Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Vanessa Pasqualone. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Vanessa, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

Art today is experimental, powerful, and theoretical. Art is meaningful, thought provoking and sensitive. As a representational landscape artist intertwined with an array of conceptual creatives, I have been encouraged to emulate their success. Guided to explore the boundaries of art making and just what landscape paintings can be. However, I am always drawn back to simply document this beautiful phenomenon we call nature. To observe a scene, dissect what you see, and somehow be able to generate a representational image is exceptionally abstract. Regardless of my belief, this was not always the case. Always being compared to artists crossing the line of abstraction, at times I felt like my art was not enough. That simply creating paintings that resembled a specific place could not be in the same conversation as other works. In my masters program, I not only became well versed in artwork theoretically, I learned in many ways how to advocate for my work. I fostered ways to converse with my peers and professors about the importance of representational landscapes.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, I received my BFA(2022) and MFA(2024) from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In 2020 I had the opportunity to live at the shore part time, in Little Egg Harbor, NJ. This completely changed the trajectory of my art work and help guide the art, and myself, to where it is today.

Within life experiences of striving to express myself through art making, moving to the shore drove my subject to quickly become what was directly around me, in an environment I felt most like myself. Painting while sitting on the beach, out of the trunk of my car, walking through the marsh, and simply driving around, this has always felt precisely like what I am supposed to be doing. I feel that I must engage with my surroundings in this matter, and create a way to share this experience with those around me.
I have the opportunity to deeply investigate the way the water rolls over itself at the shore line, how uniform the waves ripple while out in open water, and how the light glistens on the surface.

Usually working in oil paint on small, about 6×6 in. panels, I complete one or two each time I work, I do not work on them after. I try to capture the essence of that scene, how certain times of the day seem to emit a distinct color, if it was windy or calm, sometimes you can just sense rain coming. On a clear day I can see the Atlantic City skyline, while other days the water on the horizon line seems to vanish into the sky.
Using these small works, sketches, photographs, my memory, and whatever other tools I see fit, I create larger scale paintings in my studio. They require a longer investigation of the scene. I may even return to the space for more studies and notes to help push the painting further.

I recently have started to use clay and porcelain to bring more play and imagination into my work. Visually these pieces resemble waves, the glazes
I hope that each piece provides their new owner with a little piece of the water.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being an artist is watching how art can simply make a person happy.
Creating images for people and bringing their ideas to life that maybe they could not have done themselves. I think this is why I enjoy completing commissions the most, talking to people, hearing out their ideas, and finally presenting them with the final product. I hope they feel they contributed to the work just as much as I did. I think this process helps people see art as more than just a pretty picture on the wall. Art is a collaboration with everyone who comes in to its presence.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Last summer I read the book, Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do, by Dr Wallace J. Nichols. My MFA thesis was grounded in this theory, I have seen first hand in my own life how this is true, and I was inspired to share this with others.
Although the artwork I have created since living at the shore is still a visual depiction of the water and the beach, reading and researching this topic formed a new sense of purpose for the work. Giving its audience their own piece of Blue Mind wherever they may be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vanessapasqualoneart.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessapasqualone.art/?hl=en (username: @vanessapasqualone.art)

Image Credits

Jade Alderman

Cameron DiGrosso