We recently had the chance to connect with Concetta Antico and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Concetta, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Being in nature, heading to the mountains, walking on the beach, sitting in a park, makes me realise who I am at a deeper level. It gives me time to reflect on my purpose here and realise that everything else is simply peripheral.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Concetta Antico. I am a professional artist and gallery owner of The Salon of Art in La Jolla California. I am known worldwide as The Color Queen due to my ability to see 100 million more colors than those with regular vision. I am a Tetrachromat with 4 color rods in my eyes instead of three. I teach oil painting and others to see more color also in their world. My brand stands for the reality that color matters and that our world is paradise on earth. I paint so that others may see the true colors of the world, my artwork is windows into colors that cannot be perceived otherwise.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My mother. At age 8 she told me I would be a famous artist and art educator. She prophesied this before she passed away when I was 12 – scientists tell me she was also a tetrachromat.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Yes, when I first went into business in 1995, 30 years ago, I was sitting head in hands, not knowing if I could make the rent for my small 400 sq ft gallery, I almost gave up, as my concept of fine art retail instruction was new, niche and had not been done before in a commercial space. Then someone came into the gallery, and I told them my situation and they told me not to quit the day before the miracle. The next day, somebody came into my shop and purchased enough items to pay for my rent.
I never looked back…
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What important truth do very few people agree with you on?
I am an educator by degree. I have learned a lot about how people learn. After 30 years of teaching over 20,000 people, it still surprises me that most people tell me that they “can’t draw a stick figure”, therefore they cannot learn how to oil paint…
Somewhere along the line, someone told them this or they believed it, and it’s a complete fallacy.
Just like gardening, baking, mechanics, tennis or any other skill, oil painting, or just being artistically creative can be learned, it is not an innate talent yet most people tell me that they could never do it and I still find it so shocking as it is so untrue and self defeating. It is sad as painting brings so much joy. If I can convince them to TRY, the person that says this usually ends up being my best student and a proficient artist! The fact is, they could all draw stick figures when they were in kindergarten:) so they can do more than that now!!
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. When do you feel most at peace?
Completion makes me feel most of peace. Whether it’s completing a painting and standing back and appreciating what I created, or whether it’s finishing the pile of business to dos on my desk, it is most satisfying to me to complete processes and move onto the next. It is a way that I feel that I am completing my life and not wasting any part of it, creating my legacy as best I can, it is a way of believing that I can always move forward no matter what if I just complete what I start.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://concettaantico.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/concettaantico/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/concetta-antico-21520744
- Twitter: https://x.com/concettaantico
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConcettaAnticoMuse/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/AnticoFineArt
Image Credits
Boyd Harris
Color Queen Worldwide Inc.
