Award-winning photographer and fine artist Vincent DiLeo describes himself as “once a kid with a box camera in my hand [and] now a man with no tan.”

He found his passion for photography by peering through the lens of his mother’s Kodak Brownie at age 16. “I really love taking photos,” DiLeo admits. While still in high school, he was hired by his hometown newspaper in New Jersey, the Roxbury News Journal, to photograph nearly everything – from homecoming queens to house fires. Through these early experiences, this self-taught professional began honing his craft.

Photography has been the common thread in his long and successful career. After a stint in the Air Force and working as a commercial/fashion photographer, he turned his talent to fine arts and now focuses on what he describes as a fusion between photos and computer-manipulated images. “In each piece of work,” DiLeo explains, “I rely on the images and my imagination.” This new art form is just now emerging here in the U.S. but is huge in Europe.

Surrealist Salvador Dali, one of DiLeo’s inspirations, once said, “Painting is an infinitely minute part of my personality.” DiLeo feels the same about his work. “Each photo is very personal for me...I know each image and the techniques I used to make it.” Currently, the artist is busy on his new project, a series of works entitled Time, based on the concept that time flies by us.

Photos by Dante Fontana, © Style Media Group.

His many years taking news, fashion and now fine art photography, has inspired DiLeo to say, “The consistent thing about my photography is it is continually evolving.” DiLeo was overwhelmed by the constant news coverage of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico; after numerous dreams about the incident, he took a friend’s advice and started putting images from his dreams onto canvas. “This began my quest to create photographs from my dreams,” DiLeo says.    

His work has been featured locally at Roseville’s Blue Line Gallery and other Placer County locations; as well, he donated works to KVIE for their yearly art auction fundraiser. You can also view his work during the Placer Arts Studio Tours. “It’s very important to me to be involved in the local art community,” DiLeo shares.

Another huge influence for him is his wife and fellow artist, Paula DiLeo. Married more than 20 years, the couple shares a home in Auburn where there’s plenty of room for both to work in their individual studios. Her mixed media work is more whimsical, focusing on owls, cats, flowers and other “happy” images that she’s compelled to create. “It’s just something I have to do,” she admits.

The couple has a lot in common and inspires each other and their individual works. DiLeo confides, “We share ideas and inspiration.”

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Visit vincentdileo.com for more information.