Carmelo Schifano

Carmelo Schifano is bringing WATERCOLOR THE TERYY MADDEN WAY to our league. Every Friday evening for 8 weeks he's bringing watercolor to those who have wanted to paint but didn't know how or where to begin. Accomplished artists are also benefitting from his class.

Carmelo is new to the art league but certainly is not new to the art world. He taught all forms of art in the Chicago Public School system for 30 years. He now folunteers at a Chicago parochial school in the inner city. He knows that introducing the magic of art to disadvantaged children is a way of opening up the world for them. He has also been teaching the Terry Madden method for years now and has had the satisfaction of seeing students find their talent.

He's been drawing almost as long as he can remember. Wehn he was about six years old his father showed him how to draw a bird. He could do it too. It was magic! After that, art in all its aspects dominated his life. He was born in Sicily and spoke only Italian at home. Going to school is hard when you can't speak the language. His ability to draw made the difference. He helped both students and teachers in all kinds of art projects. In hight school he majored in wood working and architectural drawing and realized that he had an innate ability to understand perspective and scale.

He joined the marines after graduation, thinking that would go to Vietnam. But he ended up as an illustrator in a graphics arts studio, doing everything from free style drawing, drafting designs, charts, andor anything else the officers asked for. He even created a dozen 4 by 8 oil paintings for the walls of a mess hall. He couldnt find a job in the art world after leaving the marines. so he ended up hanging dry wall inside Chicago sk;yscrapers for 5 years. Eventually he went to Chicago State University on the GI bil and became a teacher.

He hadn't wanted to teach but found tremendous satisfaction doint it. Interacting with kids, letting them find their way within the disciplines of art, encouraging them to experiment came naturally to him. He was born to teac. All along he continued to develop his own talents. He carved wid birds and entered word class competitions, studied, under various teachers and experimented with many forms of water color.