Marie Mosca
Opinion Editor

On February 25, Robert Andruilli’s Exhibit “Places: Real and Imagined” had its closing reception and artist talk in Winter Center. Professor Andriulli graduated from William Paterson University with a B.A. and received an M.F.A in Painting from Penn State University. He lives right here in Millersville, Pennsylvania and teaches drawing and painting classes in the art department. Before he taught at Millersville, he taught at Bowdoin College, Seton Hall University and Penn State University Park.

Professor Andriulli expressed the importance of drawing from life. (Marie Mosca/Snapper)
Professor Andriulli expressed the importance of drawing from life. (Marie Mosca/Snapper)

The collection of works including a variety of oil paintings depicting detailed landscapes either observed or created by the artist himself. During his talk, professor Andruilli expressed the importance of drawing from life or painting out in the open directly from his subject matter.

He also mentioned that he is influenced by music, film, photography and, of course, other artists. The paintings shown in this particular collection were all rooted in places he has been before, such as Maine, and the coast of Washington. All of them were created over the last 12 years or so according to Professor Andruilli.

As pointed out by a curious student, most of the paintings seem to illustrate a sort of narrative. This narrative tends to lean towards the relationship between humans and nature. Another topic discussed during the talk involved creating visual equivalents of the subject matter, and not copies.

This creates a visual of the world in a more expansive and meaningful way. Andruilli tends to use clouds very frequently in his paintings and was specifically asked about it by a student in the audience to which he stated that he simply sees them as solutions to paintings when he is trying to get them closer to being finished, and that they have so many unique shapes, setting each painting apart.

Andruilli was also asked which painting he was most sentimentally attached to, which he indicated was a painting involving a backyard and a golden retriever was probably the one. He then further explained that the retriever was his first dog he had ever owned and had to take care of, and that the painting was of his backyard on a nice day. Overall, the artist talk and exhibit was very well attended, and a proper closing for the month long stay it had in the gallery in the Winter Center.