Artist Josie Capozzi, one of two new partner members of the Artists Guild Gallery (the other is Marcia Neese), says that life after retirement agrees with her.
After dedicating 18 years to a high-level corporate communications position with Jersey Mike’s Subs, Capozzi packed up and moved to Vero Beach in 2024 with her husband, Phil. But Capozzi is no stranger to the beach, having lived for 30 years in the Jersey Shore town of Ocean Grove.
That affinity for coastal life is reflected in Capozzi’s oil paintings, many of which highlight ocean scenes, sailboats in the breeze, and rows of beach cottages.
Her childhood, though, was spent on a farm in Jefferson, a small town in the Catskill Mountains of New York. For perspective, just 31 diplomas were awarded at her high school graduation, which Capozzi says, at the time, was the largest class in the school’s history.
In between milking goats and gathering eggs on her family farm, Capozzi fell in love with art, a passion that one special teacher helped foster.
“Mrs. Madison let me use the art room and encouraged me in my work. I can still see her in my mind. She had shoulder-length, light brown hair, blue eyes, and a tremendous smile. When she smiled, it felt like you’d done something really well.”
After high school, Capozzi continued to explore her artwork and discovered an affinity for oil painting at Southampton College in New York; it has remained her medium of choice.
“I’m stuck on oils. I’ve worked with acrylics, but they were too flat. Painting with oils enhances my understanding of the subject,” she explains.
“For example, pears are one of my favorite things to paint. As you layer pigment, the light and shadows start to stand out.”
Capozzi prefers to paint from photographs, using them to draw out the organic emotions that arise.
“It’s not what I’m painting that intrigues me, it’s how I feel about it. I take pictures of everything in the world, and later go back and see how the photo makes me feel,” she explains.
Among her many subjects are luminous landscapes, colorful buoys, whose shapes she finds intriguing, and even classic recreational vehicles.
Several of Capozzi’s paintings depict a lone RV in a rural void. She traces the inspiration for this unadorned style to 20th century American Realist painter Edward Hopper.
“I’m kind of a retro girl. A classic RV gives a lonely, stark presentation. Hopper influenced me since I was a little kid. I see starkness and isolation in his imagery, which I find honest and beautiful.”
The great American modernist, Georgia O’Keeffe, is another artist Capozzi admires.
“O’Keeffe was revolutionary in what she did. It wasn’t just a flower that she painted. It was the inside of it, what’s behind the picture. I always think about how art makes other people feel. My art is not about me,” she emphasizes.
One way that Capozzi taps into other people’s emotions in her work is through commissions, such as one she recently completed for a family in Michigan that illustrated a son’s wedding proposal in a picturesque lake scene.
From Midwestern lakes to Miami modernism, Capozzi likes to stretch herself in her projects.
“My studio is pretty hectic. I’ll stay up all night working. Recently I had about five projects going, but right now I’m just concentrating on the Miami painting,” says Capozzi, referencing a large-scale 36-inch by 36-inch painting of skyscrapers in the “Magic City.”
Capozzi describes the project as challenging, particularly attempting to recreate the “odd angles” of the urban buildings.
Capozzi became a partner member at the Artists Guild Gallery in July, an association she is proud of, and is ready to pursue a new full-time career as an oil painter.
“I’m very excited to have been accepted by the Guild. They’re wonderful people and extremely talented artists,” says Capozzi.
She explains that she enjoys the camaraderie with fellow artists, the exposure to the local creative community, and the ability to focus on her art.
“It’s my bridge. I want to be able to paint full-time now, not just do it here and there. I’ve moved from my full-time job to fully being me.”
Recently, Capozzi spread her paintbrushes across a canvas of what was originally to be a building but which evolved into a surreal landscape.
“My sister and her husband in California purchased it,” Capozzi says.
In the same way that the evolution of that painting was a reinvention rather than a mistake, Capozzi is reinventing herself, retiring from a formal career and diving into a lifelong passion.
“I’ve never had this kind of freedom. I’m leaning into what I’m capable of and I am giving myself a lot of latitude,” Capozzi says.
“Whether a painting gives a sense of peace, chaos or loneliness – all of those interest me. But what is most important to me is conveying emotions simply. I admire artists who can do that.”
Photos by Joshua Kodis
