Framed acrylic "Dos Amigos" by Dave De Matteo. Dimensions (Image) 10″H x 15″W; (Frame) 21.5″H x 26.5″W x 1.5"D About Dave DeMatteo With a warm glint in his eye and a smile that radiates his love of life, Dave DeMatteo, is at home with his craft. Born in San Francisco, Dave’s family made a move to Santa Barbara six years later, establishing a life long love for the Central Coast. The genesis of Dave’s love of art began about age nine as he attempted to copy the Tarzan images of Burne Hogarth. When he had finally mastered the illusion of three dimensions through shading and values a whole new world opened for him. A brief career in jewelry design, and a friendship with a design director eventually lead to evening art classes with Alice Randolph who introduced him to oils. Then an eight-year contribution in the commercial art field developed the path to fine art becoming his ultimate career of more than 30 years. A move in 1977 to the tranquil Santa Ynez Valley inspired the creation of Dave’s sweeping valley vistas. Intensifying and diminishing light to a delicate balance, DeMatteo captures the essence of the Santa Ynez Valley’s many moods, hues and patterns dictated by the seasons and the time of day. He believes the strong contrasting values within a painting coupled with illuminating light create “a vibrancy of life’s flowing realism”. Dave constantly studies nature for His secrets of light and gratefully enjoys the lessons He has to teach him. With his combination of technique, composition, and harmony of color, he works toward creating art through which the viewer can “feel or experience” the living beauty of his settings. DeMatteo’s paintings, while beautiful and moving, reflect the inner integrity, and fine character and talent of the artist.