I am a common man of Naples, Italy. My art training began in a traditional apprenticeship with Mario Allegretti, where the first words I heard were, “Copy this!” These were the old harsher ways in Italy: akin to when my father threw me overboard into the Mediterranean to learn to swim. I was frightened, yes - but the adrenaline rushes bonded my soul to these passions as my oils since bond to canvas. Later in the studio with 'Maestro' Giovanni Panza, I learned techniques that had been passed along for centuries. It was important to watch with a wily eye, because each...more