“Looking Toward Fish Beach, Monhegan” by Charles Movalli
Image: BayviewGallery.com
I admire artist Charles Movalli. I would truly like to meet him one day. He seems to be a nice guy with a sense of humor. I love that. His paintings are spectacular. My husband and I first spotted his paintings at Bayview Gallery in Camden, ME back in 2006. I can still see that painting hanging up high, it was the hull of a boat with the American flag. I was captivated. It was a large painting and it was spectacular! Since that time I’ve seen plenty of his paintings that I just fall in love with! “Looking Toward Fish Beach, Monhegan” is one… another that was on the Walls Gallery website (so I’m not sure where the painting is now or if it has sold), it was called “Just Another Workday”. Did you read the other day where I mentioned that little pop of an orange or red in a painting can make all the difference… so can a larger pop… love this one!
“Just Another Workday” by Charles Movalli , Image from Walls Gallery
Here’s a blip about Charles from the Walls Gallery website (the Walls Gallery closed the Wilmington, NC locationDecember 2011, which I was sad to hear… Walls was a nice gallery with some fabulous artists, to mention a few: Ken DeWaard, Tim Bell, Larry Moore, Cindy Baron) click HERE for more info… I see they mention that the Walls Gallery may be opening at the Greenbrier resort some time this year)…
Charles Movalli
Charles is a great ambassador for the Cape Ann School. Cape Ann is the longest active artist colony in the United States. No surprise. The place is one painting after another, just waiting to be painted. After all this time, you’d think the nay-sayers of art, the It’s-all-been-done crowd, might have a point, but Motif #1 still draws painters, who are still doing something that’s never been done before. Charles’ lecture on the Cape Ann School is not to be missed. Winslow Homer, Childe Hassam, Edward Hopper, John Sloan,Emile Gruppe are a few of the regulars going back nearly 200 years. Gloucester and Rockport are plagued by picturesqueness. It’s catching. Trash bins may even be lovely.
The focus of the artists Charles admired and learned from as a young painter (Emile Gruppe, Carl Peters, Aldro Hibbard) was composition, and his paintings have a solid structure even amid dinghies bobbing at the dock and buildings listing under their years.
Charles has a PhD in English and has written books and articles galore. The books, though pricey if you can find one, are fantastic reads for any student of painting covering not only many laudable artists, but also composition, color, and the wielding of the brush. We are still waiting for the book on Charles himself, but he has let us know that some things will melt and others freeze over before we’ll see that book. We’ll enjoy his paintings while we wait.
I told you… he’s got a sense of humor… love that! Catch you back here tomorrow!
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Great pick Barbara! He has such fabulous energy in his shapes and composition. I was fortunate enough to catch a talk he gave in CT last year…he is very down to earth and had some great art stories.
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Yes! Fred and I are big fans of his work. I’ll never forget walking in Bayview Gallery/Camden and seeing his large pieces everywhere, one in particular “Patriot” has stuck in my mind… Absolute brilliance! Oh, I bet that talk you went to was fabulous! I love down to earth people! Give me a choice of buying two piece I love equally, one from a snobbish artist and one from someone down to earth and it’s hands down, well, for me even if the work isn’t as brilliant… A key factor in our art purchases is liking the artist as well as the piece. I don’t handle arrogance well, ha ha… Thanks for commenting Jonathan! Your work is amazing!
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I recently featured Charles on my blog.. Unfortunately I missed the boat when he was giving workshops 😦
He is one of the Best of the BEST!
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Ahhh, great minds think alike, ha ha… Oh I bet he would have taught a wonderful workshop! I absolutely love his style! You have a great blog, keep up the good work, not easy to paint, blog and do everything else is it? Take care!
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Hi Barbara,
Go out of your way to meet Charles Movalli! If only to hear him tell one of his stories – it’s worth it. His lectures are killer – Cape Ann, John Singer Sargent, or Frank Lloyd Wright. Amazing. I did want to give you a heads up on Walls Gallery. We moved the gallery from Wilmington, NC to The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, WV. The moving process was more trouble than David and I had expected, but we and the gallery are all alive and well. We have received New Paintings from Charles that will be up on the website sometime – I mean soon, they will be on the site Soon!! Yes. Absolutely….
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Nancy, we’re thrilled to hear that the Walls Gallery will now be in WV! I have always admired your gallery! And YES! I would love to attend a lecture of Charles Movalli’s! He seems like such a cool dude! 🙂 Glad to hear that you both made it alive and well, moving can be exhausting! Looking forward to images on your site soon!
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