La Jolla painter Concetta Antico, who can see 100 million colors, has new exhibit

LA JOLLA – Celebrating 30 years of trailblazing arts education, impressionist oil painter Concetta Antico – who started in a 400-square-foot space in Bird Rock – now owns a La Jolla Village art gallery.

Antico started out initially at age 5, painting with oil on canvas and copying works of the French impressionists. In 1995, she opened one of San Diego’s first fine art retail studios, Art Tours & Artshops in Bird Rock. It was a bold move, given that few female artists were launching art spaces at the time.

Today, this apostle of impressionism continues her mission of passing along her favored art style to those of all ages. That is accomplished at her new La Jolla-based Salon of Art Gallery at 7655 Fay Ave.

Her gallery, next door to The Lot and across the street from The Conrad, is where she paints, leads oil painting workshops, and holds plein air sessions, as well as community gatherings. 

“This space came up; it had been vacant for five years since COVID,” said Antico. “It had been a kid’s gym, and a friend told me about it, and here I am, back in La Jolla. But I’d never been in the Village before.

“It’s a good spot,” she added. “I’ve been here almost a year. A lot of locals as well as tourists are coming in, and I’m selling art to people from all over the world.”

The artist says that she donates 5% of everything she sells to Rady Children’s Hospital.

Through hard work and determination in eight different locations over the past three decades, Antico has parlayed her artistic and business skills into a lifelong career creating and teaching oil painting. A testament to her teaching skills, her students’ artworks grace her gallery.

“A lot of people come in and say, ‘You’ve got a big shop,’” Antico said, “And I say, ‘It’s taken my whole life to get to this spot.’”

It doesn’t hurt that this Australian-born artist, known as “The Color Queen” for her rare gift of functioning tetrachromacy, can see colors indistinguishable to those with normal color vision.

While the average human with trichromatic vision can perceive approximately one million colors, tetrachromats, who possess a fourth type of cone cell in their eyes, are estimated to be able to perceive up to 100 million colors.

Antico is presently the world’s only known, functioning, and scientifically endorsed tetrachromatic artist, which makes her paintings highly collectible and extremely rare.

Of her professional calling, Concetta said: “I want to give the gift of art and perception and enjoying color and creativity to other people. And I have. I’ve taught over 25,000 people how to paint in San Diego for over 30 years. I was the first person to put fine art in the San Diego Unified School District and have after-school art programs.”

Noting that she is “purely an oil painter who doesn’t dabble in anything else,” Antico said she teaches oil painting in the classical method, “the way the masters painted, like Monet and Rembrandt.”

Of her French-inspired impressionist style, Antico said: “It’s an impression of that subject, my impression of that subject. Impressionism is one of the more favored (art) styles. People love that style of painting because they can see something in it.”

Although her favorite color is turquoise or violet, Antico said that she also likes white because white is “all colors.” She added, “I love the subtle nuances of white.”

Concetta likes to do her paintings in one sitting. “All the brush work is one time – there are no corrections,” she pointed out.

How many paintings has Concetta done? So many, she said, that it’s difficult to even estimate.

But even what is more important to her, Antico said, is offering knowledge. “I have many students who’ve gone on to become professional artists. I’ve always wanted to teach people what I know, and that’s very satisfying. Teaching is a very special thing. When you give your gift to someone else, you change lives. I took the skills that I learned in university, and then took my passion to paint, and melded those together to create a process that makes it very easy for people to learn.”

Ethereal Beauty

Concetta Antico’s newest public exhibition, “Ethereal Beauty,” will open Saturday, Aug. 30, with a VIP opening reception from 7-10 p.m. at The Salon of Art at 7655 Fay Ave. The event is free, with an RSVP required here.