PAUL
VENTURA
PAUL VENTURA started painting at the age of 3 after his mother told him not to play with her paints (even though she had set them all out with brushes next to a blank canvas on an easel). Reverse psychology worked and he's been painting ever since. His early work has been described as, "Andrew Wyeth done with FujiFilm!" and his new work, "Vividly captures the Soul of the City with his unique colors, shapes and textures, conjuring up the many stories of the inhabitants of those great buildings!"
Paul has a Masters of Fine Art degree from U.C. Davis and a B.A. degree from Santa Clara University. He's won many art awards and has been featured in numerous galleries, including the Crocker Art Gallery in Sacramento. He's currently on display at the New Masters Gallery in Carmel, CA.
On his father's side, Paul's related to Pre-Renaissance artist Giotto ("That's all my relatives spoke about when I was a kid. They even had contests to see who came closest to drawing Giotto's 'Perfect Circle'. I think I won when I was 5 and they never had the contest again."). His grandfather won the Artist of the Year in Italy for his intricate metal sculpture; and his father was a rocket engineer who helped design the rockets that got us to the moon and the engines that safely got the astronauts back to earth. On his mother's side, Paul's grandfather was a fashion designer in Italy and New York; his grandmother lived to 101; and his mother was an accomplished artist in NY and CA.
Though he continued to paint, one week after Paul moved to Los Angeles he was hired to cast a movie for the renowned producer Roger Corman, and, when finished, was picked up by Paramount Studios to cast episodic TV and pilots. As he quickly rose up in the business, he went independent and cast many films, TV, and thousands of commercials, working with top directors and producers, including Sydney Pollack, Gary Goetzman, Fred Roos, and Alan Arkin. On an average audition day, he'd bring in future-stars Billy Bob Thornton, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Elizabeth Moss, George Clooney, Cameron Diaz, Bryan Cranston, Kurtwood Smith, Kathy Bates, Paul Rudd, David Spade, Nicole Kidman, Leslie Mann, and Reese Witherspoon.Though he's still in touch with many of his friends in Hollywood, Paul's fully devoted to painting in Northern California and continues to explore and share the vibrant stories, colors and textures of his work.
"Just like when you look at a Wayne Thiebaud painting, when you see a Ventura, you want to reach out and devour it!" - Mark Baer, former Director of the Monterey Museum of Art.