Portraiture Blog
The Pollyanna Principle
I've been singing, acting, writing and painting for many years, thinking I was bringing something to these disciplines, something valuable, something of beauty. It is humbling, to say the least, when we inevitably encounter those moments which awaken us from the...
The Faceless Hordes
This is an excerpt from Quench, available soon! Through The Quench Project I simply want to give a face to the faceless hordes. When seen as a wash of humanity it is easy to lose sight of the individuals comprising the whole. My goal in coming here was not to document...
Equestrian Challenge
Last week I did an artist-in-residence at the Anndell Inn, in Freshfields on Kiawah Island, as part of the Charleston Summer Classic Equestrian Festival. The residency was sponsored by the Mary Martin Gallery, who has a magnificent satellite gallery at Anndell Inn. It...
Drawing from Memory
“I think it is all a matter of love; the more you love a memory the stronger and stranger it becomes” ― Vladimir Nabokov I've always thought there were basically two approaches to making art. There are those of us who derive inspiration from direct observation and...
Quench Project – Great Things!
I am happy to report I just sold my first Quench Project painting, called “Out of the Darkness” to a wonderful collector in Nashville, Tennessee. I have 5 more available and am working hard on getting them seen and bringing awareness to the needs in Haiti. I have...
Leaves Through the Trees
When an artist paints a tree or a flower, we are not painting individual leaves or pedals, floating aimlessly in the universe of our painting. They are attached; they are connected to something larger. They are dependent on the tree or the flower, that is planted in...
Art with A Social Conscience
If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. JFK Some believe art's sole purpose is to decorate. Others believe art is a conversation with one's self that is really a...
This One – Little Girl in Queen Anne’s Lace
This One - Little Girl in Queen Anne's Lace (22x28"), oil on linen, is my most recent commission. This portrait of Charlotte completes her family's series of four portraits, capturing each child at about two and a half years old. This was created using several family...
Quench Project Artist Talk
PRESS RELEASE February 23, 2015 The Quench Project Artist Talk with Robert Maniscalco Where: Gage Hall - Unitarian Church in Charleston, 4 Archdale Street, Charleston, SC 29401 When: Sunday, March 1, 2015 at 10:00 am More info soon at Unitarian Church Website or call...
Joe Maniscalco Retrospective at The Scarab Club of Detroit
PRESS RELEASE The Maniscalco Legacy - Joseph Maniscalco Retrospective Exhibition Dates: Friday, April 3rd through Saturday, May 16th, 2015 Where: Scarab Club 217 Farnsworth, Detroit MI 48202 Reception: Friday, April 3rd 5-8 pm Gallery Talk: 6:30 pm on April 3rd....









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The figures in "A Walk in the Park" are the inner cast you carry everywhere—the fool who leaps, the doubter who drags his feet, the dreamer who stares past the horizon, the judge with crossed arms, the child who still believes. They bicker, whisper, revolt and reconcile, but together they make the one you call “I.” We are all onstage at once, caught in the thin light between meaning and emptiness—a reminder that your chaos is not a flaw, but the chorus through which your true voice finally emerges. ... See MoreSee Less
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted."Identity and Self"
Opening Reception and Exhibition at
Park Circle Art Gallery
4820 Jenkins Ave.
North Charleston, SC 29405
The Exhibition runs through April 26
Gallery Hours: W-F 10:30-5:30, Sat 12-4
The collection will center on how identity interferes with our true self, our true freedom, which is a central value for an artist, as well as any self-actualized individual. For instance, when I draw my idea of a thing, rather than opening myself up to the full potential contained in the thing itself, I am limiting my creative potential.
So, who are we at our core, after we strip away the names we call ourselves, the parties with whom we affiliate, the causes for which we are fighting? After all, these are all inventions of the ego, which separate us from God and the infinite. Existence consists of light on form. Light is my medium as an artist. I am a painter of the self. I am looking always for something deeper than the surface representations in my subjects. It is the true self I am looking for when I paint, whether it is an orange, a sky or a judge. ... See MoreSee Less
“The Fantasy” oil on canvas 36" x 48", invites you into that lucid dream space where imagination feels more vivid than reality. In this oil painting, a solitary figure drifts through a dreamlike landscape of softened edges and impossible light. But the story is not fixed—you’re handed a doorway.
This piece lives in the uncertainty between escape and awakening. At first glance, it feels like a beautiful dream: rich color, fluid forms, and a sense of effortless drift. But stay with it, and you begin to notice the undercurrent—a quiet question about what we run toward, and what we’re trying to leave behind.
For the thoughtful collector, “The Fantasy” becomes a mirror for their own inner world. It speaks to anyone who has ever built a private refuge in their mind: the daydreamer, the creative, the survivor, the seeker who knows that fantasies can be both sanctuary and trap. The painting doesn’t judge that impulse; it honors it, and gently asks what new possibilities might emerge when we begin to bring those inner visions into the light of our real lives.
Hung in a living room, bedroom, or reading space, “The Fantasy” doesn’t just decorate a wall—it opens a conversation. With its layered symbolism and emotional depth, it’s the kind of work people return to, again and again, discovering new details and meanings as their own story evolves. ... See MoreSee Less
"Three Little Buds" is a framed #oilpainting looking for a new home. “Three Little Buds” captures a tender moment of becoming: three rosebuds held in that brief, luminous stage before they open. The dew on their petals hints at fresh beginnings and quiet resilience after the rain. This piece speaks to anyone who feels on the edge of a new chapter—honoring both the vulnerability and the promise of what is about to bloom.
“Three Little Buds" is about beginnings and the quiet power of what hasn’t fully unfolded yet. I painted them at that in-between moment—still closed, but clearly full of life and color, with the dew clinging to them after a fresh start.
For me, the three buds might suggest three children / three important relationships / three versions of ourselves at different times, held together in the same space of light and nurtured by potential energy. The droplets are a reminder that renewal often comes right after the storm; there’s a softness and resilience there.
It’s a painting for someone who connects with the idea of growth, protection, and the beauty of what’s just about to bloom or has bloomed in their own life. ... See MoreSee Less
Here's the entire portrait. I love judicial portraits. What do you think of this portrait? Know anyone who wants a portrait legacy created? A portrait is how people know us when we're gone. ... See MoreSee Less