Born in Cebu City, 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. He started getting awards and recognition from school
competitions and at age 10 appeared on TV after receiving a medal
for his painting.
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 painting with
nationally renowned artist Richard Schmid and a community of other
painters. It was a turning point of his creative and artistic
career.
"My painting is the world, channeled through my eyes, through
the prism of my own feeling, emotions and preferences. It is a
unity of the visual world and the internal, abstraction and realism..."
the artist's says. A consummate artist in all media, Romel de
la Torre is one of today's most highly regarded artists. His figures,
landscape, portraits, and still life paintings display unparalleled
technical skill, fluid style, and thorough understanding of light,
color, form and design.
The artist has been painting full time and currently instructs
advanced painting and portraiture at The Palette and Chisel Academy
on Fine Arts, Chicago. He is a signature member of the Oil Painters
of America & the Portrait Society of America; his oils, pastels,
watercolors, and portraits are housed in private collections throughout
the United States and several foreign countries. His paintings
have been published in The Artists Magazine, Southwest Art Magazine,
U.S. Art Magazine and the American Art Collectors Magazine.
Among his most important honors is the Oil Painters of America
National Exhibition/ Grand Prize and the Artists Magazine Portrait
Artist of the Year. His most recent award includes; 2007 Raymar
Fine Arts Competition, 2008 Gold Medal & the People's Choice
Award from the Palette & Chisel Academy of Fine Arts Gold
Medal show and one of the top finalist in the 2007 and 2008 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 endlesss blue color of the
sky, the smell of flowers in the garden, the sound of raindrops
falling on the roof. These gives joy in my heart, inspiration,
and gratitude...... of being an artist."
