Peter Monacelli “The Start”

Artist: Peter Monacelli
Media: Graphite, ballpoint pen ink and casein paint on paper
Size: 18in x 24in

Artist Statement
“The Elves next unwrapped and gave to each of the company the clothes they had brought. For each they had provided a hood and a cloak… it was hard to say what color they were; gray with the hue of twilight under the trees they seemed to be; and yet if they were moved or set in another light, they were green as shadowed leaves, or brown as fallow fields by night, dusk silver as water under the stars…’ are these magic cloaks’ asked Pippen, … ‘ I do not know what you mean by that’ , answered the Elves… leaf and branch, water and stone; they have the hue and beauty of all these things under the twilight of Loren that we love; for we put the thought of all that we love into all that we make.”
(J.R.R. Tolkien – The Lord of the Rings Part 1 – pg. 479)

In my artistic life I have attempted to put the thought of all that i love in all the things that I have made. To me, Tolkien’s definition of real magic is the necessary ingredient for anyone who wishes to do anything well; anyone called an artist.”

Biographical Statement
Peter Monacelli holds degrees from Monroe Community College and Empire State College. He is a retired member of the art department at MCC, where he was elected to the Alumni Hall of Fame. He has also served as art director of the Little Theatre Café Gallery and taught high school art in the Rochester City School District. Monacelli’s exhibitions include the Rochester-Finger Lakes Exhibition; For Drawing’s Sake: Makers And Mentors at Rochester Contemporary; and a solo show, Social Art Commentary, which traveled to 10 colleges in New York state.