| Issue #03 - April 11, 2008 |
Honoring the Artist: Doug Reina
While cover artist Doug Reina has had a diverse career, his heart and mind remain with painting. After many years as a Long Island TV reporter and scriptwriter, he's finally realized his dream and is painting full-time. Mr. Reina never forgot his roots and the time he spent at his family's second home in Montauk.
Q: Unlike most artists, your parents were both involved in art. How was that growing up?
A: My dad was a Professor of Art at Nassau Community College; my mother had a gallery in Cold Spring Harbor. I was always surrounded by artwork. My mother always told me that being an artist is difficult.
Q: Despite that advice, you studied art initially at Buffalo State College anyway and then discovered Emerson College in Boston.
A: Yes. I got a B.S. in Mass Communication, but I still felt like a fish out of water.
Q: Studying mass communication led you to become a TV news reporter, I assume.
A: Yes. This was in Huntington. Everyone treated me like family, and I thought that was nice, but I didn't want to do it forever. I then got a position at Computer Associates, doing on-camera reporting and scriptwriting. I was there for 16 years.
Q: Can you describe your process, what it means to you to paint?
A: First, I can't just sit and paint; I have to stand, even if it's for several hours. I feel like I'm involved in a boxing match, going several rounds. It's a zen thing.
Q: You mentioned you listen to books on tape when you paint.
A: Yes, if it's a good book, it gets into my painting. Years later, when I see the painting, I can remember the book I was reading. I also play "Disco Inferno" over and over again if the painting is going well.
Q: How do you feel when you look at the finished painting?
A: Sometimes I can't believe I did it. The painting creates itself; I'm the last one to get it down.
Q: You seem so connected to landscape, particularly Montauk, where you used to go all the time growing up. In fact, the cover is a scene in Montauk outside your parent's place. How do you describe what you do?
A: I paint outside, not from photographs. But I never thought of myself as a naturalist. After standing outside for a long time, I can appreciate being alone and also things like light, color, good composition, and mood.
Q: What's the bottom line as far as what a painting is to you?
A: I want viewers to imagine what's happening in the painting; it's like writing music, which uses words to tell a story.
Q: Is your son involved in art like you were when you were his age?
A: My son is very athletic like my wife (who carried a torch for one of the Olympics). But my son does art, too. He's exposed to all kinds of art. Just like I was.
Q: I understand you have several projects coming up in the future. Much luck. Oops. That's not a question.
- Marion Wolberg Weiss
Mr. Reina's work, "The Clammer," can be seen at the current Guild Hall Members Show. His work will also be on view at The Fishbar restaurant in Montauk starting mid-May.
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