After serving in World War II, he attended the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco, then returned to Europe to spend time in France, Spain, and Italy to study art on his own. He became part of the art scene during the lively 'Beat' years in San Francisco's North Beach section, and exhibited his work at the Black Cat Cafe, The Iron Pot, The Lion Book Shop, The City Lights Book Shop, Vesuvio's, and The Hungry i. A one-man art show held at the Butler Institute of American Art at his hometown in 1958 was followed by other exhibitions in California, as well as Hawaii and Japan. He was nominated for the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1965.
He has traveled extensively abroad to find new inspirations for his work -- to Japan, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, China, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Tahiti, and throughout Europe. He has explored a variety of subjects: clowns, circus scenes, boats, street scenes, still lifes, coffee shops, crowd themes, animals, abstracts, portraits, and mediums such as oils, acrylics, ceramics, watercolors, tempera, etchings, and prints.
To see him with his sunned complexion, his beret cocked over one ear, his chin and his nose, one would easily take him for a child of the Basque country or Burn. His Latin origin explains this resemblance, and it was likewise this Latin blood that drove him to travel in France and Spain. From his Parisian sojourn, from his studies in private studios, his long strolls along the length of the Seine or across the French countryside, he has brought back pictures which some feel vibrate with some of the magic of his masters; Cezanne, Lautrec, Utrillo and Dufy.
The walls of his studio smile at you when the sun envelops them with its dust-laden light. They are hung with scenes evocative of the picturesque Paris discovered by the painter -- hidden spots, fountains forgotten by the tourist agencies, places where artists, painters and musicians dream again. This is the world of Pat Cucaro. Some of the scenes are of night-spots painted with humor and nostalgia a little in the manner of Lautrec, while others are abstract creations that are smoothly executed.
From the beginning his work sold. "I was lucky," he says. "I didn't have to push hard to sell, and because of this I was able to work in peace. San Francisco has been good to me. I owe it to a woman who had faith in me from the beginning and believed in my talent. She bought my paintings as fast as I could make them and helped to get my name known."
A continuous showing of Cucaro's work is maintained by Banducci's Hungry i -- a celebrated nightspot in the North Beach section of San Francisco. He is presently living in Marin County, across the Golden Gate bridge from San Francisco, and is still actively involved in his artwork. His most recent exhibition was at Connextions Gallery in Sausalito, California in 1998. The City of Sausalito helped him celebrate his 85th birthday on November 6, 2000.
January, 2001 -- A recent comment about Cucaro:
"The great PASCAL (Pat) CUCARO gave me a book ("Cucaro," Sentinal Books, 1969) when I was a boy in the early 70's. My father used to own an art gallery in Sausalito when it really was a sleepy seaside artists community and during the summer I used to run around downtown all day. Cucaro used to hang out in the cafes, often talking to mesmerized young artists about art and life. He drew two pictures for me with a sharpie pen smearing the ink with his fingers for a paint-like effect. I remember that he always had ink or paint on his hands. And he smelled like garlic! :) He was a great guy, and that was a fun time of my life."
Collection of the Artist
Question: Many people consider you to be an impressionist. Do you agree with that?
Answer: Some may label me impressionistic, but categorizing a painter limits him and can sometimes prevent him from finding himself. A painter is always changing, revising his techniques and subjects so that it's not really fair to put him under a title. He has to change and experiment, to grow and to better his art.
Question: Is there any advice you could give to young, aspiring artists?
Answer: I always hope that I can inspire those artists since we should try to pick them up and not to put them down as is what often happens. Perserverance and confidence in yourself is important to reach your goals and to take whatever opportunity that is available to improve your art.
There will be days when nothing comes out and on other days, the painting will just happen. Each day, until that happens, you just have to keep doing your best. I'd like to say it is as easy as one masterpiece after another, but it's not, and art has its ups and downs like any other profession.
I express myself best by painting and just like any other thing, it requires constant work. Through application and persistance, you become better, but you mustn't get discouraged when a painting doesn't materialize one day. You have to be able to tackle it with the same energy the next day.