Press Room
With Anthony Abreu it's all in Detail - February 2010 (pdf)
“Astonishing Anthony Abreu”
A stellar artist joins the Blue Ridge galaxy
Article published in North Georgia Mountains Magazine, Autumn 2008
Heartfelt and magnificently executed, the art of Anthony Abreu is lush, deeply storied and compels the viewer to read every nuance. No art appreciation courses are necessary to be captivated by the powerful imagery of his work, whether it glimpses a low casting fly fisherman plying his skills over sun-sparkled waters or a little girl experiencing the wondrous thrill of a huge horse nibbling at her tiny bouquet of wildflowers.
Abreu has never understood the origin of the enormous talent that lights his imagination and flows through his fingers to the canvas. "When I started school and everyone else was practicing making letters," Abreu says with a tinge of lingering bewilderment, "I was drawing my alphabet. Airplanes for 'A' all the way to tugboats for 'T.' That didn't go over well with the teacher."
Heartfelt and magnificently executed, the art of Anthony Abreu is lush, deeply storied and compels the viewer to read every nuance. In high school, Abreu was a welcome assistant for the teacher in art class. “But I couldn’t explain why I did things a certain way or any ‘theory’ behind my technique,” he says. “I just knew how it should look.” Soon this first generation American, born to Portuguese parents in their new home of Tampa, Florida, was a teenage wonder, creating the ‘Rainman’ illustration for Firestone tires and soon after, rendering the RC Cola girl.
“Even with some success early on, I didn’t want to ‘starve’ for ten years,” Abreu says of his early career, “so I worked steadily doing commercial illustrations for interior designers and architects, on restaurants and hotels, and working extensively on Disney’s EPCOT project. And finally, I was able to transition to my own work exclusively, challenging myself to paint the next piece better than the last.”
“Now,” he continues, “when I paint it is because I am totally inspired, to know exactly where your eyes will go when you look at the canvas. When you look at a painting from the Appalachian collection, I want to be sure you feel the rugged simplicity of the setting and circumstances.”
“when I paint it is because I am totally inspired, to know exactly where your eyes will go when you look at the canvas. When you look at a painting from the Appalachian collection, I want to be sure you feel the rugged simplicity of the setting and circumstances.”
Abreu says he was particularly inspired by a meeting with American master Norman Rockwell at a convention of magazine illustrators in Westport Connecticut years ago. “We enjoyed a long conversation between sessions and he was extremely generous with his insights on my career and painting style. One thing he said has always been in the forefront of my mind, ‘You have to live in your paintings,’ he told me. I’ve held that thought through everything I’ve done since.”
Anthony Abreu’s Shallow Creek Gallery opened on Main Street in Blue Ridge in early September of this year. Gallery manager Christine Abreu, Anthony’s wife, says they are overwhelmed by the warm response to his work – from enthusiastic collectors to “the wonderfully supportive artistic community of Blue Ridge. In a matter of months we have realized this relocation to the North Georgia Mountains was long overdue.”
“the wonderfully supportive artistic community of Blue Ridge. In a matter of months we have realized this relocation to the North Georgia Mountains was long overdue.”
See a selection of Anthony Abreu’s original oils and watercolors, as well as limited editions, prints and giclées signature prints in the newly opened gallery at 497 E. Main Street in the heart of Blue Ridge, or visit www.AnthonyAbreu.com to browse his favorite works online.
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