There is no favorite listings!

The Color Queen

Artist Concetta Antico sees the world in 100 million colors.

Concetta Antico sits down for lunch at a local cafe, after settling on smoked salmon and a strawberry salad. Before eating, she takes a moment to acknowledge the array of color in front of her: the blue-violet of the salmon, the thousands of reds bouncing around the strawberry and the light turquoise surrounding the seeds. “I promise you, I am not high!” she says, “I just truly see what I am looking at.”  

Super Vision Mutation  12 X 16

Persephones Peacock in the Garden of Paradise   8 X 36

Better known as “The Color Queen,” Antico sees pinks, blues and violets in the green grass, an array of colors glistening off the white snow, and hundreds upon hundreds of colors within a rainbow. And they’re not just a figment of her imagination: her rare, genetic gift of heightened sight allows her to see almost 100 million more colors than what meets the average human eye. 

In addition to being an artist, teacher, and color consultant, Antico is what scientists call a “tetrachromat,” meaning Antico’s eyes contain a rare genotype that provides a fourth receptor as opposed to the usual three, more common in women than men. With this, Antico’s tetrachromatic potential reaches up to 100 million colors, 10 times more than the average 1 million.

For now, Antico is the only authenticated tetrachromat artist on Earth, with 1,000 internationally acclaimed pieces of art and features in Reader’s Digest, Vogue, New York Magazine, and more.

Antico is originally from Australia, and was drawn toward art and color at a very young age. At age 8, her mother recognized her potential to become a famous artist, constantly showing support for Antico’s art. At age 16, she left home to cope with her mother’s passing, winding up in Los Angeles.

“I am a bit of an adventurer,” she says, “Sydney got too small for me. I was heading to work in Canada, I stopped in L.A., and it entranced me.”

Despite her hardships, she always kept her deep passion for art at the forefront of her life and career. Antico knew she was meant to paint professionally, and so she began teaching in San Diego, ultimately instructing 25,000 budding artists in oil painting.

Artist Concetta Antico works on a piece named Iridescent Eyes… Charlie The Peacock   18 X 36

“Oil painting makes you healthier, and if we surround ourselves with beauty and happy spirits, we will be in a constant state of color euphoria.”

While teaching, Antico would point out the colors she sees in everyday objects and receive mixed reactions from her students. She says, “My students would tell me, ‘We don’t see that color that you see!’ I’d be confused, but then I educated my students to see a little more color.”

It wasn’t until a buyer of Antico’s, who happened to be a scientist, realized Antico could be a tetrachromat. Then, she began to understand her ability to see millions of colors. “I always thought I was different and unique,” says Antico. “The way I do things, what compels me, the way I painted … I didn’t realize that I could see and create colors like a computer.”

In late 2012, Antico was evaluated both genetically and behaviorally by Jay Neitz, Ph.D., a world-renowned leader in color vision. She soon discovered she was in fact a tetrachromat, and possessed an incredible genetic gift that affects only 2 to 3 percent of the world’s population.

Who’s Your Genie   10 X 14

“It was just another part of the uniqueness of Concetta,” she says. “The gift is made up of my mother, her vision for me, how she put red and blue lights in the swimming pool to make lilac light, my high school that was big on art, my genetics, my brain, and my own passion, ambition and drive.”

Today, Antico wants to use her gift to make the world a better place, truly treasuring the world around her. In an interview with Stanford University, Antico said that, “enhanced color created enhanced joy.” She is constantly happy and joyful, happy to wake up and see trees and sun.

Reflecting Pool of Narcissistic Love-Vaucluse House-Sydney   30 X 36

“Oil painting makes you healthier, and if we surround ourselves with beauty and happy spirits, we will be in a constant state of color euphoria,” she says. “My gift makes me so excited to paint, look, share. Color has made me joyful, and has only enhanced my life. There are no disadvantages to beauty and color.”

Antico has a wide range of muses, as she aims to paint whatever captivates and moves her. Her paintings are divided into two categories: “earthly delights,” which encompasses everything on earth that she paints, and “otherworldly wonders,” which includes galaxies, magic and more. She often leans toward the ethereal subjects such as mystic skies and otherworldly galaxies. “Not people, though. We’re just not that attractive,” she jokes.

For those with normal sight, a place like a grocery store or a highway are simply as they seem. But for Antico, she is able to see past the veil and see further into the typical. “I’m captivated with the sky and trees beyond the freeway. I’m hyper-focused on beauty around me.” Sunsets, for example, are a religious experience for Antico, with the amount of splendor and color that they produce. “I am very blessed. I wake up every day and am so elated to see what I see and do what I do,” she says.

One of Antico’s main beliefs is that everyone has gifts, not just her, and that they should all be used to better our world. “Media can be dark, and we need light,” she says. “I want to use my platform for that. I have a place as ‘The Color Queen,’ and I feel that I can make people see their worlds differently.”

Conjuring Crystal Ball Colors    18 X 24

British artist Kerry Hallam captures the essence of luxury living in his bold, timeless paintings. Coastlines and nautical themes are present in many of Hallam’s works, invoking a tranquil mood pervasive in his depictions of shores, sunsets and wharfs.

Hallam, 81, has exclusively painted for Martin Lawrence Galleries — which is famous for its contemporary fine art exhibits that attract collectors to each of its nine locations nationwide — for more than 30 years. His works include acrylic paintings on canvas as well as on nautical charts, and hand-signed, limited edition graphics.

Earlier this year, Hallam presented two special exhibitions at Martin Lawrence’s La Jolla, California location. He participated in a meet-and-greet with art enthusiasts and collectors, encouraging them to relish life’s simple pleasures. Visitors embraced the opportunity to grow familiar with Hallam’s latest works and immerse themselves in the artist’s alluring paintings.

A lifelong traveler, Hallam draws inspiration from the aesthetics of St. Tropez, the French Riviera and the Amalfi Coast. While his acrylics on canvas showcase the raw beauty of coastlines around the globe, his nautical chart paintings offer a new perspective on sea-inspired artwork. By incorporating his inspiration into both the medium and the final product, Hallam sets himself apart from other nautical painters.

With bold, bright colors that captivate the observer, Hallam’s paintings are a refreshing take on what many artists would choose to keep muted and scaled back. Though his focus remains on the sea, Hallam includes vibrant vegetation and colorful man-made structures in his paintings of coastal scenes.

After receiving training from British master painters upon winning a six-year scholarship to London University’s Central College of Art, Hallam was also included in Britain’s Royal Society of Artists in Watercolor. The artist is also inspired by 19th-century French Post-Impressionists, as well as Cezanne and Van Gogh.

Hallam moved to the U.S. in 1973, and established his first studio in Boston. In 1981, he opened a studio and gallery on Nantucket Island — he has since lived in various places in the U.S., but made the decision to return to New England, where he currently resides.

Photos courtesy of Martin Lawrence Galleries. 



America’s Most Expensive Homes
Alabama Real Estate | Alaska Real Estate | Arizona Real Estate | Arkansas Real Estate | California Real Estate | Colorado Real Estate
 
Connecticut Real Estate | Delaware Real Estate | Florida Real Estate | Georgia Real Estate | Hawaii Real Estate | Idaho Real Estate
 
Illinois Real Estate | Indiana Real Estate | Iowa Real Estate | Kansas Real Estate | Kentucky Real Estate | Louisiana Real Estate
 
Maine Real Estate | Maryland Real Estate | Massachusetts Real Estate | Michigan Real Estate | Minnesota Real Estate | Mississippi Real Estate
 
Missouri Real Estate | Montana Real Estate | Nebraska Real Estate | Nevada Real Estate | New Hampshire Real Estate | New Jersey Real Estate
 
New Mexico Real Estate | New York Real Estate | North Carolina Real Estate | North Dakota Real Estate | Ohio Real Estate | Oklahoma Real Estate
 
Oregon Real Estate | Pennsylvania Real Estate | Rhode Island Real Estate | South Carolina Real Estate | South Dakota Real Estate | Tennessee Real Estate
 
Texas Real Estate | Utah Real Estate | Vermont Real Estate | Virginia Real Estate | Washington Real Estate | West Virginia Real Estate
 
Wisconsin Real Estate | Wyoming Real Estate

Style Selector
Select the layout
Choose the theme
Preset colors
No Preset
Select the pattern