Terry Pesso

I’m a mixed-media artist working with acrylic, oil pastel, pencil and collage. I tend to work intuitively, building paintings through layers of color, line and shape. I usually start with a loose idea, then add, cover, edit and sometimes completely change my mind along the way.

I’m drawn to that space between abstraction and representation, where you can still recognize something without needing it completely spelled out. Florals, interiors, landscapes, animals and everyday objects all find their way into my work, usually with plenty of color and a surface that shows some evidence of how it got there.

I’m less interested in reproducing exactly what something looks like than in whatever made me stop and notice it in the first place — a shape, a gesture, an odd color combination or some small detail I couldn’t quite let go of.

I like paintings that have presence from across a room, but still give you more to find when you get closer. Bold color helps. So does leaving a few things unresolved.

2026 — Painted Ladies, Group Exhibition, Cornell Art Museum, Delray Beach, FL
2026 — Be Joyful, Group Exhibition, Arts Warehouse, Delray Beach, FL
2026 — The Short List, Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, Lake Worth Beach, FL
2025 — Palm Beach Watercolor Society Group Exhibition, Boca Raton Innovation Campus, Boca Raton, FL
2022 — Collecting Art in the Palm Beaches, Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, Lake Worth Beach, FL