Artist Madeline Lovallo received an award from the Woodhaven Cultural & Historical Society and is joined here at the South Ozone Park casino by Michelle Stoddart, director of public relations at Resorts World NY, and Ed Wendell, president of the WCHS. Forum Photo by Alan Krawitz.
Despite the fact that Howard Beach artist Madeline Lovallo was raised in Brooklyn, some of her best known works depict locales and scenes that are uniquely Queens, from the landmarked Forest Park Carousel to Oak Ridge and Lewis’ of Woodhaven.
Lovallo, who has been painting for the better part of five decades, now has her work on display at Resorts World Casino in South Ozone Park (Red Gallery Wall, 2nd Floor) through March 9th.
“As a child, I always loved to draw and I knew I wanted to be an artist,” said Lovallo, who recalled painting figures and portraits at the Brooklyn Museum, and attending The Forest Park School of Art on Jamaica Avenue.
Lovallo’s knack for landscape painting began to really flourish while she was living in France from 1985 to 1988, thanks to her husband’s work. She recalled living in a small suburb of Paris called LePecq.
“The scenes I saw were so magnificent,” Lovallo said. “Everywhere I looked I saw a perfect landscape.”
After attending the Paris American Academy for a year, Lovallo said she began painting with Josiah Lancaster, a well-known American artist living in France.
“I met a wonderful group of artists and we painted landscapes together. I also began painting in watercolors,” she said, adding that she sat in cafes and painted at tables with water colors.
Lovallo said that “the French people really love and appreciate painting and they love artists. The people are also very artistic with their gardens and decorations.”
In 1988, Lovallo and her family returned to Howard Beach, where she once again took classes, this time at the Art Students League, once a week.
Soon after, Lovallo began to apply her talent for painting landscapes to the vistas of southern Queens.
“I discovered the remarkable views of Hamilton Beach, Howard Beach, Broad Channel, Gateway National Park, Forest Park, Woodhaven and other areas of Queens,” she said.
While most of Lovallo’s work is comprised of oil paintings, she also does watercolors, pastels, florals and still life. She continues to teach art to children with artistic ability, out of her Howard Beach studio.
Lovallo began doing art shows in the ‘90s and sells original works according to size and complexity of the painting. Her offerings range in price from $25 for a matted print of 11 x 14 to $2,500 for her most expensive portrait.
The show at Resorts World first came about when City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) saw some of Lovallo’s work on display at a recent event in Woodhaven and requested some paintings for his district office. From there, a Resorts World publicist spotted several local landscape works in Ulrich’s office and decided to put together an exhibit at the casino.
For more information on Madeline Lovallo’s Resorts World NY exhibit, visit rwnewyork.com or madelinesstudio.artistwebsites.com.
By Alan Krawitz
