ARTIST PROFILE: Oil Paintings by James Penedos
Columbus Day weekend kicks off the Seventeenth Annual Artists’ Open House Weekend, a self-guided tour across Susquehanna County that brings you to the great works of 24 artists.
The Springville Schoolhouse Artist Studios, a series of artists’ (and poets’, musicians’, etc. . . . ) apartments, studios, and gallery spaces, all located in a beautiful, antiquated grade school, is one of the most visited locations on the tour, and home to the studio and amazing works of the oil painter James Penedos.
Penedos was born in 1951 in Caminha, Portugal, on the northern coast, where his father ran the village café. In 1959, his father moved the family to Newark, New Jersey. Penedos’ Portuguese childhood and early city influences reflect richly in his paintings. He now lives with his wife Sue in the Endless Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania, where they raised their three children. Over the years Penedos has become deeply involved in Scranton’s large art scene, having been an original founding member of the Artists For Art (AFA) Gallery in Scranton.
Self-taught, Penedos started his artistic pursuits early in life by studying in depth the works and writings of great painters, attempting many reproductions to learn the masters’ techniques. Over the years, he has exhibited in galleries in New York City and Paris, France, as well as various galleries in Colorado, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, including numerous exhibitions throughout the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre areas. His paintings are included in many collections around the country.
“My work is fundamentally experimentation with form, composition, the harmonious interplay of color, and whatever is derived from within the process of painting, without preconceived thought. It is transforming paint through a visual exploration into a work that exercises these elements, to arrive at some form of content, although possibly perceived differently by you and me. This is fulfillment; it is often not political, ecological, or spiritual, but just is.”
You may view Penedos’ oil paintings and studio at the Springville Schoolhouse Artist Studios, located at 1680 Earnest Marcy Road, Springville (see driving directions on the map), on October 12, 13, and 14. The studios are open 10 am–6 pm daily. More information on the tour and other artists can be found at the Artists’ Open House Weekend website, www.ArtistsTour.com.
