WESTFORD — John Forcucci, the Parish Center for the Arts Artist of the Month, turns his experiences in nature into vibrant works of art, capturing both the beauty of the outdoors and the emotions of experiencing it firsthand.
For Forcucci, painting has been a lifelong journey shaped by museums, family, and quiet moments in the woods. From copying Sunday comics as a child to observing seals and Highland cows up close, his work takes viewers back to the moment and the emotions experienced there.
Forcucci has earned multiple awards, including first prize in watercolors at the 2017 Westford Regional Art Event and first prize in pastels in the emerging artists category at the 2025 WRAE.
His exhibit, “Into the Wild,” is on display at the PCA gallery through March 8. Forcucci will host a reception on Feb. 22 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and a pastel painting demonstration on March 1 from noon to 2 p.m.
WestfordCAT spoke with him about how it all began, how art has shaped his life, and what visitors can expect from the exhibit.
Q: Do you remember your earliest experiences creating art?
A: I was probably six or seven, maybe eight, something like that, and both my aunt and uncle were fine artists. They made their living from art. So as a kid, I was in their Boston studio a lot, near the Museum of Fine Arts, and I just loved the whole atmosphere and the creativity of it. I became a museum junkie; I’ve been a member of the Museum of Fine Arts since I was a kid.
That’s something I constantly enjoy learning about: new artists as well as the masters, seeing what people are doing, different techniques. But for me, it’s a constant creative process. I’m always looking for new ways to create something.
Q: Did having artists in your family influence you?
A: I think that definitely did. This was in the ’60s, and they were so cool. They lived a great life, and that did influence me a lot. I thought of it as an incredibly fun thing to do, and I still do. For me, it’s also a meditation. For example, if I need to be somewhere and I’m painting, I literally have to set an alarm because I don’t even know how much time has gone by. I just fall into it.
Q: When did you decide to take art more seriously?
A: I always did it sort of behind the scenes, part time, but as I got older and the kids moved out, I was really able to spend a lot more time on it and take lessons. So, for the past 10 years, I’ve been spending a lot more time on it.
Q: You’re also a photographer and hiker. How do those intersect with your painting?
A: I’ll take pictures as notes. I don’t ever try to copy the photo; it’s like a starting point. I think, “This looks interesting to me.” Sometimes it’s something about the light, or oftentimes, it’s the animals. I once spent 15 minutes in the woods with a deer. He and I were the only ones near this path, and he stood there eating the foliage. He didn’t run away, and I just visited with him. I took photos of that, and now I’m working on a painting of him.
Everything that you see here is something I have experienced. I’ve been with these birds, I’ve been with these cows. There’s a farm in Bristol, Maine, where the farmer raises Highland cows and lets me go into the pen. These are huge animals, but they’re very friendly and walk right up to me. There are two little calves, they probably weigh about 600 pounds each, and they walk right up to my camera. I get this great shot of them with their muzzles right in the camera. For me, though, I love that time with them and it inspires my paintings.
Q: You also paint outdoors, or “plein air.” Why is that important to you?
A: There’s always something to paint. I’ll pack up my painting kit and I’ll hike out to a spot. Oftentimes, you get really good experiences or meetings with animals by going back to the same place many times. If I find a really great spot in the woods or along the coast, I tend to go back many times. It might be the 20th time I’m there that there’s an owl in a tree, or a coyote, or an otter in the river. So I revisit places that I love often. There are so many things in any one area. I could even paint an acorn or a leaf. There’s so many things to paint in a single spot: the light, the color, the rocks, all the different details. So, I like to explore and look at things in a new way every time I go back.
Q: How has diving deeper into art changed your life?
A: That’s a good question. My life has been crazy like most everybody’s. Life has been very busy. I used to work in Boston, drive into Boston every day and back. It was just crazy.
It’s really helped me re-center myself and find out what’s important to me, what I enjoy doing, what I want to spend my time doing. What’s wonderful about this particular way that I do it is that I can marry it with spending time outside, hiking and painting outside, and photographing outside. That’s part of my painting process, and that’s all stuff I love to do.
Q: What can visitors expect to experience when they walk into your exhibit?
A: I’m trying to take them on my journey with me. Through my travels outdoors, the animals I meet, the beautiful scenes I see, I’m trying to bring a piece of that back and so they can experience it the way I saw it.
The colors may be different, and things may look a little different than they actually were, but I’m bringing the emotion that I felt in my travels into that painting back for the viewers to see.
Q: Is there a piece that feels especially meaningful to you?
A: I think the animals that I’m closest to, or felt the closest to at the time, so the Highland cows, for sure. Also the large seal painting on the other wall. My wife and I go to a beach called Popham Beach in Maine, and it’s known for the seals coming in close to the shore. We go there quite often, and the seals actually pop up and look at you. They’re as interested in you as you are in them.
That particular seal in that painting came up and really looked at me and we looked at each other for about 10 minutes. I really felt like I established this little relationship with him. That’s one of my favorite paintings, but I would say that and the cows are my favorite.
Q: How does it feel to be named Artist of the Month?
A: Oh, it’s a thrill, and I’ll tell you why. I’ve always only painted for myself. I never did this with the idea of showing my paintings. It’s always been because I love doing it. When I began to discover that other people liked what I was doing, that was very exciting for me, just because it never occurred to me.
When this came up, I thought I really was able to accomplish something with my art. People recognize it as something worthwhile, something other people might want to see, and I’ve actually created enough of it that I’m proud of, that I could put in a show. So I’m thrilled that they have allowed me to do this, and I’m very excited to have people come in and take a look.
Q: Looking ahead, where do you see your artistic journey going?
A: What I love about it is I don’t know. That’s really true, and it’s a work in progress. I started out with watercolor, and that led me to woodblock printing using watercolor in a Japanese style. Eventually, my outdoor painting led me to pastel because it’s easy to pack up and take with you since it’s dry.
But I never know where I’m going to go with it, and that’s the most exciting thing for me. I don’t want to get into a corner where I’m painting the same thing over and over. That’s why I try different media. I can paint an acorn, a bird or a landscape, because I want to explore different things.
I’m hoping I’m always growing in my art. What’s so much fun is the surprising places that it takes you.
