The Etch-A-Sketch® Art of Jeff Gagliardi

On June 25th, 2011
Jeff Led a Group of 372
Etch-A-Sketch Artists,
Setting an Official
Guinness World
Record!

(see more)

Jeff with his last and greatest work
Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica”

With over 35 years experience in Etch-A-Sketch Art, Jeff Gagliardi is one of the original, and one of the best known Etch-A-Sketch artists. But believe it or not, Jeff never had an Etch-A-Sketch when he was a kid. The first time he seriously tried to draw anything on an Etch-A-Sketch was when he was a college student (at the School of Visual Arts in New York) and was playing with an Etch-A-Sketch that belonged to his nephew.

“I did a drawing of the Taj Mahal complete with reflecting pools. Quite frankly, I didn’t think it was a big deal, but my family wouldn’t let me erase it. From that point forward people would walk past the serious work I was doing as a painter and want to see the Etch-A-Sketches.”

That was all in the early 1970’s. Since then he has enjoyed fame and success as an Etch-A-Sketch artist and he’s created countless sketches.

End of a Career  Not long ago Jeff broke both wrists in an accident and his Etch-A-Sketching career has now come to an end. After 5 surgeries his dexterity just isn’t what it was. He still does personal appearances and will continue to produce prints of his work, but his days of creating ambitious new Etch-A-Sketches creations are over.

As for his work, Jeff calls Etch-A-Sketch Art “a quintessential American art form, where the medium truly is the message. I love creating works that you wouldn’t expect to see — like a reproduction of a Renaissance master’s work, or the corner of a five dollar bill. It’s a totally familiar subject, but it now has an element of disbelief. I like to push the limits of the Etch-A-Sketch, creating many works that hang vertically (you have to draw it sideways) or have lines that seem not to connect.”

Jeff’s Etch-A-Sketch Art has been displayed at the Denver Art Museum and the Berkshire Museum in Massachusetts, as well as galleries around the country. He’s been a guest on several ABC and NBC news shows (watch some recent interviews here) including Good Morning America, and his Etch-A-Sketch work has appeared in many publications including People Magazine, The USA Today, Omni Magazine and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.

Jeff lives with his wife Nanci in Lyons, Colorado where he has his own graphic design and marketing communications business.