Louis A. Guarnaccia American b. 1958
Artist’s Biography

Louis was born in Omaha, NE, in 1958. At the age of nine, he began painting in oil, and at the age of 14, he began studying painting, drawing, and art theory under Stanley Stephanowitz, and then under Frank Novak at the Norwich Art School and Slater Museum in Norwich, CT. He then studied under master artists Dean Keller, Ken Davies, and Rudolph Zallinger at the Paier College of Art in Hamden, CT. After art school, Louis continued painting both landscapes and portraits, in addition to working as an illustrator, art director, and creative director at various advertising agencies in New England. He eventually established his own advertising agency and, in 1995, moved to Nantucket Island, MA. In 2000, he began painting full-time, focusing on both portrait commissions, New England landscapes and maritime painting.

Today, his work is exhibited at the Cavalier Galleries in both Nantucket, MA and Greenwich, CT, the Artist’s Association of Nantucket, Nantucket, MA, Tilting at Windmills Gallery in Manchester Center, VT, The Sharon Arts Gallery in Peterborough, NH, The Page Waterman Gallery in Wellesley, MA, The Banks Gallery in Portsmouth and New London New Hampshire, The Bayview Gallery in both Camden and Brunswick Maine, and the Salmagundi Club in New York. Louis is also ranked as a fifth dan (degree) black belt in the martial art of Aikido, and a certified teacher. Since 1994 he has been the chief instructor and founder of the Aikido Association of Nantucket, MA, and he is also a Tai Chi Chuan and Chi Gong practitioner and Chi/energy healer.

A Brief Timeline
1988 Executes portrait of Soviet Premier Mikail Gorbachev, which is unveiled at the
Olympic Hotel, Moscow, USSR, and presents portrait to Soviet officials appointed
by Premier Gorbachev at the Kremlin.

1989 Solo exhibition of 46 works of Greece, Spain, and Russia series at the
Arts Place Gallery, Naugatuck, CT.

1989 Three works juried in an exhibit at the Museum of Arts Science & Industry, Bridgeport, CT.

1990 One-Man exhibition at the Webb Gallery, Hamden, CT, of 36 abstract works.

1991 One-Man at South Wharf Gallery, Nantucket, MA, of abstract series.

1992 One-Man at John F. Kennedy Airport, NY, Japan Airlines VIP Lounge,
of abstract series.

1995 International Group exhibition at Art 54 in SoHo, NY, of abstract series.

1996 Returns to representational painting (landscape & portraiture).

1999 Finalist in the portrait category (26,000 entries) in Artists’ Magazine national competition.

2000 One-man show at Sailor’s Valentine Gallery, Nantucket, MA, of 20 nantucket landscapes & maritime.

2001 Voted to Board of Directors to the Artists’ Assoc. of Nantucket, MA, and gains representation at Sharon Arts Gallery in Peterborough, NH and at the Cavalier Galleries on Nantucket, MA and Greenwich, CT. Also is voted into membership at the Salmagundi Club, NYC.

2001 Fourth place in the landscape category (30,000 entries) in Artists’ Magazine
national competition. One-man exhibition at Cavalier Galleries on Nantucket.

2002 Teaches life drawing at The Space, Nantucket, MA, and teaches the first classical portrait painting class in the history of the Artists’ Association of Nantucket, MA. One-man exhibition at Sharon Arts at Peterborough, NH. 2nd One-man exhibition at Cavalier Galleries on Nantucket.

2003 Gains representation at The Tilting at Windmills Gallery in Manchester Center, VT. Teaches life drawing and classic portrait painting for the Artists’ Association of Nantucket. Commissioned works continue of landscapes, yachts and portraiture. Receives high honors at the annual Salmagundi Thumb Box exhibition in NYC. One-man exhibition at Cavalier Galleries on Nantucket.

2004 Teaches life drawing, painting critique, and a 3 day figure-painting workshop for Sharon Arts in Sharon, NH. Chosen by Cape Cod Life as the artist to represent Nantucket in their Annual Art Guide to Cape Cod and the Islands. Featured portrait painter in Nantucket’s Inquirer and Mirror. One-man exhibition entitled “The Spirit of Sailing” at the Cavalier Gallery on Nantucket, MA, featuring recent maritime works. 4 person group show at the Page Waterman gallery in Wellesley, MA. Promoted to the rank of 5th Dan (degree) Black Belt in the martial art of Aikido. Receives the Henry O’Conner SCNY Award for outstanding work from the Salmagundi Club, New York, NY. Louis also gains publicity and positive art reviews in publications such as N Magazine, Nantucket Magazine, Yesterday’s Island, Plum TV, Nantucket TV and Inquirer Mirror.

2005 Receives the Thomas Moran SCNY Award for outstanding work at the Salmagundi Club, NYC. Juried into the National small works group show sponsored by Cavalier Galleries in NYC. One-Man Exhibition of new maritime works entitled “Dancing on the Water” at Cavalier Galleries on Nantucket. Louis’ painting of the prestigious Opera House Cup Race at Nantucket is reproduced as a poster to promote the Opera House Cup Regatta. Louis is honored with a special exhibit of his Opera House Cup paintings for O.H.C. V.I.P’s and sponsor private party in August on Nantucket. Louis gains representation at The Banks Gallery in both Portsmouth and New London New Hampshire.

2006 Louis’ maritime painting is featured in June issue of American Art Collector magazine. His maritime paintings are selected for publication in a full color, hard-cover book by Blue Tree Publishing, Portsmouth, NH, to be released in 2008. Louis is interviewed on Plum TV and Nantucket TV to talk about his approach to painting and his up-coming show on Nantucket. Louis is one of 20 American Landscape painters selected to be exhibited and published in a book and exhibit of the same name: Visions in Granite, 200 years of paining in the White Mountains. An exhibit of historic landscape paintings of then and now. His work is chosen for the Isle of Shoals show in Portsmouth, NH and included in a second hardcover book. In the fall and Autumn he painted for a second White Mountains show. Traveled to Monhegan Island to paint for a show and a 3rd book of Monhegan and its artists. In winter painting trip in the White mountains.

2007 Wins the Richard Ochs SCNY Award for outstanding work in the Fall Salmagundi Club Art Exhibition for his painting of “Last Light, Cape Cod”. Louis is chosen by the Salmagundi Club President to represent American landscape painting at the Saatchi Gallery website in London. Selected as one of 20 artists for a special exhibition celebrating Cavalier Galleries 20th anniversary. Selected by Cavalier Gallery for a special maritime exhibit entitled “Of the Sea” at Cavalier Galleries in Greenwich, CT. One-Man Show at Cavalier Galleries in Nantucket. 4 Group shows; July - New Hampshire Colonies, August - Monhegan Island, August - New Hampshire Sea Coast, and in November - the White Mountains. In February a Two-Man show in Vermont of New England Landscapes. Louis’ work is currently being exhibited in the New Hampshire State Capitol building in Concord. Louis gains representation at the Harbor Gallery in Rowayton, CT.

2008 Louis’ work has been juried and 8 paintings will be published in a table top art book featuring the top contemporary realist painters of New England. Also, Louis has been selected to be an Artist in Residence at the Fells Museum in the Lakes region of New Hampshire. Louis’ two man show at the Tilting at Windmills Gallery in Manchester Center Vt was a near sell out. He is currently working on paintings of the White Mts and landscapes from northern Vermont and the coast of Maine. He will be exhibiting his latest maritime works in an exhibit at the Cavalier Gallery on Nantucket this August.

Galleries
Cavalier Galleries, Greenwich, CT & Nantucket, MA
Tilting at Windmills Gallery, Manchester Center, VT
Bayview Gallery in Camden ME & Brunswick, ME
Banks Gallery, Portsmouth, NH & New London, NH
Left Bank Gallery Essex, Essex Village, CT

Associations
American Society of Marine Artists
Artist Association of Nantucket, MA
Portrait Society of America
Salmagundi Club, NYC
Books
Visions in Granite, 200 Years in Painting the White Mountains
Island Light the Isle of Shoals
Island Light, Paintings of Monhegan Island
New Hampshire Summer Colonies
Visions in Granite #2
Magazine/Newspaper/Publications/TV Interviews
American Art Collector
The Artists” Magazine
Off Shore Magazine
Portland Magazine
Stratton Magazine
Life Styles Magazine
Cape Cod Life Magazine
N Magazine
Nantucket Magazine
The Portsmouth Herald
The (Portsmouth) Wire
Renaissance Magazine
Mysteries Magazine
Inquirer and Mirror
Yesterday’s Island

Plum TV
Nantucket TV