Roberto Ruschena

“With my paintings I seek to inspire a sense of peace and relaxation while taking a journey with nature to celebrate and exalt the harmony and beauty of this world we are visiting.”

Roberto Ruschena was born in Brusasco, a small village in the countryside near Turin, in northern Italy. He felt the strong attraction of oil painting at the age of eighteen, and he became a self-taught artist. Although he studied Electrical Engineering and lived for twenty-four years in the large city of Turin, his painting immediately reflected his love for the countryside, his worship of nature and the contemplation of the Italian landscape. His suggestive paintings are always "dreams" of places of his youth, full of inspiration. Roberto's work has been inspired by the admiration for the work of the French Impressionists, and especially by the work of Monet, Sisley, and Pissarro. His landscape also reflects the studies of the 19th century Piedmontese painters, such as Antonio Fontanesi and Enrico Reycend. Despite his long residence in Africa and Canada before moving to the United States, his painting has always depicted the European countryside and his love for the region of Piedmont, near the Italian Alps, where memories of his youth are attached. While living in tropical and sub-tropical climates, he became fascinated with painting water scenes and water lilies. The way the water lilies flower and float on the water's surface, as if they were sleeping, and the way the giant cypress trees gently rise up from the swamps, produce a great sense of peace and relaxation. Fifteen years ago, Roberto discovered the great possibilities of the oil pastel medium, and he is now mastering a unique technique to create impressionistic landscapes that simulate the texture of an oil painting while achieving greater sharpness and vibrancy of colors. He participated to a pastel exhibition in New Orleans, as a member of the "Degas Pastel Society." His oil paintings and oil pastels have been exhibited in multiple galleries, in Texas, North Carolina, and Colorado. He received numerous awards and the opportunity of exhibiting twice 50 painting at the Denver Performing Arts Complex in both the Boettcher and Buell centers. For more information, please visit www.ItalianImpressionist.com