Bio
Biography
I grew up surrounded by paintings, lots of them, hanging on almost every wall in our home. My parents, Maria and Stefan, a physicist and a chemist, had a love for the arts, and made sure I would get a broad artistic education. I have received formal education in music (classical violin) and visual arts since the age of six, being exposed mostly to the classical masters' work. When my sister Corina went to architecture school, she taught me perspective, 3D drawing, and other architectural design elements, and all these together provided a solid foundation to my artistic development.
As a rebellious teen, no longer in a formal art education environment, I was attracted by Surrealism and Pop Art, and did mostly drawings... until I moved to Spring Hill, Florida. Spring Hill is next to Aripeka where the world renowned artist James Rosenquist has his studio. James Rosenquist is one of the founders of the American Pop Art movement in the early sixties.
I joined Mary Petricone's art studio in order to develop new skills in drawing, pastel, watercolor, and acrylics. Mary, a passionate and supportive art teacher, introduced me later to Tony Caparello, who was James Rosenquist's painter and studio assistant from 1988 to 1998. Tony was one of the finest photorealists we ever had, and I have been privileged to study with him oil painting and photorealism. He was not just a great teacher, he was also a mentor for me and a dear friend.
For the past few years I've got involved in a great rock music project, Menrva Realm, writing music with musician and songwriter Rodney Thomas for the epic album "Angels", and designing and completing all the artwork. We recorded the album at Morrisound with famous Broadway and TSO singer Rob Evan and multiplatinum producer Tom Morris. It brings together modern rock and classical strings, with outstanding vocals and inspiring lyrics. Other studio work as a recording artist: lead guitar on the intro on "Winter Haven" from "Festival" by Jon Oliva's Pain, and lead guitar on "Soul Chaser" and "The Witch" from "Raise the Curtain" by Oliva. The music complements my paintings and my artwork in general, creating a world of thought-provoking meanings, which explores my inner-side dramatic struggle.
In 2013 I entered for the first time art competitions and I was selected as a finalist in The Artist's Magazine's 30th Annual Art Competition. It is a great honor since there were over 6,000 entries. Encouraged by the positive feedback from these competitions and from other artists and art critics, I decided to take my visual artwork public.
Several art projects are currently in works.
Laurian Mohai, Nov 2013