Roselli When Richard Roselli emailed his biographical information to me, he included a short note at the end, “feel free to correct the grammar because I never did that well in English class; I was too busy drawing.”

For the time Richard spent honing his artistic skills at the expense of schoolwork, Pensacola area locals and art lovers of all kinds should be thankful. Much of his art is inspired by the natural and architectural landmarks of the area.

They are, however, not limited to those subjects.

“Although I started with icons of Pensacola, my subjects have grown to be varied,” Roselli said. “They include musical themes, dancers, architectural subjects, a portrait of my parents, still life's, and more.

“The only restriction is that I must have a real desire to bring the subject to life in paint. For me painting is easy, it is picking the subject to be painted that is the hard part.”

Roselli wasn’t always a professional artist.

“My first job was working for the Army at the 361st Civil Affairs Brigade right here in my home town of Pensacola.”

He would retire in 2003 with 21 years of military service.

But he rekindled his artistic fire along the way..

“In the mid 70's, on a whim and without any training, I decided to experiment by painting with oil on canvas. I painted for about one year, joined Quayside Art Gallery and remained a member for about a year.”

A full time job and raising a family would take precedence over his art and Roselli did not paint again until 1999.

“At that time I decided to try my hand at painting in watercolor. With that effort began my desire to paint the icons and vistas of my home town Pensacola. Among my first paintings were the famous Pensacola Beach Sign and the infamous 17th Avenue Graffiti Bridge.

“From those baby steps in watercolor came a series of other Pensacola subject. As they say, ‘Home is where the heart is.’”

Roselli’s art can be found in Pensacola at Blue Morning Gallery, Quayside Gallery, Angel’s Garden, Artistic Framing in Cordova Mall and at Geronimo’s Outpost on Pensacola Beach.

He also has a Web site where he displays his work: www.richardroselli.com.
“Palafox”