From life drawing to plein-air; from watercolors to oils, Rita Scafidi loves it all. Art is her passion, and sharing that with fellow artists is her goal.Scafidi resides in Falcon but is a native of Buffalo, New York. She grew up with five siblings; three older, two younger ó all close in age; they also had a half-sister. Scafidi said the love of art runs in the family: two brothers are artists, her younger sister is an interior designer, her dadís mother (who moved to the U.S. from France when she was pregnant with Scafidiís dad) dabbled in art as well. Her dad also had an interest in art, but with his own business fixing machines and electronics, he never had time for it.ìWe lived in Buffalo Ö and had long, cold winters, so dad would give us things to draw to keep us busy. That was the start for me,î she said.After graduating from high school, Scafidi attended college in Buffalo and earned an associateís degree in commercial art. She worked for an advertising agency in Los Angeles and did what used to be called ìpaste-up,î where the copy or the words for the ad were typed up and sent to a typographer who put everything together according to specifications. She had to decide where to place the picture, headline and wording. ìIt was very time consuming and you didnít want to make mistakes, so you had to do everything right the first time,î Scafidi said.She moved to Colorado Springs in 1985, and started working for Current in 1989 doing paste-up work again; only this time she worked with artists. ìIt was really fun; at that time they had 30 artists working for them, and I got to know some of them and was able to ask them questions about their art,î she said.After working for Current, Scafidi started drawing again and took a watercolor class. The teacher happened to be the coordinator for the Alzheimerís Association program, Memories in the Making, and she persuaded Scafidi to volunteer teaching art to seniors with Alzheimerís. In between, she also volunteered for hospice for a brief period.Scafidi later decided to teach oriental brushwork at senior centers, including the Colorado Springs Senior Center. ìI wanted them to end up with a pretty painting, so I created designs that I knew they could finish in the time we were together.îLast summer, she met weekly with friends to do plein-air painting, which is a French phrase meaning to paint outside. ìWe are all friends, we support each other and ask each other for advice; itís a very nice community,î Scafidi said. She said they were able to meet during COVID-19 because they could be outside and keep their distance.This summer, they have continued to meet at various parks throughout the city. ìItís peaceful; I like to sit in nature and marvel at it and try to paint it. If youíre sitting there with your paints and canvas, you get so focused on the colors of everything, youíre in total observation of nature, which is why I like it so much,î she said. ìAnytime I get a chance, I get out and find a tree to sit under for shade and paint whatever is there.î Scafidi said people often approach her when she is sitting outside painting and ask questions about what she is doing.She also goes to Cottonwood Center for the Arts twice a week to draw live models.Scafidi said she enjoys ìchanging things upî with a variety of art genres.She also likes to ride a bike, make bread with her bread machine and garden. Scafidi said there are many rabbits in Falcon, so she has learned to only plant things they wonít eat like squash, pumpkins, rhubarb, onions, horseradish, radish and most herbs. She also has several fruit trees on her property.Of all her interests, painting helps her feel more peaceful and more aware of nature; it helps her develop patience and be more considerate of her surroundings, Scafidi said.ìI consider myself more of an art lover than an artist, but Iíll do this as long as I can see,î she said.
