Lambertville Artist Honored By Phillips' Mill Committee

NEW HOPE, Pa. — “I paint places I see, people I meet, and immortalize them - to serve as a witness to their life and existence,” says Lambertville artist Luiz Vilela who has been named the 2022 Honored Artist of the 93rd Juried Art Show at Phillips' Mill. The show will take place September 24 through October 30, 2022.

Each year, the Phillips' Mill Art Committee honors an artist who has been a loyal participant in its historic, prestigious juried exhibitions over many years. A Bucks County resident since 2001, Luiz Vilela first submitted to the juried show in 2002.

Though not accepted, Vilela continued to submit and has since had multiple works featured at the Mill including a Mill portrait that was chosen as the "signature image" of the 84th Juried Show in 2013.

Last year's large painting, "Under Paris Skies," caught the eye of many who voted for Vilela to be interviewed on ArtTalk, Phillips' Mill's popular online series featuring conversations with artists. A work by Vilela will be featured for sale at the September show.

“Phillips’ Mill is a great organization, and the judges are always very good," says Vilela. "Just being accepted [in the show] is such an honor,” he says. “When I heard I was named the 2022 Honored Artist, I couldn’t believe it. To be recognized among artists like Robert Beck. I went to the moon, I was so flattered.”

Charming and outgoing, Vilela is well-established as a realist who paints primarily in oil but is also well-versed in watercolor, charcoal, pastel, and pencil on paper. He finds beauty all around him –– in his native Brazil where he grew up on his family's coffee plantation, in Europe, on the Cape, and here in Bucks County where he is widely recognized for his local landscapes and river towns scenes, particularly local landmarks like the Boat House in Lambertville.

Fascinated by art from a young age, his artistic journey has run what he describes as a "zig zag" route – a BA in Architecture and Urbanism from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, graphic design and book illustration, set design for Hélio Eichbauer who encouraged him to move to New York City where he studied at Pratt Institute, worked at Golden Books and Random House, and where he took figurative painting classes at the Art Students League.

In 2002, he began showing his artwork professionally; 10 years later he left Random House to become the full-time artist he is today, continuing his studies and developing his classic style reminiscent of Renaissance masters.

Vilela says he's learned from the finest artists, not only living but also from the past including the Pennsylvania Impressionist and landscape painter Daniel Garber, one of the masters he most admires. He also believes timing plays an integral factor in enabling him to advance his art within the community and beyond.

He has won many awards including Best in Shows, has exhibited widely including several solo exhibitions, and his work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Bahia, Brazil. He is a member of the Portrait Society of America, Oil Painters of America, The Salmagundi Club in New York and Artsbridge in Stockton. A Shadfest favorite, his posters have won him awards since 2002 including four Best in Shows and several Best Humorous awards.

Luiz Vilela's stunning artwork swiftly sweeps the viewer into the scene with its truthful rendering. Portrait or landscape, the viewer knows the artist has studied the subject and infused it with his own vision and voice. “I am just an artist trying to share the beauty I see every day, the beautiful places I've been to and translated onto the canvas, and the lovely people I've met in my life," says Vilela. "Beauty is everywhere. I am grateful to be able to share it.”

As for being named the 2022 Honored Artist, Vilela says, "I feel like I am in a ‘eureka’ moment. I have arrived where I have always wanted to be.”