Honoring the Artist: Gia Schifano

By Marion Wolberg Weiss

Family homes have a special meaning for this week's cover artist, Gia Schifano. Perhaps this is one reason that her pieces often feature private dwellings in landscapes. The following conversation is indicative of Ms. Schifano's connection to the idea of family. It's interesting to note that she is also a thirteenth-generation Long Islander.

Q: Tell us about the house in the cover painting and your own family home.

A: The cover house is in Southampton - I painted it during this past February. The style is typical of what I do, realistic. My family has a home in Southampton, too - my parents bought it 50 years ago. We would spend the weekends and the summers there. We still go there, after all these years. Now, my husband and I take our son and daughter. Once we cross the canal, we decompress. We leave our problems at home. I thank God every day that my parents bought that house. It's where my heart is.

Q: I bet it means a lot to be by the water when you come to Southampton, especially when you live up island in East Williston. You're lucky to have such a nice setting in which to paint. Are there artists in your family?

A: My mother and aunt took art classes and painted. In fact, it was my mother who encouraged me to do art and to participate in Guild Hall's Clothesline Sale each summer. I really like doing that and being able to go back and see that someone has bought my work.

Q: You must have been interested in art as a child.

A: Yes, I was. I used to do charcoal portraits of my friends and their boyfriends in high school.

Q: Although you had no formal training in art, what kinds of things have you done since high school that helped you become an artist?

A: I learned by doing. For example, I worked at a retail art store. I learned a lot there and I loved talking to the artists who came in. I also worked for a woman who designed high-end pillows. I would paint floral arrangements on the pillows for her.

Q: What are you working on currently, now that you've learned so much?

A: I do commissions, like painting a popular barn on the North Fork. And people ask me to paint on different things, especially their mailboxes.

Q: When you're not painting or taking care of your family, what do you like to do?

A: I like anything that has to do with the arts. I like to sit on the deck with my family - everyone plays music.

Q: Obviously, painting is your favorite thing to do. Why do you think that is?

A: I'm always in awe of the creative process, more so than the actual result. It's a huge bonus if people also like my work.

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