Romel de la Torre | Philippine

Romel de la Torre | Philippine
Born in Cebu City, Philippines in a community of artists, Romel de la Torre's artistic interest started at a very young age. With the encouragement of his parents he began sketching the world around him. He started getting awards and recognition from school competitions and at age 10 appeared on TV after receiving a medal for his painting. In the late 70's Romel and his family migrated to the United States where he began going to museums studying and learning on his own; works of famous artists like Sargent, Sorolla, Fechin, Mucha, and the American Impressionists. The exposure to these masters' paintings laid a strong foundation to his belief of what great art is. He attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago, where he was awarded the President's Foundation Award and the Union League Scholarship Award. After graduating with a fine arts concentration, Romel continued to paint in the Chicago area and joined The Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Arts, where he began painting with nationally renowned artist Richard Schmid and a community of other painters. It was a turning point of his creative and artistic career. "My painting is the world, channeled through my eyes, through the prism of my own feeling, emotions and preferences. It is a unity of the visual world and the internal, abstraction and realism..." the artist's says. A consummate artist in all media, Romel de la Torre is one of today's most highly regarded artists. His figures, landscape, portraits, and still life paintings display unparalleled technical skill, fluid style, and th