John Mansueto
A graduate of Parson's School of Design and native of Long Island, John Mansueto started his career as an illustrator for children's books working for Evelyne Johnson Associates in NYC. After several years John joined the company JMR Graphics, working as a designer and screen printer for fleet marketing. Despite his degree in design, John was always drawn towards landscape art as he was continually inspired by the landscape around him. It was this interest and his own independent practice, which got Mansueto a job as the staff artist at the Fire Island Tide Newspaper - a position he held from 1990 to 2003.
Three Skiffs, 11x14
John's work is inspired as much by the works of landscape artists past as it is by his own insatiable exploratory nature. Regularly traveling the length of Long Island, exploring the islands, cave systems, forests, and waterways, taking inspiration from their impressive natural beauty and untouched seclusion. John's works are intimately tied to place - his love for the landscape is evident in everything he does. The precise brush of sunlight atop the
blades of grass in a meadow for instance or the realness and complexity given to the watercraft he paints makes his work nearly surreal in its grasp of reality.
The clarity of form and horizon comes partially from John's choice of medium. He works in acrylic paints which are a fast-drying form of paint that offers exceptional luminosity and malleability when mixed with acrylic-specific mediums which thin, thicken, or change the finish of the paint. It is due, in part, to the quick-drying nature of the medium that John is able to capture the detail he can.
Thanks to his background in children's book illustration, John's works always have a subtle hint of narrative, they pose questions and ask us to reevaluate how we percieve and appreciate the everyday. It is exactly this detailed and inquisitive view of landscape which endears John's work to collectors and art foundations across the country. His work has been awarded at the Mystic Outdoor Arts Festival on multiple occasions and he has been a mainstay stand-out at the many exhibitions, shows, and auctions hosted by New York's Salmagundi Club (of which he is also a member).
Today Mansueto lives and works out of historic Islip New York where he is endlessly inspired by the dramatic and beautiful scenery of Long Island's South Shore.
Jumbled Swirl, 20x20