Claudio D'Angelo Gallery of Paintings

All paintings depicted on this site are oil on Belgian linen canvas. Despite being more expensive, linen is far superior in quality and durability when compared to cotton canvas. I also much prefer the look and feel of linen canvas.

All my paintings are sold with professional custom frames. Taste in frames varies widely amongst collectors. I select frames that I feel best enhance the qualities in a painting while keeping the cost within reason. However, accommodations can be made if a different frame is preferred.

My paintings are sold through galleries and various group shows in both Canada and the United States. Please check the exhibitions page for information regarding galleries and show dates.

I will consider commissions if a painting proposal is somewhat similar to one I've contemplated on my own or is of a subject I am comfortable and interested in treating.

Like so many artists today, I use photographs in my creative process. I find them an indispensable tool, especially when dealing with such uncooperative subjects as wild animals. As well, it allows me to record certain light effects that would last no longer than a few seconds. However, as I mentioned, it is only a tool and as seductive as photos may appear they have their limitations and shortcomings for painters like myself. So I never allow them to have any undue influence in the evolution of a painting. In the end I want my paintings to look like paintings, not photographs.

One of the major influences on my art has been the Swedish animal painter Bruno Liljefors (1860-1939), whose true genius was in how he effectively conveyed through his canvases, not only the grace of his subject's form but what seemed to be the very essence of it's being.

I remember sitting in my highschool library lazily flipping the pages of a book when I was suddenly transfixed by a painting of a polar bear that stared back at me from one of the pages. Whatever I had come to understand at that young age made me recognize that this was an outstanding painting from a significant painter. Years later I stood in front of that painting in the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, with heightened admiration for the artist, Carl Rungius (1869-1959).

Over the years other artists who have had a significant impact on me have been John Singer Sargent (1856-19250), Anders Zorn (1860-1920) and Joaquin Sorolla (1863-1923).

In passing I would like to mention Mr. David Lank, whose profound knowledge of the history of wildlife art, his guidance and encouraging support assisted me greatly in pursuing this path I have chosen.