"The Celebration," "The Face of Vernazza," "The View for Hannah," and "Canopy of Shade and Light"
For some people, a love for art can be traced back to a wing of a museum, or a classroom at school. For Harvey Rogosin, though, a love for art began in a studio apartment in Paramus. The apartment belonged to Rogosin’s cousin who was just beginning art school. At the age of 12, it was the place where Harvey became inspired to try painting.
“I smelled the oil paints, I saw the easel,” he says. The rest is history.
Currently, Rogosin is a realist artist living in East Brunswick, New Jersey. He uses pastels to create landscapes, seascapes, and cityscapes inspired by his surroundings.
After leaving the Paramus apartment, Harvey began using oil paints and sketching. Growing up in Brooklyn, he surrounded himself with art and learned to stretch canvases until his fingers were blistered. But eventually, he put his artwork on to hold to have children and study architecture at the New York Institute of Technology. About eight years ago, Rogosin revisited his artwork using pastels instead of oil paints.
“I see the depths of the tree,” he says “the colors, the shades.” He uses the pastels to build these colors and to achieve a style he calls “photo realism,” although he dreams of being an impressionist painter.
Rogosin’s work requires patience. Each piece requires about three weeks to complete. He works in his living room to music from the Allman Brothers and the Grateful Dead. Photographs inspire most of his pieces. “I always carry a camera with me,” he says.
He often pulls over while driving or cycling to take pictures. “Whatever I see that’s beautiful, why change it?” Rogosin says. He is not just inspired by his surroundings though. Rogosin also finds joy when others appreciate his work. Selling his piece entitled “Canopy of Shade and Light” was particularly gratifying.
The woman who purchased it sent him a letter saying she appreciated the work. “She was staring at it for about two hours,” Rogosin remembers. ”That was pretty cool.”
He hopes to have a similar feeling when he sells his other pieces. “I want to sell this because, I want to make someone really happy,” Harvey says. “That’s the ultimate for me.”
Harvey Rogosin can be reached by phone at 732-887-0189 or by email at Rogue1127@aol.com. His work can viewed online at www.harvey-rogosin.fineartamerica.com. He can also be found on the MCAC’s artist registry.
