I was born at the end of the 2nd World War, in Gioviano, Tuscany, a small village in the not too imposing mountains of Garfagnana.

My mother, a blond Tuscan girl, and my father, a dark, tall Sicilian man, moved to Sicily, when I was two years old.
We settled in Trapani, the western most city on the Island, an ancient port city, cited by Homer in his Odysseus.

I started drawing and painting at an early age encouraged by my architect dad, and his mother, my Sicilian “nonna”, a good impressionist landscape’s painter.
In Summer, we would go and visit my mother’s parents and relatives in Tuscany, and spend three months between Pisa and the beach close by, Marina di Pisa. My most loved memories of those summers are the mushroom hunting trips in the pine forests close by. I have always loved trees, the diverse shapes and the feeling they can express.
This somewhat “erratic” life at an early age was fundamental in noticing and appreciating Italian regional diversity. I was exposed to different landscapes, foods, dialects, and traditions. I loved both regions in equal measure, and found their differences intriguing and stimulating. I still do.

I came to Canada in my early 20, and now live in Vancouver, a wonderful city on the Pacific Ocean.  I have a Fine Arts degree but what is most fundamental in my artistic development is painting every day. I have been painting  for over 20 years.

What I paint most often are landscapes of Tuscany and Sicily and Italian tables laden with Fruit and Flowers.

I paint “alla prima” with fresh, buttery, oil paints, helped by photos, sketches, and most of all, memory. Every year in Spring or Fall I travel to Italy.

You can find me in the wheat fields of Salemi, or the pastures of Maremma, the vineyards of Chianti, the Orange groves near Palermo, a camera in one hand, a sketchbook close by….That’s when I am most at peace, where I am most happy.

 Thanks for your interest in my paintings. I hope you will enjoy looking at them. If you have any questions please drop me a line. I am always happy to hear from people who love my work and my country. 

Rita Monaco