About Gabriel Tempesta

I am from Wolcott Vermont, where I started life in
a log cabin at the edge of the woods overlooking
a beaver swamp. My early years before a power and
telephone line came to the house led to an appreciation
of the natural world and a strong connection to wildlife
that has stayed with me ever since.

After training and pursuing a career as an illustrator as a matter of practicality for ten years I felt an urge for more creative freedom in the form of landscape and wildlife painting. My illustration
training and photography hobby are influences that can
be seen in the detail and lens effects that I work into my paintings.

I am not a strict medium adherent.
I like to move between oil, watercolor, charcoal,
and casein, sometimes blending them, and always
playing with new techniques to keep things interesting.

I sometimes leave out the color in my paintings in order to focus on composition, form, and contrast and to engage in a more simple and direct creative process. I strive to create a fresh approach to traditional landscape painting where I look for dynamic vantage points in which to portray common features of the landscape and sometimes the wildlife within it. I want the viewer to be familiar with what they see but also feel like they ‘haven’t quite seen it like that before’.