Erik Scalavino

(American, 1973)

Erik Scalavino has been traveling the world since before he was born (he accompanied his parents to Italy midway through his mother’s pregnancy). Despite a fully obstructed view on that initial voyage, Scalavino has since had the privilege of visiting (and actually seeing!) some of our planet’s most breathtaking destinations. Along the way, he has also discovered that, when we travel, we naturally become more sensitive to Earth’s diverse, yet fragile beauty – often to be found in otherwise overlooked details.

During a decades-long professional career as a storyteller in various communications roles – radio and television producer, print and broadcast journalist, marketing and public relations executive – Scalavino began documenting and helping preserve that beauty in his travel writing, photography, and conservation efforts.

Today, Scalavino paints with a purpose. That keen attention to detail in his storytelling now also informs his realistic oil paintings of gorgeous places worldwide. His intimate perspective ultimately helps conscientious travelers more fully appreciate our beautiful planet in hopes of inspiring them to do what they can to conserve it.

Scalavino makes his home and his art in Providence, Rhode Island. Almost exclusively self-taught, he began making art as a child when he frequently drew freehand copies of Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts cartoon strips. Grade school teachers soon recognized Scalavino’s natural talent and secured him a six-month art scholarship at a nearby college, where he studied various art forms and advanced techniques. This experience eventually contributed to his exploration of close-up portraiture as a young adult, first with photorealistic graphite drawings and later in black-and-white oil paintings.

Scalavino’s oil-on-canvas work now features the full spectrum of color to bring alluring travel destinations to life in vibrant detail. His art has exhibited across his native Southern New England, and a number of Scalavino’s original paintings hang in private collections.