Lines and Colors art blog

Peter Sylvada

Peter Sylvada
California painter and illustrator Peter Sylvada paints in a way that makes “painterly” too weak a descriptor.

Ranging from muted earth tones to brilliant, impressionist strength colors, his oil paintings are composed of wonderfully bold chunks of color and a wealth of tactile brush texture.

From portraits that show the obvious influence of Sargent, to Homer-inspired sea images, to city images that carry echoes of Robert Henri, Sylvada draws on a wealth of affection for great artists and imbues his paintings with rich contrasts of color and tone. His compositions experiment with unorthodox variations in proportion and balance in which backgrounds and occasionally parts of objects are turned into color fields shimmering with the textures of brush strokes.

Unfortunately, his portfolio site, though nicely designed graphically, is hampered by agonizingly slow image transitions that make it an exercise in patience to go through more than a few images. It’s worth the trouble, though; perseverance will be rewarded by an array of wonderful paintings.

Similarly frustrating is his “Bio” page, which also keeps you waiting for over-long “page” turns, and then brushes off his professional accomplishments as though they were inconsequential.

His illustration clients include Toyota, Nissan, United Airlines, The Atlantic Monthly, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and others.

Sylvada is working on a children’s book he has written and he is currently preparing for his initial gallery exhibition.


Comments

13 responses to “Peter Sylvada”

  1. Martin Avatar

    Wow, that was the worst portfolio site I’ve seen. I waited for two images, then I couldn’t take it anymore.

  2. I looked through the first one in your list, which was a sort of portfolio site for many artists, and maybe it was the time of day or something, but it loaded very quickly.

    Nice the way my details are displayed by Firefox when I start to retype them in the Name, e-mail and website fields, BTW!

  3. Gary Post Avatar
    Gary Post

    Worst ‘site you’ve seen??? GEEEZ! What a whining little twerp. Your lack of patience shall be your own un-doing, little man.
    And if you can’t take it anymore, there’s only one thing left to do…so get on with it. By the way, the sharp end of the knife points toward YOU.
    I bet you’ve never had an original thought in your life, ‘Martin’.
    OH WAIT.. I believe they came up with a name for your kind centuries ago. Yep it’s
    Phillistine!
    Who am I? just a west coast nobody….. and one of Peter’s best(and biggest&baddest!) friends since Jr. High school.
    You’d do well to show some respect. G.P.

  4. Gary Post Avatar
    Gary Post

    P.S. Peter just turned me on to this lines and colors ‘site a few minutes ago.
    Keep up the good work! Very well structured. I’m sending the link to my other artist friends. G.P.

  5. Thanks for the comments, all.

    Gary, before getting all whup-ass on Martin, bear in mind that I was the one who called the transition time of the images on Peter’s site into question.

    Peter has written to say the his site is due for a major overhaul. I’ll try to do a follow-up post when that happens.

  6. Gary Post Avatar
    Gary Post

    Point taken,sir! Peter had mentioned these issues last year, but it’s just old vs. new software gremlins,etc. just like we’ve all had to work through at one point or another.
    So perhaps I seemed a little whup-ass,but with reason. But I reacted to Martin’s poor manners, with some bad manners of my own.
    Simply put Charley, he bagged on a very dear friend of mine and it’s the FIRST thing I had to read when I hit this ‘site. Martin might as well have been pissing on my truck’s tires….I saw zero respect from him.
    I have been watching a lot of “Sopranos” re-runs lately. When it comes to respecting ones’ peers, I’m sure Tony’s values must have rubbed off a little.
    I noticed that Peter has sent me an email which I’ve yet to read. I wonder if he’s going to rip ME a new one?
    Thanks for your purposeful(and polite) response to my rant.
    After all communication is the key to the success of all mankind. G.P.

  7. Martin Avatar

    Sorry about my harsh comment. I was frustrated because I liked the picture posted here, yet the portfolio site didn’t seem designed with the end user in mind, to say the least.

    When I clicked “01” for the first picture, I got a “loading” animation which completed in one second. Then nothing happened for four seconds, during which I assumed I had misinterpreted the interface and started clicking wildly on the writing on the site in the hope of finding a button. It turned out that I hadn’t misinterpreted it, the site just makes you wait for four extra seconds before showing each picture, and then adds another 7-8 second wait for an unnecessary transition.

    That kind of Flash sites, designed to show off animations and transitions rather than the content, used to be the standard about seven years ago and is one of the reasons that Flash still has a bad reputation. I wouldn’t have been so rude if the site had been designed by an obvious amateur, but in this case it was made by someone who has learned graphic design and flash programming while neglecting the basics. I look forward to the redesign.

    (BTW, I didn’t actually read Charley’s comment about the transition time before posting mine).

  8. Wow. I am amazed by how aggravating that website is. The designer/developer should be shot. Such a shame to frustrate the viewer from such great artwork.

  9. Gary Post Avatar
    Gary Post

    MARTIN! You’re gentleman, and Jeff said it perfect. People are missing out on some spectacular artwork over what amounts to a “glitch”. I’m suggesting we collectively contact Red Canoe and bring these blog entries to the proper attention(s). Peter confessed he’s a little nervous about how they could react if the postings were read from the wrong perspectives.
    I think Red Canoe owes Peter a little repair work under “warranty”.
    And Martin, I only ever appologize for something once. So pay attention; Please accept my apopologies for going “Tony Soprano” on your comments. No harm, no foul?
    G.P.

  10. Interesting string of communication here. I just hung up the phone with my brother who, at the moment, is rather frazzled preparing for what should be a spectaular opening in LA. I’m always proud to see Peter’s achievments and awards and can testify from personal experience that he is the most creative individual I’ve even known with a penchant for perfection. You may not know that he’s also used his very gifted hands to build incredible clay sculptures, guitars, boats, furniture, and all sorts of drop dead beautiful “things” from pretty much scrap with zero prior experience. I no longer laugh when he say’s he’s going to make a flying couch with a built in hot tub from rubber cement and tree bark next summer. It’s nice to see he has some fans besides those of us who know him personally.

  11. Brian Avatar

    Just would like to know what options are there for purchasing Mr. Sylvada’s art? I would like it to have a presence in our home.

  12. Contact his directly through his web site

  13. chris sylvada Avatar
    chris sylvada

    I’m Peters’ brother. He is currently living in Mexico creating an amazing and LARGE body of work for an opening next year in NY. I’d be happy to connect you with him if you have a serious interest.

    Best,
    Chris S