If there’s one thing I’ve learned writing for OC, it’s that the truly talented are able to create breathtaking art out of literally anything, even ordinary stuff like packing tape or sprinkles. So when I read about wine art, I decided to look up the artists who work with the drinkable medium. After doing a little snooping around, we discovered these five amazing artists, who create the most beautiful wine paintings.
Christina LoCascio
What would a person with a Fine Arts degree and a career in the wine industry do? Why, paint with wine, of course! And that’s exactly what Christina LoCascio has been doing since 2002. She is credited with the development of a new technique using wine as her palette, making use of different grape varieties. Several paintings in Christina’s portfolio reflect a wine narrative – there are vineyards, grapes and wine bottle portraits. She also uses subjects to portray the emotional experience of enjoying a glass of wine. Her art has a very classy, elegant feel to it.
Photos: Christina LoCascio
Nelva Richardson
Nelva Richardson started out as a medical illustrator, spending over 30 years in the profession. When the latest graphics technology began to invade the field of medical illustration, she realized that she missed traditional art, creating strokes on canvas with a brush. It was on a whim that she began to paint with wine, while on vacation in Italy. Initially she made thank-you cards for her friends, but soon moved on to more serious paintings and portraits. Today her wine paintings are on display and for sale in wineries of Napa and Sonoma valleys.
Photos: Nelva Richardson
Philippe Dufrenoy
The 56-year-old began his tryst with art and wine rather late in life, but he’s more than made up for it. When the engineer from Bordeaux lost his job, he was disillusioned, not knowing what to do with his life. While he sat at a café contemplating his future, he idly dipped a brush in his glass of red wine and drew a garnet sketch. There was no looking back after that. Philippe Dufrenoy is known to paint with only very strong, young wine, as older ones tend to fade quickly. He uses wine from Bordeaux or California, and the colors used range from garnet to cranberry. His wine paintings usually depict several chateaux and vintners in Bordeaux.
Photos: Philippe Dufrenoy
Elisabeth Seguin
75-year-old Elisabeth Seguin has been painting with wine for the past 10 years now. The former home economics teacher has developed a pretty unique method – she places the deposit left by the wine at the bottom of the bottle in a small cup, and allows it to dry in the sun, until a film is formed. This is the color she then uses in her paintings. Even her stroke technique is different. “When I paint, I dip my brush in the wine and I dab,” she says.
Photos: Elisabeth Seguin
Elisabetta Rogai
We’ve already featured this Florentine artist here on OC. The remarkable painter stuck on to her chosen form of wine art, despite the difficulties of using alcohol as paint. After a lot of research and experiments, she was finally able to perfect a system of natural color fixating based on flour and water. So the colors don’t change, and the painting doesn’t fade away with time. If you want to learn more about Elisabetta Rogai‘s remarkable wine paintings, check out our previous article on her.
Photos: Elisabetta Rogai
I don’t know about you, but all this talk of wine has made me quite thirsty for a glass of delicious wine!
