I’m always filled with a tension between having to keep up with the pace of living in a chaotic and confusing world, while internally longing for personal space, simplicity and peace. Being a very private person, art helps me channel my feelings out into the world, so I don’t have to always carry them inside myself.
Life can be so complex. Having a business background, planning & strategizing were crucial to success. Art saves me from this very regimented way of living. It sets me free and leads me towards a way of living that feels more natural.
I like to create expressive paintings and mixed media collages as a way of opening my mind and moving away from structure and rules. I am drawn to abstractions and I like to experiment with color and various media, and see where my intuition takes me.
Having recently heard a lecture by Artist Timothy Hawkesworth, I was struck by his answer to an audience member’s question, “What are you trying to tell us in your paintings?” Timothy answered (in my words) “I am not trying to tell you anything, I am simply sharing my personal experience with you in my painting. Only you can determine what your experience is when you see it.”
I like this concept. I am not trying to impose any particular message to viewers. I respect whatever reactions they may have. However, I am always curious and interested to hear about what people see and feel in regards to my work.
To me, art is open – art is experimentation – art is non-judgmental – art elicits and provokes emotion – art gets us closer to what the human experience is all about. Creating art is a form of meditation; I can finally live in the moment which is where I’m supposed to be. The future and the past disappear and I become a vehicle of expression. Those of us who work this way are considered artists who focus on the process of art rather than the outcome.
Condensed Bio
Terry Del Percio-Piemonte is a self-taught artist who has studied with Nicholas Simmons, Nella Lush, Katherine Chang Liu, Yhanna Coffin, Susan Guest-McPhail, Tom Sutherland, among others, and has also taken numerous courses at Montserrat College. Three of her pieces were published for two subsequent years in Sidelines Magazine, Literary & Art Publication for Simmons College, Boston, MA (2008/2009).
Terry won 2 prizes for her watercolor painting “Seeing Through Seaweed”; first place in watercolor at the Newburyport Regional Open Show (2012), and Viewers’ Choice Award at the Bass Rocks Art Loan Program through seARTS (2013). Terry’s most recent work leans toward a contemporary, abstract and/or expressionistic approach. Her paintings started out as mostly watercolor on archival paper, then she moved to mixed media collage, and now the primary medium she uses is Acrylic. Acrylic is used instead of oil simply because of the toxicity of oil and turpentine products. Other materials used include ink, chalk, oil sticks, pencil and graphite.
Longer resume details available upon request.