Romel de la Torre
Born in the Philippines in a community of artists, Romel de la Torre's artistic interest started at a very young age. With the encouragement of his parents he began sketching the world around him.
In the late 70's Romel and his family migrated to the United States where he began going to museums studying and learning on his own; works of famous artists like Sargent, Sorolla, Fechin, Mucha, and the American Impressionists. The exposure to these masters' paintings laid a strong foundation to his belief of what great art is.
He attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago, where he was awarded the President's Foundation Award and the Union League Scholarship Award. After graduating with a fine arts concentration, Romel continued to paint in the Chicago area and joined The Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Arts, where he began studying with internationally renowned artist the late Richard Schmid. It was a turning point of his creative and artistic career.
He is a full time artist and is represented by several galleries. His oils, pastels, watercolors, and portraits are housed in private collections throughout the United States and several foreign countries. His paintings have been featured in The Artists Magazine, Southwest Art Magazine, U.S. Art Magazine and the American Art Collectors Magazine. In addition he conducts workshops throughout the United States, Europe & Asia.
Among his most important honors is the Oil Painters of America National Exhibition/ Grand Prize and the Artists Magazine Portrait Artist of the Year. Other award includes; Raymar Fine Arts Competition Award, Greenhouse Gallery's Salon International Award, OPA Award of Excellence, Gold Medal & the People's Choice Award from the Palette & Chisel Academy of Fine Arts Gold Medal show and a 2 time top finalist in the International Portrait Competition given by the prestigeous Portrait Society of America.
Artist's statement: "I find spiritual beauty in all the things that I paint. The innocence of a child's face, the silent glow of a candle, the sight of dappled lights on the ground, the smell of flowers in the garden, the ever-changing colors of Nature.. these gives joy in my heart, inspiration, and gratitude... of being an artist."
