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Fine Artist Patrick Mancini Combines Passion for Art with Passion for Fundraising

Acid Rain

Patrick Mancini

Many artists create for themselves or for others, but Patrick Mancini's first foray into the art world came as a way to raise money for his local Toys for Tots charity. Since then, his work has become both an artistic outlet and a way to raise money for the New England Hemophilia Association, of which he is president. Influenced by Cezanne and Van Gough's use of color and texture, Patrick's landscapes have appeared in galleries as well as private collections. Patrick shares his thoughts about his work and his non-profit work with JustLuxe.

When did you begin working as an artist?

I begin working unofficially around 1992 after painting a few pieces for a Toys-for-Tots fundraiser in Newport, RI.  Two of the pieces were purchased and the funds went to the charity.  The interest of the buyers and the event overall became the genesis for blending art and non-profit together as an area of focus for creativity.

Which artists influenced you most?

I would have to say that it was and remains Cézanne followed by Van Gogh because of their use of color and texture in their work, specifically dark rich green tones.  The variations of style that Cézanne represented is something that I can clearly identify with based on my own deviations in style, medium, and palette.

How would you describe your art?

This is an interesting question, I ask myself that as well; I would describe it as "abstract impressionist" in the sense that color, texture and subjects tend to be in the impressionist family with some variations in abstract style and color.

You’ve been painting for a while.  How do you feel your art has changed throughout the years?

My most recent works reflect a complete change in tooling and medium, since (in what I would refer to as the first generation work) everything was nearly 100% pastel. Even during that period, there was some experimentation with various papers produced from different parts of the world.  The current generation of work is nearly all oil/canvas/linen but fundamentally I have kept the colorization and blending techniques consistent between pastel and oil, although admittedly it is much more challenging with something as unforgiving as oil and canvas.

Path to Eternity
Patrick Mancini

What is it about landscape scenes that capture your interest?

It is a provocative challenge to maintain color and texture in most landscapes and still allow the viewer to see past a one dimensional perspective, meaning that the art should add something perhaps more interpretive above and beyond the actual subject itself.  The goal is always to make the art more interesting than the original subject by adding perspective that the viewer can identify as an enhancement.  For landscapes and especially florals that originate from imagination, there is no baseline for comparison and the art can be fully appreciated by the viewer without prejudice.

What is your process?  What materials do you primarily work with?

I love this question - nearly every piece that I have produced was done just after the midnight hour, mostly because that is when I can best use my imagination and think clearly, and oddly those pieces were done in the dead of winter as well.  In New England winter tends to make oneself long for warmer weather, and for me that affect leads to creativity.  Material-wise I generally start with textured paper or canvas - with pastel pieces you can move directly to color and blending due to the nature of the materials, but with oils there is always a baseline that is created using a universal background color.  There can be a very significant difference in the outcome however - pastel pieces reflect ambition and determination while oils tend to be much more contemplative because of the time-to-canvas and the potential to think more broadly as you progress.  Honestly some of the best pieces have been motivated by anticipation of the end result, similar to reading a good book!

You’re also President and Chairman of the Board of the New England Hemophilia Association, how did that come about?

I joined the board of NEHA because we had a family member born with Hemophilia. Our organization provides advocacy, education, and awareness for bleeding disorders and the passion and determination to work with our national organizations for better treatments (and eventually a cure) led to the Presidency in 2002.  It is an unpaid, volunteer role and I would not trade the experience for anything in the world.  Still, one can only be President for so long, it is time to build the succession plan!

You’ve managed to combine two of your passions by donating your art to fundraising events for the association, where all proceeds above and beyond print production cost are donated to the organization. Have you done that on both a local and a national scale? 

The first iteration of this is local but the goal is to make this a national and international effort in collaboration individually and in conjunction with other artists, and eventually move outside of Hemophilia into other rare disease groups in an effort to raise awareness.  Hemophilia has about 495,000 persons affected worldwide, with about 21,000 in the US.  Quality of care in the US is substantially higher than other parts of the world, so the potential for local artists and fundraising in local regions could be very inspirational on many levels.

What are you currently working on?  

Tactically I am experimenting with new foundation components and

Carly Zinderman

Carly Zinderman is a Senior Staff Writer for JustLuxe, based just outside of Los Angeles, CA. Since graduating from Occidental College with a degree in English and Comparative Literary Studies, she has written on a variety of topics for books, magazines and online publications, but loves fashion and style best. In her spare time, when she?s not writing, Carly enjoys watching old movies, reading an...(Read More)

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