50 Artists: 50 Years of Art in Springfield: Peter Gherardi: Creating art on computer and film to inspire people to change

Writer's Notes: As I mentioned last week, I interviewed the Gherardi's -- Christine and Peter -- together in their home. I enjoyed talking with them about their art and their work as artists who use very different media to create images.

Peter is studying at LCC to be a filmmaker and enjoys producing creative graphic art on his computer. While I was interviewing his mother, he created a ghostly image of me (to give me an idea of how he creates his art). He didn't have time to complete it or I would have shared it. The image you see here is titled "Inferno" (aptly named, don't you think?).

Christine shared a watercolor Peter had done for her at a very early age. She had been doing a painting and decided to share some paint with him and he created an "I luv you, mom" watercolor for her.

During my visit, Peter shared his short film titled "Death Blossom" with me -- a final project for one of his LCC classes. More details about my viewing of the film are included in the newspaper story below.

Peter loves stories and storytelling -- both great qualities of successful filmmakers. I shared that my youngest son (now 33 years old) graduated from the LCC program and now lives in Santa Monica where he is working on film and video projects as an independent producer. It's a tough business to get into but there are many projects to work on, especially now with all the video production needed to fill the internet "tubes" with content.

As a young man with clarity about what he loves to do and a vision for a better world, Peter Gherardi is on his way to building (filming!) his "field of dreams". I wish him well on his journey!

More images of Peter Gherardi's art follow the newspaper story.

(Note that clicking on the photos anywhere on "this blog will enlarge the art image for better viewing).

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Featured in the Springfield Beacon (August 29, 2007)

50 Artists: 50 Years of Art in Springfield
Celebrating arts and culture in our community

By Todd Peterson
For The Beacon

Peter Gherardi
Creating art on computer and film to inspire people to change

Peter Gherardi is a young man with a desire to use his art to make the world a better place. He draws art images on computer and creates short films to get people to look at life from a different lens.

With a love for stories and role playing, Peter wants to be a professional filmmaker. One of his films, "Death Blossom" was shown at the DIVA festival of short films. He also created "City of Dreams", a short art film in which he went around to every wall of art in town, filmed it, then edited it to music.

"Death Blossom" is a dramatic story of a young man sitting in a graveyard who hears voices coming from a gravestone. Near the end of Peter's film, there is a moment in which an older man appears on screen, making the viewer wonder who is alive (and who is really under the gravestone!).

On his myspace page, Peter notes that he's working on a new film he calls "Conservative Ninjas". He says it is "my first feature film that I am directing, which is an action comedy satire spoof about a college student and his friend being in the crossfire of a turf war between anarchists and invading conservative ninjas. It goes towards being liberal, but it has jokes on every side that try to balance it out for everyone to like."

Peter also enjoys creating fantasy characters with computer graphics -- ghostly images that appear out of the blackness in bright flaming colors. He also uses his computer drawing skills to create colorful landscapes and images of people.

In a description of himself, Peter shows his own character: "Two men fall. I am the one that gets right back up! I go by the idea that there is a time and a place for success on my projects." No doubt, Peter Gherardi will find his way as an artist and do his part to change the world for the better.

In his own words:

Inspiration To Begin: "I watched my mom do her art work and she inspired me to begin. At the age of three, I was scribbling with a pencil and drew what looked like mutant ninja turtles."

Important Mentors: "My mom has been my most important mentor. I like many artists -- Picasso, Da Vinci, Michelangelo. And I like both Andy Warhol and Norman Rockwell. In film directing and producing, Steven Spielberg and Michael Moore inspire me."

Value of Art in Life: "My art is like writing a journal. It releases emotions and relieves stress in my life."

His Artist's Legacy: "I hope my art and films will have a positive impact, inspiring people to change the world for the better."

For more information about Peter Gherardi and to see additional images of his art, visit the blog: www.emeraldartcenter.blogspot.com and the art center's website: www.emeraldartcenter.org.

"Dream Realm" by Peter Gherardi

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About The Artist

Birthplace: Las Vegas, Nevada

Arts Education: Lane Community College (studying multimedia design and production)

Media of Choice: Pencil and computer graphics

Favorite Place to Do Art: At home on his computer

Favorite Subjects To Paint: People, fantasy characters, landscapes

Arts Organizations: Emerald Empire Arts Association

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All art images and photos of the art are copyright of the artist.