THE GALLERY DELLA-PIANA

hint of a Corner in our Cabinet of Curiosities

openg party with very skinny guest

an original idea of a 'zombie' painted directly onto antique photo by Wendy Lang

"THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT"... Greg Kitterle accepted about 50 pieces, and I in turn,

chose several of Greg's fine paintings. This exhibit hopes to attract a lot of fantasy lovers

and romantics who love the eerie, the weird, the 'dark', Edwardian/Victorian, and chilling imagery....

There are lots of INTERPRETATIONS and mediums, to create a varied show.

The Look of this exhibit is VERY Cabinet of Curiosities/WunderKamera;

EERIE, MYSTERIOUS, WEIRD, ODD, SCARY...and fine works of ART!!

THE OPENING RECEPTION on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14th, from 4 to 6 PM, was really fun

exposing everyone to the collection, and drinking a wine named "Twisted". On the driveway

we arranged a Death's Head image from stone dust particles that has now (after our torrential rain,)

completely disappeared!

Be sure to hit read more for other images.

Steve chats with recent Illustration Grad from Montserrat, Dana Martin.

Steve reads his CLORINDA, the Cow who dreamed of becoming a Ballerina...

Off he went after our fun evening though, back to his home in rural up-state Essex, New York, and continued book-promotion tours all over the country. (We caught him in a tiny window of time between trips.) The Gallery now has not only a wide retrospective collection of his original illustrations, but signed books and posters. His art works run the gamut of tiny spots in full color to double-page spreads from his latest books...and some purely elegant fine pen drawings from his earliest books.

Most Illustrators and Authors of Children's Books admit that they are pretty constantly approached by those who wish to write/illustrate their own books...If we could use our friends in the Book world as examples of HOW to suceed in that world, we'd tell you that they really KNOW children - and that means really age-specific children...How they think, What they like/wish for/fear/imagine/picture/guess at/believe or won't believe/play at, etc. Language can be Fun, Witty, Surprising, Compelling, Curious, or even downright Silly, but shouldn't be 'forced' or too obviously some Lesson or certainly not 'talking down to' an age group. For Illustrators : GOOD DRAWING!! whether you work in 'cartoony', stylized, or 'realistic' styles! Good Drawing comes through ALL MEDIA!! Look at all the Best Children's Books out there; read them carefully; read your stories to kids of the right age group for feed-back.

A charming page from "The Best Camping Trip Ever"

Steve has sent us a terrific collection of his original art that encompasses his early fine-line drawings from books that jump-started his career as well as images from his best known classics, and even from his very latest books!  His works include fine drawing with the now classic .001 Rapidograph Pen, and delicate acrylic painting techniques which are clearly often taken for watercolors. We've framed all the pieces in temporary frames, which CAN or NOT be included with purchase.