About the Artist
After ruling out his initial career choices as a paleontologist, zoologist, baseball player and Good Humor ice cream man, Jerry LoFaro employed his lifetime interest in dinosaurs, animals, fantasy, art history, and literature into a successful career as an illustrator. His formal art education was spent at S.U.N.Y., New Paltz, in 1980-81, while his most valuable lessons came a few years later in figure drawing classes with the legendary Gustav Rehberger at the Art Students League of New York.
Jerry LoFaro’s art has appeared on the book covers of most major publishers including Random House, Harcourt, Ballantine, Avon, Bantam, Time Life, and Viking Penguin. Over his 30 year career, he has also created memorable advertising and promotional illustrations for a wide variety of clients including: Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Aflac, Levi’s, Disney, Claritin, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Time Magazine, Nike, Panasonic, Minolta, San Francisco Ballet, Haagen-Daz, Trojan, Kellogg’s, Dole Foods, Purina, Kleenex, AT&T, The Jacksonville Jaguars, and the MGM Grand Hotel. He is especially enjoying his long relationship with Celestial Seasonings Tea, and has created art for over 70 tea boxes, products, tins and murals.
Jerry LoFaro's work has been selected for countless Society of Illustrators Annual Shows, along with many appearances in Communications Arts, Spectrum (The Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction Art), Expose (The Best of Digital Art), Graphis, Creative Quarterly, 3x3, Applied Arts, and the Encyclopedia of Airbrush Techniques. Articles about his art and career have been published in The New York Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, The New Yorker, Manchester Union Leader, Concord Monitor, New Hampshire Magazine, Advanced Photoshop Magazine, Art Scene International, Prehistoric Times Magazine, Progression Magazine and Airbrush Action Magazine, where he’s been a regular contributor for three decades.
Jerry has been honored to receive many awards for his work, including two Bronze Medals from The Society of Illustrators of LA, and for the Best in Advertising in Spectrum Vol. 1, 2 and 6. In 1996, he was presented The Vargas Award for lifetime achievement in illustration and for his contributions to the airbrush industry. In 2007 he earned The Grand Master Award from Ballistic Publishing’s “Expose,” a collection of the year’s best digital art, along with The Excellence Award in the 2009 and 2017 editions. In 2009, he had the great honor of being awarded a Gold Medal from The Society of Illustrators of NY in the Advertising category of Illustrators 51, and in 2017 a Gold Medal from The Society of Illustrators of LA.
In 1997, The Manchester Artists Association made Jerry LoFaro New Hampshire “Artist of the Year,” and he was honored to twice serve as keynote speaker at The Currier Gallery in Manchester for the National Youth Arts Group induction ceremony. He is also a highly regarded and popular instructor, having taught classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC and New England College, and also lead the Digital Illustration program at The New Hampshire Institute of Art from 2010-14. He’s taught seminars around the United States sponsored by Airbrush Action Magazine, and also at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, FL. He has participated in a number of The Currier Gallery of Art’s Annual Allstate events, which brings sixty of New Hampshire’s most talented high school students together with professional artist mentors for an intensive creative weekend. Jerry enjoys speaking at schools in his adopted state, and hosting field trips for all ages of students at his studio.
In 2008, Jerry created a piece of art on his computer in front of a film crew for a DVD tutorial on his working process in Photoshop. Garnering rave reviews, “Creating Arctic Kiss” is now available through numerous online stores. JerryLoFaroDesigns.com was launched in December, 2011, an e-commerce site showcasing his growing collection of dynamic T-shirt designs produced by The Mountain, along with his extensive illustration portfolio and personal history. It also includes dedicated galleries geared towards meeting the growing demand for his art in the field of licensing.
In addition to creating art, Jerry's growing passion and skill for photography has gained a great deal of attention, particularly in association with music. In early 2017, this has resulted in the wonderful distinction of being asked to join the staff at The Tupelo Music Hall in Derry, NH as the Official Photographer - a state of the art venue, and one of the finest on the East Coast. Another unexpected thrill based on his passion for music was co-hosting a weekly Prog Rock radio show on WEMF in Boston in 2015 and 2016.
Jerry left New York City in 1995, and has resided in the back woods of Henniker, New Hampshire since 1996. He and his wife Kathleen raised their son Gregory there, and are very proud that he became a US Marine on April 4, 2014.
View a slideshow of Jerry's History.
