A life of art

Published in The Post-Star (D1)
9/1/05

Louis Mastro is addicted to art. At 95, he has three galleries and a clutch of awards to his name, and he's still painting and drawing every day.
He carries a sketchbook with him everywhere he goes, in case he's inspired by the sight of sunlight on an old barn, the curves of the human form, or a simple flower.

"It can be almost anything, even a little corner," he says. "It's hard to explain, but I live for art."

Mastro works in a variety of media, including oils, pastels, and watercolors, and his subjects range from landscapes to portraits and still-lifes. Twenty-two of his works are currently on display at the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council (LARAC) gallery in downtown Glens Falls, as part of the summer exhibition "Fundamentals of Form."

"You start off with drawing little things, and move onto bigger ones," says Mastro. "What I work on depends on how I feel; the time or the season. I like subjects with a lot of color -- pleasant scenes."

It's not always easy to make a living by creating art, but Mastro has managed to achieve this for more than seven decades. One of the keys to his success is a willingness to wear many hats. During World War II, this meant illustrating manuals and airplane schematics for the U.S. military. After the war, he founded his own advertising graphics studio in Manhattan. He's taught painting in many places, but continues to take sketching classes himself.

Many of Mastro's paintings reflect scenes from European travels during the 20 years he and his wife, Sarah, lived in Portugal. The couple now splits its time between homes in Warrensburg and Pompano Beach, Fla., where Mastro owns galleries. His third gallery is in Rockport, Mass.

In person, Mastro is a strong but unassuming presence, who stands proudly in front of a lifetime of memories rendered vividly on canvas. He'll turn 96 in December, and has five grandchildren and one great-grandchild. His health is still good, apart from persistent cranial shingles that often wake him up in the middle of the night. He distracts himself from the pain by working on his art.

"He's truly an inspiration," says his daughter, Terri Zappalla, a retired art teacher.

Mastro's children -- twin daughters Terri and Maria, and son Joe -- grew up surrounded by art. "Every vacation, we'd go along the coast from Maine to Florida and set up easels right next to him," Zappalla says.

Zappalla is now a self-appointed advocate for her father's work. "He's a master, and I want that to be recognized while he's still alive," she says.