Although she had been drawing from an early age, Dee developed her passion for art just after high school. Her family was planning to relocate from the US to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where her father had established a business. In order to complete her studies before leaving, Dee doubled her classes and graduated at the age of 16. While in Sao Paulo, the bustling city, masses of people as well as the beautiful countryside were scenes she didn't want to forget and hoped to share with others back home. It was in her attempts to sketch the people and scenery of the country that she discovered her true talent....and what would become a lifelong passion.
Before returning to the United States, Dee traveled with her family from Brazil across the Atlantic by ship and then along the coast of Africa to the Canary Islands. From there they traveled to Portugal, where
her family spent another two months exploring cities and small hamlets. They returned to New York City, by way of Canada, after traveling over 33,000 miles by sea. The images and memories of the people she met on these journeys aboard the ships and in these countries have stayed with her throughout her life and the early portraits reflected what would become her lifelong desire to capture, not only a persons image on canvas, but their soul and to convey to canvas the scenery that nature painted. Having experienced such a profound desire to create art using both her natural talent and visual inspiration, Dee knew this would be her life's work.
Upon her return to the US, she
enrolled in the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and reveled in the total art experience.
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Dee LoCascio
She favored and excelled in classes with live models. Her good fortune was to have a master teacher, Vincent Nesbert, who taught the intricacies of the measurement of the human form. She also met a very important person while at the Art Institute.....her future husband (Joseph LoCascio, a seventh generation artist). They married after graduation and moved to Connecticut where Joe pursued his career as an Art Director and Dee raised their four children. Over the years she exhibited and won many top awards in shows throughout New England.
Her paintings are in private collections on four continents. The notoriety, together with a building number of referrals led Dee to become a commissioned portrait painter and along with her husband they were invited to judge many art exhibitions. Through the years, Dee continued to expand her knowledge of art through informative contacts with many national artists who influenced the range of her work in developing new approaches and techniques. She has always been open to learning new and interesting approaches to art and continues to enjoy the discovery.
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Dee and Joe moved to Cape Coral, Florida in 1989 and in 1991 she opened her own teaching studio, "Artsmart", first on 47th Terrace, then to a larger studio on Cape Coral Pkwy. Despite a successful 12 years of operation, a large roster of students and a long waiting list, Dee decided it was time to slow down and reluctantly closed her studio in 2003. She still teaches part-time in her home studio in Cape Coral to a select group of gifted students and she remains a recognized member of the Portrait Society of America. Dee continues to build upon her amazing portfolio of work and for the first time in her career, she is making some of her most prized paintings available for exhibition and sale, both originals and in giclee form.
PAINTING STYLE AND MATERIALS
Some paintings, such as the Old England, Old Masters, and Western portraits, are executed in the style of several of the old masters. They are painted on linen and duck covered masonite and primed with gesso and marble dust.
HOW DEE PAINTS
The first rendition of the old master style is painted in a mono-chromatic grey-green (verdaccio) then completed in a series of glazes and oil paint. Other versions of this method are painted on a black or burnt umber background and painted to completion with brush. Landscapes, floral, still life, animals, and some portraits are done in the ala prima method with Street Scenes typically painted in palette knife.
Dee is skilled in pen & ink, colored pencil, basswood carving, and many other techniques. |
