Today we’d like to introduce you to Cecilia Anastos.
Hi Cecilia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I’m an award-winning Italian American painter. When I paint, I get transported into a world of infinite imagination. Multiple colors surround me. I feel like the canvas patiently awaits to discover its own transformation. I hope one day, everyone can feel like I do when they discover their purpose. As wonderful as painting has become for me now, it did not start out that way. Initially, I was rebellious against my art teachers because they did not allow me to express my ideas on canvas. I was forced to paint what they wanted. I did not enjoy painting as much as I do now. Not feeling this was right for me, I walked away from the instructors and became a self-taught painter. But even this did not help, and I still felt something was missing. Instead of continuing, I walked away from painting.
In 2008, after a long hiatus, I began painting again. I felt that painting was calling me back. I knew deep down there was something inside me that I needed to express; there was something I was still missing. I still believed I had a lot to say in figurative and abstract composition styles, but I didn’t know what was missing.
In 2020, I had the very good fortune to meet award-winning painter Pablo Macherett whom agreed to mentor me and help me discover the unique voice in painting I have today. After a year, in 2021, I discovered my unique voice in fine art. Now, when you look at one of my paintings, you will see, and hopefully feel, the unique strokes and the strong desire to be part of the composition. Some of my clients who have purchased my art said they have felt a profound and uplifting composition that left them mesmerized.
Since 2020, I have had the good fortune to receive several awards: the 2020 Artist of the Future Award, the 2021 Power of Creativity, the 2021 Certificate of Artistic Excellence, the 2022 Luxembourg Art Prize, and 2022 Artistic Excellence through the Circle Foundation of the Arts (CFA).
I feel that listening to that inner voice telling me to paint as well as the perseverance to paint every week, has worked well for me. I also study about color and participate in as many exhibitions and events as I can.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road. First of all, when a painter does not have a unique voice, it is difficult to be selected in exhibitions and competitions. All that I was hearing from galleries, curators, and art jurist was “you do not have a cohesive body of art and unique voice.”
Now, I have a cohesive body of paintings in all the four styles. I enjoy expressing myself.
For 2023, my goals are to open three studio shows, gallery exhibitions, and competitions. The first Open Studio Show takes place on March 18th, titled Art of Women by Women. It is free and open to the general public.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Ms. Anastos uses her unique voice in fine arts to enhance the imagination of the viewer, to bring attention to matters that will generate a conversation, and sometimes to express a personal story. All her paintings have a story, a piece of her soul, a raison d’être.
Ms. Anastos is known for her colorful, profound, and uplifting paintings.
Her mediums of choice are oil and/or acrylic on canvas, acid free paper or wood.
Ms. Anastos’ main themes are landscapes, cityscapes, and figurative paintings. Sometimes, she expresses herself with an abstract composition.
Ms. Anastos also enjoys creating commissioned paintings. One of them now hangs at the San Diego Supreme Court, office of Hon. Judge Muñoz.
When asked why these three themes in particular, she replied that she would like the viewer of her paintings to feel in the location, to imagine being part of the landscape or the cityscape. As for the commissioned paintings, she enjoys the process of merging her emotions with the idea proposed for the painting.
Her voice in fine arts has the influence of the Impressionism and Post-Impressionism painters, and some modern artist for her abstract compositions, such as Mondrian and Mirò. She likes to say that sometimes, the ghost of Maestro Salvador Dali visits her while she sleeps and dreams, and some of her surreal compositions come to life.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
ArtNet predicts that auction houses like Sothesby’s and Christie’s will open their doors to works of living artists, and there are talks of paying living artist royalties on the paintings sold at these auction houses.
The NFT artwork seems to be losing popularity, and the artificial intelligence-generated images seem to be replacing the NFT furor.
Art Basel Miami in December 2022 was practically empty. In the next 5 years, I want to captivate the attention of the everyday art lover, not just the ultra-rich art collector.
I believe the energy of a home changes the moment an original painting is hanged on the wall. It is even better when a living artist created that painting.
Imagine walking on a home that has colorful and vibrant paintings that will make you feel as if you want to be part of the painting. The type of art that makes it irresistible for you to extend your hand to touch it to become part of that energy. Landscapes and cityscapes that bring out an incontrollable desire to visit those places. Abstract that puts you in a Zen-like state of peacefulness.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ceciliaanastos.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ceciliaanastosart
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceciliaanastos
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/ceciliaanastos
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cecilia-anastos-fine-art-ramona
