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters. In 2007 The Pastel Society of the West Coast elected Joe to "Distinguished Pastelist." His work has been published in the Pastel Journal’s “The Year's Best” in 2004 and 2005. His collectors include film producer Lawrence Kasdan and actor Kevin Kneeland. His work has exhibited in the Napa Valley Art Museum and hangs in private collections throughout the United States.

http://www.mancusofineart.com/