Alan Mazzetti
Alan was born into a family of artists and designers in Santa Barbara. That nurturing environment as well as the aesthetics of the city and the surroundings, stimulated a unique creative personality. After attending local grammar school and Bishop High School, Alan re-located to San Francisco, attracted by the visually impressive Bay Area. He studied at the Academy of Art College in the early 1970’s, concentrating on graphic design and illustration. Alan was hired at his graduation by a local design firm, at which he was employed for 3 years before deciding to go freelance in 1976. He remained an independent artist the rest of his career. He declared that & Designing logos, posters, collateral print material, packaging and book jackets, working with typography, was very rewarding and (was) a great application of distilling visuals to their essential components. That approach certainly inform(ed) my paintings.” For Alan, ten years of graphic design evolved into the next ten years of Illustration work for national clients and the development of his personal pictorial style. Alan’s design work was all about defining the client and solving their communication needs, and illustration was visualizing someone else & story. These experiences developed his perspective and approach to his picture-making. The fine art he’d been doing since the mid 90’s became totally self-directed in both subject and style.
Alan’s early fine art was inspired primarily by urban scenes from San Francisco and from travelling, expressed in essentials: basic shapes, colors and textures leading to geometric abstractions. These early paintings were exhibited and sold through galleries and consultants in the Bay Area, Palm Desert, Tucson, Washington DC, Boston and other cities. Circa 2010, the abstract paintings developed & horizon lines & and while still non-representational, suggested the natural forms of landscapes. That led to observing and depicting in his art the urban and natural environment of his native California. Alan found artistic excitement in shapes and patterns: obvious in San Francisco’s buildings with their blocky forms and repeated windows, as well as in the area’s vineyards and agricultural valley scenes. He developed a successful minimalist, painterly approach to these subjects.
Although Alan developed an abstract approach to his art expression, depicting mood rather than details, personally he was gregarious and humorous. He particularly enjoyed his pet dogs and cats, art shows, art galleries, travelling, cooking and reading science fiction. He maintained a life-long close relationship with his high school and art school pals, who will hold a life appreciation in May. Alan succumbed to leukemia and passed away in San Francisco on August 5, 2025, at age 75. He is survived by his artist wife, Mindy, and two of three brothers, Michael and Paul, and, of course, his art legacy.
