“Painting is a way for me to explore the natural world with its variable moods and endless mysteries. Pastel is the ideal medium – spontaneous, tactile, intuitive. While painting I enter into a timeless place of beauty and peace.”
Teresa Ruzzo is a California artist who paints what she loves, the landscape, both on location and in the studio. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, her desire to paint was kindled during an eight year stay in the high desert of Northwestern New Mexico. Returning to the Bay Area in the early nineties, she enrolled in a drawing class offered by a local art school, was turned loose with a box of pastels and has never looked back! Teresa's landscapes are in private collections in the United States and Europe.
Artists who influence her work include Marion Wachtel, George Inness, Richard Mayhew, Georgia O'Keeffe, Richard McKinley.
Selected Exhibits and Awards
2024
tiny-HUGE, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Harmony, Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters Annual Exhibit, Pacific Grove, CA. Awarded Honorable Mention for “Morning Light, Elkhorn Slough”
Silicon Valley Open Studios, San Carlos, CA
BEACH, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2023
tiny-HUGE, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Seasons, Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters Annual Exhibit, Pacific Grove, CA. Awarded Honorable Mention for "Peaceful Morning"
Pastels USA: 99 Voices, Pastel Society of the West Coast, Stockton, CA
Silicon Valley Open Studios, San Carlos, CA
On the Road, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Terrain, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2022
tiny-HUGE, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Look! Up in the Sky!, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Celebrating California, California Art Club. Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA
First Sunday Open Studios. Art Bias, San Carlos, CA
Delicious, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Silicon Valley Open Studio. Art Bias, San Carlos, CA
Terrain - Views of California, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
MOOS - Member Only Online Show, Pastel Society of the West Coast. Signature Pastelist Category
2021
tiny-HUGE, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Three Person Show, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
MOOS - Member Only Online Show, Pastel Society of the West Coast.
Awarded Honorable Mention in the Signature and Distinguished Pastelist Category for “Spacious Sky”
Urban/Rural, views of California, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2020
Welcome to California, California Art Club, Pasadena, CA
tiny-HUGE, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Silicon Valley Open Studio, Art Bias, San Carlos, CA — Virtual exhibit and sale benefitting Second Harvest
Urban/Rural, views of California, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Pastel Society of the West Coast, International Online Exhibit, Morro Bay, CA
Treasures from the Bay Area, California Art Club, Berkeley, CA
Featured Artist, Viewpoints Gallery, Los Altos, CA
2019
tiny-HUGE, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Silicon Valley Open Studio, Art Bias, San Carlos, CA
Small Works, Viewpoints Gallery, Los Altos, CA
2018
tiny-HUGE, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Fall Landscapes of the Golden State, Filoli Historic Estate, Woodside, CA
Pastel Society of the West Coast International Exhibit, Morro Bay, CA — Awarded Signature Status
Silicon Valley Open Studio, Art Bias, San Carlos, CA
Featured Artist, Viewpoints Gallery, Los Altos, CA
Art Between the Lines, California Art Club, Burlingame, CA
Urban/Rural, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2017
tiny, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Pastel Society of the West Coast International Exhibit, Fresno, CA
Featured Artist, Viewpoints Gallery, Los Altos, CA
Terrain, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2016
Featured Artist, Viewpoints Gallery, Los Altos, CA
Terrain, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Allied Artists West Group Exhibit, Harrington Gallery, Pleasanton, CA
2015
tiny, STUDIO Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Pastel Society of the West Coast, PASTELS USA, Haggin Museum, Stockton, CA
Recipient of the Heilman Designs Award for 'Afternoon Light'
2014
Society of Western Artists Annual Show, Redwood City, CA
Second Place for ‘Spring Fever’
Society of Western Artists, Redwood City, CA
First Place for ‘Beach Bluffs’
2013
Triton Museum of Art Statewide Painting Exhibition, Santa Clara, CA
Silicon Valley Open Studios, Los Gatos, CA
2012
Small Works, Society of Western Artists Juried Show, Redwood City, CA
Awarded second place for ‘Big Sur Oak’
Allied Artists West Main Street Café and Books Show, Los Altos, CA
Solo Exhibit, Viewpoints Gallery, Los Altos, CA
2011
Los Gatos Art Association Member Juried Show, Los Gatos, CA
Awarded second place, dry media, for ‘Big Sur’
Society of Western Artists Annual Juried Show, Redwood City, CA
Landscape and Still Life, Main Street Café and Books, Los Altos, CA
2010
Pastels Plein Air, Allegro Framing and Art, Woodside, CA
Society of Western Artists Juried Show, Redwood City, CA
Awarded 'People’s Choice' for ‘November Sunset’
Etch, Sketch, Stroke, Art Museum of Los Gatos, CA
