First Entry

With so much talk about blogging I thought that perhaps I would also join in. I'm not totally certain where I will take this or what might come out of it but I'm also certain that those questions will be answered as this progresses.
I am President of Allied Artists of America (www.alliedartistsofamerica.org). I was elected by the Board of Directors after having been a Full Member for less than two years. I served on no other Committees prior to accepting the Presidency. Allied Artists of America originated in 1914 and is among the most prestigious art societies in the United States. There are nearly 400 Elected Members nationwide and almot 1000 Associates. As President, I head a Board and Committee of 30 people all committed to the organization. Allied is a non-profit organization and everyone serves on a volunteer basis. At the time that I was elected to this post, I was also given Honorary Membership status to The Salmagundi Club in New York City. This organization dates to the 1800's and is one of the oldest art clubs in America. I am listed in "Who's Who in American Art", "Who's Who in America" and "Who's Who in American Executives and Professionals". My work has been published in the January 2007 70th Anniversary issue of "The American Artists Magazine". The article was written by Stephen Doherty, Editor-in-Chief of this nationally distributed art publication. In 1985 I wrote an article which appeared in "The Artists Magazine". The article outlined my "tonal technique" approach to watercolor painting. An entry of mine pertaining to watercolor is in Wikipedia. Over the past 3 decades I have received countless awards for my work. I do some teaching and many demonstrations on the subject of watercolor. I am often called upon to sit as juror for many national art competitions. I was born and raised in the mean streets of the South Bronx, NY and have been living in New Jersey for the past 30 years.
I am a Fine Artist and I work in both oils and watercolors. My subjects are primarily scenes of New York City but I do produce many landscapes as well. My style is realistic and there is a strong sense of light and shadow in my work. Though I did attend art school I am for the most part self taught. As a result, my approach tends to be more independent and not influenced by any particular teacher or by other artists. I favor work by American artists of the past particularly Winslow Homer and John Singer Sargent. I also like the work of a Spanish artist named Sorolla.
My work can be seen on my website at : www.thomasvalenti.com