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Date: 4/19/2021
AGAWAM – Each month the Agawam Community Artists and Artisans spotlights one of its members. This month, the spotlight on art is on Artist Angelo Ferraro.
Council member and Secretary Ceil Rossi started Spotlight on Art last year to get their name out in the community.
“I wanted to get everyone out there because we have quite a few really good artists in our organization and I wanted to give them a spotlight for the community,” said Rossi.
Ferraro was born and raised in Springfield. He started drawing navy ships as a kid after watching a program called “Victory Sea,” about navy action during WWII.
“I was impressed by the intricacy, especially battleships, the lines and shadows. That’s where I started with shading. I would use a regular pencil and eraser and shade with my finger,” said Ferraro.
After that, he started taking an interest in human features, and started drawing portraits.
Ferraro joined the army after graduating high school. After a few years he decided to attend Famous Artists School in Westport, CT, where he started painting.
After graduating from art school in 1961, where his principal study was in illustration and animation, he worked as an artist illustrator for Eastern Etching in Chicopee for three years. He decided to leave the art field professionally for monetary reasons but continued painting in his free time in the studio of his apartment.
He retired from Hasbro Games in 2007 as vice president of reliability engineering. Now having the extra time on his hands, he started painting every day. His favorite thing to paint, he said, is still portraits using water-based oil, including animal portraits that he has sold and has been very successful in.
He said he finds his inspiration from pictures on the internet, taking his own photos, and landscapes then formulates a design in his mind.
Ferraro doesn’t have a website yet, but for any inquiries on his art he can be contacted via email at gijoe123@msn.com.
The Agawam Community Artists and Artisans organization currently has about 70 artists and are looking for more members to join. Membership is $20 annually.
“We give a lot of benefits, have demonstrations when we are in season. We have art shows currently running at Cooper’s Commons and people can go and see the art on the walls on two floors and I have my artists on the walls with their name. If they wanted to purchase a piece of art, they could contact me as well,” Rossi said.
The organization is planning a large show at the Polish Club in August.
If you are interested in joining Rossi can be contacted at 207-1247 or email tocarefree2@hotmail.com.