It’s always exciting to discover a fresh new painter to hit the Hamptons art scene. KDHamptons recently fell in love with the work of Holly Lombardo, who ironically tells us, “I’ve been a painter my whole life, I just didn’t know it.”  As a trained scientist with a Master’s in Cell Biology, art was always an admiration of Holly’s, but a distant aspiration.  Preferring a self-taught method as well as priding herself as a life-long-learner, Lombardo studied paintings and techniques on-line.   Moving from exclusively working in watercolors for 15 years to bold, buttery acrylics, where she found “a new sense of purpose and freedom of expression,” Holly thoughtfully layers colors and takes advantage of negative space in a uniquely compelling way. Learn more about Lombardo in this NEW KDHamptons Featured Artist Diary, below:

“I love to showcase beautiful blue skies between colorful autumn leaves, fading horizons behind forests of trees, and capturing the shadows and light play on snow, dunes, and ocean waves.” It’s a stone cold lock that Lombardo is destined to paint the landscapes and seascapes of the East End.  “The art I create is representative of the natural world in which I spent my childhood growing up in Maine.  The rocky shoreline, the endless rows of trees in the woods, and the scent of the salt-spray inspires my work and passion for color.”

KDHamptons: How does nature inspire your work?

Holly Lombardo: My work is inspired by nature’s color palette and an urgency to capture colors I see.  I look for and see color in everything like the pinks and peaches in the clouds above a setting sun, the blues and purples in the shadows on snow and sand dunes, the vivid fall colors against a clear cobalt blue sky and the deep greens and blues of the Atlantic Ocean.  For each colorful detail I notice, I am always mentally thinking about the colors I would mix to achieve it.

KDHamptons: Do you paint en plein air? How long does each painting take you?

Holly: I am not a plein air painter because the acrylic medium that I paint with dries quickly and I prefer not to be rushed by a changing light.  I also paint at home in my studio and I like to have many paintings progressing in various stages.  I do most of my painting on the weekends, vacations and evenings.  I take as many of my own reference photographs as I can.   It may seem counter-intuitive, but my best paintings are often my quickest completed, and I can sometimes paint a larger 30×40 canvas faster than a smaller 18×36.  It comes down to prioritizing shapes, colors and details.  I still paint with a sense of “gratefulness” for each one I complete that meets my standards — I am tough on myself, but there is nothing more gratifying than signing my name on a completed piece that has achieved the color and composed harmony I was working towards.  I’m often asked how I know when a painting is done.   It’s just that- a satisfaction that I captured the details I like and the colors and proportions are correct.

KDHamptons: What are the approximate sizes of your paintings?

Holly: Over the last 10 years, my paintings have grown in size.   My largest single canvas pieces are 40″x 60″, and the smallest can be 6×6.   I am really drawn to longer proportioned sizes (18″x 36″, 24″x 48″) as well as large square sizes (30″x 30″, 36″x 36″).   I am excited to paint on some recently purchased 48″x 60″ canvases, and the largest multi-paneled commission I painted was a triptych that measured 10 feet in length and 40″ in height.

KDHamptons: You will be painting and hopefully exhibiting in the Hamptons this summer. Why did you choose to create a Hamptons series?

Holly: I aspire to paint a Hamptons based series because the coast of the East End is a natural extension of the New England and Nantucket coastline I am so familiar with, yet it is excitingly different in its sand, trees and sunsets.  This provides a new set of colors and textures for me to capture.  My interest is particularly centered on the long south-facing shoreline and I look forward to painting at Gibson Beach in Sagaponack, the Napeague Dunes in Amagansett, and the freshwater marshes of Mashomack Preserve on Shelter Island.

KDHamptons: Is there a Hamptons gallery you would like to show at?

Holly: I am drawn to the bold artwork I have seen presented in the Peter Marcelle Project, as well as that displayed in the Birnam Wood gallery.  These galleries show exciting and expressive pieces and I’m hopeful that one of them would like to represent me as I build my body of work in the Hamptons.

KDHamptons: Where can our readers see more of your current work?

Holly: My work is displayed HERE, and I am currently represented in New England by the J. Todd Galleries in Wellesley and Chatham, Massachusetts, the Wright Gallery in Cape Porpoise, Kennebunkport Maine.  I have also recently begun a collaboration with Interior Designer/Art Consultant Wizzie Broach of Norfolk, Virginia.  Also, follow me on Instagram @hlombardoartist