Gene Costanza

Gene Costanza biography:

Gene Costanza is a contemporary realist oil painter who prefers the “painterly” application of oils. “At our point in history, there have been so many schools and movements in the visual arts, one can pick and choose techniques and eclectically build a painting that borrows from that rich and varied history.”

He focuses his efforts primarily on landscape and mankind’s interaction with nature. Equally at home painting “en plein air” as well as in the studio, Costanza orchestrates paintings that engage the viewer to enter, tarry, and experience those common human responses evoked by a sensitive and intuitive painting.

Gene all but abandoned art in his early 20’s. He then spent over 25 years in law enforcement. He began dabbling in art again mid-career. Police work, he believes, provided him with the discipline to overcome his personal tendencies and employ the discipline required to create a good painting: a painting that endures over time.

Costanza has learned much from studying the masters, as we all do, and from a number of great contemporary teachers, including a personal relationship with his good friend Scott L. Christensen. It is Christensen he credits with the majority of his professional growth. Early workshops with Christensen, Tom Browning, Kevin Macpherson, Matt Smith, and Rusty Stecher were instrumental in directing his attention to what kind of work he wanted to do. “I count them among my influences, along with Clyde Aspevig, John Singer Sargent, Joaquin Sorolla, Trevor Chamberlain, Edgar Payne and John F. Carlson. How many influences is a guy allowed to have? Every great painting I can remember – regardless of genre or style. Did I mention Jeffrey A. Watts? Bill Anton? Frederick Maulhapt, and William Ritschel, and Frederick Judd Waugh.” He continues to attend select workshops with painters/instructors he admires, recently attending one of Jill Carver’s workshops.

Gene’s work is in collections from coast to coast, and in South Africa. He is included in the permanent collection of the Academy Museum in Easton, Maryland. Two “Artist’s Choice” awards, one from the American Impressionist Society 2011 National Show and the other from the Forgotten Coast First Annual Founder’s Award in 2007 are his favorite accolades to date. “Our peers know exactly how hard one has to work to make a good painting.”

Gene is a Signature Member of both The American Impressionist Society and The Oil Painters of America. He is also a juried out-of-state member of the California Art Club. He has exhibited in numerous regional and national shows with these organizations, as well as with The Salon at Legacy Gallery, The Mountain Oyster Club, and others. Gene has also been juried into numerous national plein air competitions such as Plein Air Easton, Sonoma Plein Air, Sedona Plein Air, The Forgotten Coast Invitational, and Telluride Plein Air.

Available paintings:

Click on images to enlarge.

“High Noon Crooked River Canyon”
Gene Costanza
Oil  20″ x 24″
$4,500

See additional information for “High Noon Crooked River Canyon”.

“Moving Toward October”
Gene Costanza
Oil  20″ x 20″
$3,100

See additional information for “Moving Toward October”.

“Summer Shoreline”
Gene Costanza
Oil   7″ x 8″
$700

See additional information for “Summer Shoreline”.

“August South Of Town”
Gene Costanza
Oil   12″ x 16″
$1,800

See additional information for “August South Of Town”.

“Any Second Now”
Gene Costanza
Oil   12″ x 16″
$1,800

See additional information for “Any Second Now”.

“Bridge In The Woods”
Gene Costanza
Oil   12″ x 16″
$1,800

See additional information for “Bridge In The Woods”.

Interested in any of these paintings, call us 800-958-5360 or email us sales@artzline.com.

“Shrimper”
Gene Costanza
Oil   8″ x 10″
SOLD

“A Little Cabin Fever”
Gene Costanza
Oil   6″ x 8″
SOLD

Memberships: 

Signature Member – Oil Painters of America
Signature Member – American Impressionist Society
Out of State Juried Member – California Art Club

Awards:

2015    Certificate of Excellance California Art Club
2014    Certificate of Artistic Recognition California Art Club
2013    Certificate of Excellance California Art Club
2011    Artist Choice American Impressionist Society
2009    Award of Merit American Impressionist Society
2007    Artist Choice Award Forgotten Coast Exhibition
2006    Honorable Mention American Impressionist Society
2004    Salon International Jury’s top Fifty
2004    Salon International Honorable Mention

“A Little Cabin Fever”
Gene Costanza
Oil   6″ x 8″
SOLD

“Shrimper”
Gene Costanza
Oil   8″ x 10″
SOLD