Lewis Isaac Testa Pastel Demonstration at the Art League of Nassau County

Lewis Isaac Testa, a Massapequa pastel artist, delighted the audience at the Art League of Nassau County at their April meeting, as he drew a landscape.

Testa worked from a photo that he had taken. The thrust of the demo was working with pastels in a subdued chroma on a cloudy day. He emphasized being careful not to fill in the tooth of the pastel paper too soon, so as to allow a number of layers of pastel.

"Lewis was engaging as well as talented. The audience was rapt in attention through the whole demonstration. He frequently turned and spoke to the audience about what he was doing. He spoke also about his recovery from a stroke and how it changed him from a strict photo realist into a more impressionistic artist. It freed him, allowed him to enjoy his art and express himself," ALNC president, Timothy Savage said.

Testa was born in 1945 in Portland, Maine and grew up in NYC. In the 1960s, he trained at the Art Students League with Robert E. Shultz, Robert Beverly Hale and John Howard Sanden. Shultz was a fine art illustrator for TV Guide and studied with great artists himself. He was a big influence with Testa.

"Shultz was not critical at all. He approached you with the idea of how to improve your painting," Testa said. "Hale was a world-renowned anatomist and Sanden was a world-renowned portrait painter. I worked there eight hours a day for four years" and was awarded the Arts Students League Merit Scholarship for three of those years.

Testa was a graphic artist with Edward Fields, Inc. for twenty- three years, which was a high-end rug design company. His last project with them was to help design the Oval Room rug in the White House.

"It was a great honor and opportunity as I was able to meet the First Lady," Testa remarked.

Currently, Testa sells his paintings and prints. He teaches pastels at the South Queens Boys and Girls Club. Please visit www.lewistesta.com.

The ALNC, formed in 1925, has four goals for its members: To exhibit their art in public, have workshops, to give artists an opportunity to join together in fellowship and to host monthly demonstrations by our area’s top fine artists in various mediums. It meets at the Clinton G. Martin Recreation Center, located at 1601 Marcus Avenue, at the corner of Marcus and New Hyde Park Road near Union Turnpike. The next meeting will be May 25th, with a demonstration by Mario Tucci and all residents are invited. Refreshments provided.  Please visit www.ArtLeagueofNC.org for more information.