McTara Gallery - Pro

Tony Pro was born in Northridge, CA in 1973. He grew up in Southern California around artists such as his father, Julio (1929- ), who was an up and coming artist in the southwest art community. Being the youngest of 4 children, Pro was taken all around the country to some of the countries biggest art shows where he met legends like Jim Bama and Frank McCarthy. As a child, he also visited many studios of famous deceased artists such as E. Irving Couse and Nicolai Fechin.

Pro received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Graphic Design from California State University, Northridge and at the same time attended California Art Institute where he studied with famed illustrator, Glenn Orbik. There he learned the value of academic figure and head drawing and how to apply strict study principles to his craft and, largely, trained himself to paint. Pro, also, has painted in the tutelage of contemporary greats like that of Richard Schmid and Morgan Weistling.

Pro's influences are the likes of John Singer Sargent, Anders Zorn, Joaquin Sorolla and Philip Alexius de Laszlo. The French Naturalist artists like Emille Friant, Dagnan Bouveret and Jules-Bastien Lepage also play a large influence in Pro's style of painting.

In 2005, Pro was awarded the highly coveted Best of Show award at the 14th Annual Oil Painters of America Show, given by juror, Daniel Gerhartz. That year Pro, also, was one of the TOP 10 finalists of the Portrait Society of America Show in Washington D.C.

In September of 2005, Pro’s painting Mothers Love was featured on the cover of Southwest Art Magazine, as well as a feature article. Currently, he lives in Westlake Village with his wife, Elizabeth and 2 children, Ian and William.

CRACKERJACK is my old friend JW who sits for me regularly. My vision on this painting was to paint a portrait of a mountain man in the lighting style of Rembrandt and Raeburn. I like to play with strong sidelights and interesting gradations of light in the background.

REMEMBERING is a painting that tells the story of a young Japanese woman who's grandfather was interned at Manzanar Internment Camp during World War 2. The Japanese from Southern California were all transported to an encampment in the Eastern Sierras during World War 2. I travel past this, now National Park, every year when I spend vacations in the mountains of the Eastern Sierra Mountains. The Japanese culture has always fascinated me and I love to tell the stories of their beauty and their sadness.

JUNIPERO'S CHAIR is a painting about solitude in a Mission of California. Junipero Serra was a Franciscan Monk that founded all the missions of California. This particular chair is from San Fernando Mission in Northern Los Angeles. I enjoy visiting the Missions as they are place of peace and history.

STUDY OF A MONK is a painting that I did while I was concepting a painting of St. Benedict. As a Catholic, I like to paint religious subject matter as I am inspired by the Faith. Monks in particular live a life of solitude and make the ultimate sacrifice, to live life in devotion to God. I have to respect anyone that gives up their own lives so that they spend it praying for others... Other sinners like myself. My way of showing respect to these individuals that spend their lives praying for transgressors, I do what I know best, paint their portraits. Talent on loan from God should be used wisely and for His Glory, because it can be taken away so easily.