From his summer jobs as a young boy in the Santa Clara Valley orchards picking cherries, apricots and prunes, come some of the artist’s first impressions of future subject matter. Born in San Jose, CA in 1937, he made his very first painting at age seventeen – it was of a meadow in Scotts Valley – near one of the few places in the world where both the redwood and giant sequoia grow, and very near the farm that the family would eventually call home.
James and his wife, Sherry – they have five children – live on a 24-acre enclave known simply as the Farm, once filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock’s northern California hideaway.
With the Santa Cruz mountains and nearby Monterey Bay providing an endless amount of visual delights, it’s not surprising that daughter, Lara felt the lure of the canvas. You can see some of her work on this website as well. Hidden in almost every James Scoppettone painting, there are hints of the artists that gave him inspiration; Maurice de Vlaminck, Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, Georges Rouault, Chaim Soutine, and many twentieth century French Moderns.
HIs themes encompass a wide range of subjects including lush meadows and poetic street scenes and an abundance of flameleaf autumnscapes. While his vivid landscapes employ the impressionist’s eye, they are infused with an intensely dramatic sense of color. Here you’ll see much more – waterscapes, florals, and even some of the fine print giclees that bring his work within the reach of all of his collectors. With collectors from around the world, corporate CEO’s, celebrities, and genuine art aficionados, he’s represented by numerous galleries throughout the country.
To acquire an original oil painting, see the Contacts and Galleries menu on the Home Page.
To contact James Scoppettone, email: james@scoppettone.com
Meet the artist’s daughter –
Lara’s love for art started at a young age as she grew up playing and painting in her dad’s studio.
She recalls, “He’d set up a small easel and I’d attempt to copy whatever he was working on. My parents had me sign and date everything – and they kept it all in a special archive.”
She began her formal study of art at Cabrillo College and went on to graduate from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a major in fine art and a minor in art history. She started teaching children at Gray Gables, a cultural art school for young people and . . .
Read more about Lara and see her fabulous giclees by clicking here
