George Gallo has discovered that being an artist isn’t a choice. It’s a desire to express the joys of the world. If one doesn’t bring one’s heart and soul to the experience, then all one is doing is copying things we see in front of us. George paints in oils because of its texture and deep colors and he believes it’s also the most malleable of all the mediums. Much of what he does is about texture and brushwork. That’s where the viewer and painter make their deeper connection. The point of painting is to grab the viewer by sharing fearlessly one’s sense of excitement.

George paints wet on wet and finishes most of his paintings, regardless of size, in “one go” - a technique that was perfected by Pennsylvania Impressionist Edward Redfield. Very few people paint in this manner and it’s something that has taken him decades to master. He paints by being very clear as to what he wants the finished experience to be. Once he knows what he wants to say, how he is going to say it becomes much more clear. Too much emphasis is put on technique. Good technique is arrived at by clarity of vision and how to state it.

In the mid 1970s there was little art instruction that was helpful. The focus was on abstraction, not traditional methods. This didn’t make sense to George. He studied privately with George Cherepov who helped George to think and see like an artist. Ultimately, George was self-taught and went through a rigorous routine of trial and error. He has had many one-man shows (three at New York City’s Grand Central Art Galleries), was an Arts for the Parks Top 100 Winner in 1991 and his work is part of many private collections. George’s work is currently represented in several galleries throughout the US.