"Our Favorite Things" - Paintings by Tony DeStefano

November 7 - December 19, 2007

The Melrose home of Tony and Loretta DeStefano is chock full of paintings and objects that have been painted on. They cover the walls and line the shelves - beautiful scenes from nature, animals, buildings, and a series of work with a Native American theme. All of them were painted by Tony, an 84 year-old lively gentleman with a passion for painting, mostly watercolor, on canvas, paper, leaves, shells, gourds, and just about anything he can grace with a paintbrush. "I have to be careful not to stand still for too long," says his wife, Loretta. "He may paint me!"

Loretta DeStefano is a longtime active producer at Malden Access Television which houses the MATV Gallery, where Tony's work will be featured in a new exhibit entiteld Our Favorite Things. (Tony often paints the things Loretta likes.) The couple is very excited for Tony's first solo show. His paintings have been featured at numerous local exhibits and he has won ribbons for his work. There is certainly no shortage of artwork to choose from. Since Tony was not able to hang the work himself, members of the MATV Gallery Committee have selected pieces from his home and installed the exhibit in the gallery.

Tony had formal art training at the Vesper George School of Art in Boston (no longer in existence) where  he attended after returning home from World War II service in the navy. He never ended up entering the commercial art world, although he did work making jewelry for several years, along with jobs that included working as a foreman in a wallet factory and (much later) being an inspector for computer products. Painting continued to be his passion and his hobby through all those years.

The MATV Gallery is pleased to present the fine artwork of Tony DeStefano on view from November 7 - December 19, 2007. A reception with the artist will be held on Wednesday, November 14 from 7:00 - 8:30pm. Exhibit hours are Monday - Thursday, 10am - 9pm; Friday, 10am - 6pm; and Saturday, 10am - 2pm. The exhibit is free and the facility is handicapped accessible.The MATV Gallery is located at 145 Pleasant St. in Malden.

Gallery Spotlight is the companion video program for the MATV Gallery. Click "Play" to view this 20-min. program which tells the story of this exhibit.

Comments

[Howard McGowan]

I viewed this collection at MATV and would say it is well worth the while spending to view the wide varity and pleasing subjects covered. I especially admired the Indian coverage. WELL DONE
hOWARD