A local draftsman, and longtime drummer, has turned his creative energies into intricate watercolors that will be showcased at the next opening at the Alchemy of Art Gallery with a public reception next Wednesday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
William Grillo, who grew up in a family full of architects and engineers, has always loved drawing, having inherited the "family obsession with all things architectural."
Grillo, who became an artist member of the Rockport Art Association in 2010, began his foray into watercolor in 2002.
Matthew Rose, general manager of Alchemy, said the artist's work is both colorful and eye-catching with a welcoming, mood-evoking a sense of place. Those images include the historic architecture of Gloucester's Main Street as well as other local structures and landscapes.
Grillo also creates home portraits, a natural outgrowth of his work weaving together draftsmanship and watercolor. He is used to taking blue prints, photographs and floor plans and transforming them into black and white drawings with a detailed perspective. He often worked for architects or illustrators.
Grillo said he creates his works on a drafting table, not an easel.
"My images are layers and layers of washes," said Grillo, who moved to Rockport a decade ago. "I often tell people that when I played drums, I felt like I was painting,"
The Brooklyn-born Grillo, who grew up on Long Island, studied art in high school although he opted then to focus on music. He traveled and performed in Europe and continued to work as a drummer in New York City and the Hamptons for 30 years. But he always kept his work doing architectural rendering for several artists and architects in the area.
When he first moved to Cape Ann in 2001, Grillo began by taking watercolor classes with Bernie Gerstner at the Rockport Art Association.
"He taught me how to mix colors," said Grillo, who r worked with Jack Jones of Danvers and Frank Costantino through the Boston Society of Architects.
Grillo has shown his work at the Lone Gull Coffeehouse on several occasions, Cape Ann Coffees and has contributed to the Rockport Art Association's contributing members art show. He exhibited works with the Peabody Art Association in 2006, and was the featured artist at Sawyer Free Library in Gloucester in June 2007.
The Alchemy of Art Gallery is at 3 Duncan St. in Gloucester. All the works are for sale and some proceeds go the Gloucester Education Foundation for arts programs in the city's public schools.
Grillo's work can be viewed at www.williamgrillo.org.
Gail McCarthy may be contacted at 978-283-7000 x3445 or gmccarthy@gloucestertimes.com.
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