Graphic artist intent on painting the town
by Sheila Himmel
August 1, 1979
CALIFORNIA IS THE land of the beautiful for recent East Coast escapee Giovanni "Snuffy" Panciera. And he intends to contribute to that beauty by sprucing up the man-made landscape, painting freehand graphic designs on residential and office walls.
"You have the structures here to make anything rewarding and beautiful," said the new Mountain View resident and the former janitor of a high rise apartment building in Washington, D.C. "There, if you're lucky enough to have flowers, someone will tear them out."
Panciera offers a paint-back guarantee on his wall work. "I spend time with individuals and find out what they want. They chose three colors and leave the design to me. If they don't like it, I'll paint it out and they just pay for my time," he said.
Panciera, 36, who has no formal art training, had a gallery showing in Washington which was visited by Jean Dixon. The seer allegedly foresaw posthumous fame for the artist.
Which doesn't help him make a living, so he took a construction job while building up his graphics clientele.
MUCH OF THE CURRENT graphics work on walls has the flavor of mass-production. Panciera does all his work freehand, using no tape.
"I'm giving you a piece of art that will last forever," he observed, pointing out the subtle lines of paint on his own living room walls. Done in warm earth tones, the flowing work blends happily with a forest green carpet.
Panciera's inaugural work was not so well received. "The kid's crazy," was his parents' reaction to the youth's paint-and glitter job on his bedroom. But they later warmed to his work and have provided great encouragement to him.
Fomerly a "go-fer" for a rock band, auto salesman and tavern bouncer, Panciera also put in seven years as a corporate display director.
That experience made him wary of big business mechinations. "I don't play 'fine print' with people," he noted. "I won't accept the job if I can't do it freehand. Every line is painted with a brush."
"My work makes people look inside themselves," he added. "One line means something different to each person."
Panciera's current composition is a lyricle work, painting the notes of his client's favorite song.
