Artist' Statement
"Painting is my choice of personal expression providing me with an avenue of communication through a visual vocabulary reflecting my personal philosophical attitudes about life . Taoism is the ancient Chinese philosophy which explains the world in terms of the dualistic elements of opposites such as light and dark, warm and cool etc. These elements are present and important to the success of all forms of art. Positive versus negative causes an energy which translates into visual excitement. I believe that art is a universal language understood by all and a necessary piece of our connection to one another ."

About the artist:
Toni Cappel's artwork cannot easily be ignored. It is memorable for it's interesting shapes and the strong painterly application of strong, bold colors.

It is clear that composition and the balance of light and dark areas in her work draw the viewer in to the painting.

The unique style of Toni G. Cappel can be best described as dramatic and bold. The strong influence of the post-impressionists, particularly Gauguin, is evident in her vibrantly, colorful acrylic paintings. Cappel works with large-scale images, resulting in canvases that overflow with the intense beauty that inspires her. With nature as a frequent source of inspiration for the artist, many of her paintings are graced with flowers and windowboxes. Other subjects include a series of mask paintings, tropical scenes, still life and interiors. Figure paintings of women in many interesting settings are very prominent in Cappel's work. These women are one of her favorite subjects and always depicted with a sense of mystery and spirituality attributed to universal archetypes.

Biographical information about the artist:
My introduction to the idea of becoming an artist came about when I was about twelve years old. My grandfather asked me if I wanted to paint a picture like the ones that he was painting. I was thrilled.
The next step that solidified my resolve was in the 7th grade when I was given the assignment to write a career paper and I decided then to become an artist.
I majored in fine arts at Briarcliff college and went on to the University of New Mexico when I had to return to the East Coast for family reasons.
The following year I continued to study at Silvermine college of Art in New Caanan,Connecticut. Many of the "New York" artists lived in that area and taught classes in color, composition, life drawing, and oil painting.
Soon my father decided that I needed to get a "real job" and I went in to New York and found a wonderful job at the United Nations. I was there the day that John F. Kennedy was killed and I watched as each country lowered it's flag and raised it again to half mast. During my time in New York, I took life drawing at the Art Students League whenever I could find the time.
Eventually I married and moved to Dayton, Ohio and only took a class now and then. When my youngest daughter started high school I decided to do my art seriously. After moving to Raleigh, North Carolina, for two years I took classes and eventually joined Wake Visual Arts Association and started showing my work. A few years later I was a juried member of Artspace and had my own studio. I was also teaching the class that I had been taking at Sertoma. My career has continued to expand for the last fifteen years.