Italian Cuisine Restaurant, Francesca’s Forno, hosts art party for First Friday in Wicker Park featuring Chicago Artist Gregory

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Italian Cuisine Restaurant, Francesca’s Forno, hosts art party for First Friday in Wicker Park featuring Chicago Artist Gregory A. Page; great food, great drinks and great local art

Chicago, Illinois, United States., January 5, 2012 - (PressReleasePoint) -To commence the New Year, this Friday, January 6, 2012, acclaimed restaurant Francesca’s Forno will be host of First Friday—where Chicago Impressionist painter Gregory Allen Page—amongst a few other guest artists—will showcase their talents.

Page recently created a lot of buzz in the art world when he sold his Impressionist piece Cowboy Lips to renowned Dallas Cowboys’ CFO Shy Anderson.

“It was an honor when I sold the painting to Anderson, because it felt good knowing my paintings were garnering attention on a larger level,” said Page.  “Any opportunity I get to share my work with the world is great, and this Friday I look forward to displaying my artwork to Chicago art aficionados and enthusiasts.”

Art has been coursing through Page’s body since he was a child, where he was raised in a family of graduate school artists.  He went on to independently study art to further his knowledge through high school, college and graduate school.

Although he began full-time painting in 2004, Page has quickly established himself with an impressive portfolio of over 70 original paintings in which he displays his versatility as a painter.

“For me, becoming an artist has never been about worldwide recognition, fame and fortune,” says Page, who discourages the sale of original paintings. “It is about tapping into my artistic presence and taking things I love, bringing them to life on a blank canvas, and sharing them with the world.”

Gregory Allen Page is a Chicago–born artist who pioneered the artistic movement Chicago Impressionism, a genre influenced and inspired by the impressionist paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago. Painters in this genre study the Impressionist paintings housed in the Art Institute (as opposed to formal art school training) to create art with an Impressionistic influence.
Page formed the school of Chicago Impressionism through thousands of hours of direct study of the art at the Chicago Art Institute and a comprehensive analysis of the sketch books of Renoir, Seurat, Sargent and Monet. A painter in his youth, Page studied anatomy and biology before going on to practice reconstructive surgery. He first created art from early childhood to age 18. His early work was custom jewelry.

To truly sum up how he views his work, Page states, "Oil painting is not photography. The soul of the painter is in the freedom of his hand and the brush."

The art exhibition will be held at Francesca’s Forno from 6 to 10 p.m.  The restaurant is located at 1576 North Milwaukee Avenue • Chicago, IL.

For more information on Gregory Allen Page or to view or purchase paintings, please visit www.chicagoimpressionism.com.