Meet Dan's Papers Cover Artist Patty Moramarco-Cerrato
Patty Moramarco-Cerrato worked as a commercial artist for many years before adopting her daughter and, lucky for us, turning to other work, including fine art. We recently reached out to Moramarco-Cerrato to discuss both of those lives.
Can you talk about your inspiration for this piece?
The inspiration for this piece is simple: Mother Nature—the ocean and all its beauty.
Your cover for Dan’s last year also featured water. Are you drawn specifically to water? Or is this just a coincidence?
I love painting water scenes. Water is always moving, the scenery is always changing. If you sit at the beach in the same spot every day, it will look different from day to day. This painting is of Westhampton Beach, but it could be any beach on Long Island. I loved hearing where people thought last year’s cover was. Everyone had a place in mind and thought this was their favorite spot.
Do you paint en plein air?
I’m not a plein air painter. I work in my studio, which gives me time to work on a painting for either a few hours or a few days. Most times when I’m out and about I have my camera with me. It gives me the opportunity to catch special moments for reference in my paintings.
Is there one place on the East End you go for inspiration?
There’s not one special place. The beauty is everywhere. I just capture the moment.
Can you talk about the difference between working in commercial art and fine art?
Commercial art has much research put into in every project. There are deadlines to meet and many people are involved in the creative process. When working in the film industry, several studios can be competing for the design of the same film poster, for example. While freelancing in the film industry I worked on a film called They All Laughed. I worked on this film at three different studios, two in New York and one in L.A. The perspective on how many people are involved and how many concepts are created for the same film truly set into me. With fine art, I choose what I want to paint and I work on my timeline. When painting, I’m totally absorbed in what I’m doing, it takes me to another place.
In that capacity did you work on anything our readers may have seen?
I designed many logos, including the logo for Cat Island in the Bahamas. During Operation Desert Storm, I designed shirts for the American Red Cross. Most recently I designed the shirts for the Cedar Beach Blues Festival and the Blues on the Bay Music Festival.
Is there one piece of advice you received from another artist that has always stuck with you?
I’ve been involved in art most of my life one way or another. I gave up painting for nearly 20 years creating a void in my life. My friend and artist Frank Latorre knew I needed to start painting again. As a friend, he was very stern with me and gave me the best advice: “Just pick up the freaking brush and paint!” And I did and began painting again.
Where can we see more of your work?
I’ll be having a one-woman exhibit called “The Wonder of Life” for the month of May in the Northport Library Art Gallery. You can also view some of my work online at patty-moramarco.pixels.com.