Ronnie Levine
After painting in Central Park, at the South Street Seaport, and doing copies and gallery scenes in the Metropolitan Museum, I came up to the Rivertowns and fell in love with them. My art technique is traditional oil painting with an emphasis on color, light, and emotional nuance. I studied painting at a variety of places, including the Art Students League in New York City and the Art Institute of Boston. Artists of the past who’ve been significant influences include Hopper, Monet, Manet, Vermeer, and Sargent. Whenever possible I work outdoors, from life rather than from photographs, because I’ve studied the differences between images produced by hand versus those done by camera, and I want to paint as I see, unfiltered by a machine. I make exceptions for paintings that are going to be surprise gifts, or portraits of busy people, or winter scenes, and my experience at painting on location helps me keep those studio paintings lively. I believe seeing life become art satisfies something deep in the psyche of many people and helps draw us together. In addition to painting, my time doing copies in the Metropolitan Museum, combined with a friendship with a detective in Tarrytown whose family owns Main Street Sweets, gave me the education and inspiration to write an art mystery novel. The Ice Cream Shop Detective is set in Tarrytown and Dobbs Ferry, and tells the story of an artist who agrees to help investigate forgeries, never expecting she’ll be endangered by getting in the way of a murderer. It’s a light read, both amusing and educational.
1 Neperan Rd. Suite 201