When Frank Capasso was a boy, the minister at the Presbyterian church he attended invited him into his home where Mr. Capasso watched him paint. The minister took Mr. Capasso to visit museums, where they appreciated famous artwork. Over time, Mr. Capasso realized his minister had become his mentor and a lifelong love of creativity had been born.
Mr. Capasso, of Wilmington, died Friday, July 18, 2014, while in the care of Lower Cape Fear Hospice. He was 83.
Mr Capasso’s children, Leanne Prete, Jon Capasso and Chris Capasso, found written accounts of his time with the minister in his papers later in life. Several newspaper clippings were also in the papers; clippings from high school basketball games he played, descriptions of his achievements and photos of him in action.
According to their mother, Ann, who watched Mr. Capasso play baseball, “he meant business” when it came to sports. He stole bases and argued face-to-face with umpires when he disagreed with their calls.
Later in his life, Mr. Capasso became “addicted to tennis” and his children remember him as a “quite a good player.”
“He used to tell us, ‘Shoot me when I can’t play tennis anymore,’” Mrs. Prete said. “When his disabilities prevented him from playing real tennis, we bought him a Wii so we wouldn’t have to shoot him yet!”
Mr. Capasso took his children to play mini-golf as a sport of their own. His sons, Chris and Jon, loved playing so much they created a mini-golf course in their backyard using objects from the shed and croquet mallets for clubs.
“We also designed our own manual pinball machine with rubber bands and cardboard,” Mrs. Prete said.
Among his papers his children also learned that, while he was a soldier in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, Mr. Capasso was assigned to draft maps and signs, though he had no training.
When he returned from Korea, he continued his love of art by painting scenery for local plays and program designs for his church. It was then he decided on a formal education, studying the works of other artists and learning new techniques.
He attended Montclair State College and received a master’s degree in fine art from William Patterson College. Mostly, Mr. Capasso painted in acrylics, as is evident by the many works displayed on his website, but he also worked with ceramics, wood block prints and “mixographics,” a term he coined for a unique process of embossed prints.
His incentive for creating works of art came from within, according to his daughter, Mrs. Prete. She and her brothers believe it was self-motivation. Mrs. Prete remembers her father most being influenced by and admiring the works of Picasso, Gauguin, DaVinci and Michelangelo.
Mrs. Prete has fond memories of growing up with a creative father.
“It was fun for us when someone asked what our father did to answer, ‘He’s an artist.’ It always generated a lot of interest!” Mrs. Prete said.
She remembers having access to many art supplies, including large sheets of paper, markers, water color paints, colored pencils and clay.
His son, Chris, remembers how much he enjoyed working with clay. Alongside his siblings, Chris used that clay to mold small figurines, “characters with names and stories that we played with in a town setting we created.” They called them “The Corn People.”
Jon’s favorite was copper enameling, which he first started using in grade school. Jon said they coated small pieces of copper with syrupy substance, then sprinkled colorful powdered glass on the wet surface and put it into a kiln. The glass melted and fused with the copper, which was immediately popped into a bowl of water to cool, “revealing beautiful artistic objects.”
“Because he taught us so well, we were eventually entrusted to use the kiln without supervision. Keep in mind this is a device with a 900-watt heating element and a maximum temperature of 1600°F, and we were just kids!” Jon said. “As you can see, Dad was not about coloring books.”
Once Mr. Capasso began teaching art, he was encouraged by his friends within the local art scene of Morris County, N.J., to continue his work. In his 30s, he began selling his artwork. They were showcased at galleries in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Today, his art is still sold from his website.
Mr. Capasso began painting in his early 20s and continued to create artwork until his passing. Though his disabilities later in life prevented him from continuing to paint, being unable to stand in front of an easel or lift his arm high enough, he continued his work with Sharpie markers.
When Mr. Capasso wasn’t creating art on an easel, paper or canvas, he was creating it on stage. In his first play, he was cast as Jesus in a chapel “passion play” and continued acting for college productions. Later in life, he became involved with a community Shakespeare company in Pennsylvania.
Once he moved to Wilmington, Mr. Capasso continued acting and was cast as Frank Gianelli in the 2006 Thalian Hall production of “Over the River and Through the Woods” and as Mr. Laurence in the 2009 Thalian Hall production of “Little Women.”
Mr. Capasso’s children have quite a collection of their father’s work in their homes. Mrs. Prete said her father always knew which paintings were their favorites and was “always very generous to let us take whatever we wanted.”
“Our houses are each ‘Frank Capasso Retrospective Galleries!’” Mrs. Prete said.
Chris said looking at his father’s painting always “sparks imagination.” He describes Mr. Capasso’s drip paintings as using a blend of black ink and paint to drip from the height of two-to-three feet onto a canvas on the floor. He then worked quickly with the stream of ink to form images of people and animals, “very complex continuous line drawings.” His children believe this style may be a unique type of art created by their father.
“Most everything I enjoy doing in my personal life involves creativity in some way, and I have tried my best to pass along an appreciation for all forms of creativity to my own kids,” Jon said. “I know Dad had a lot to do with that. He also instilled in me a love of sports, especially baseball and tennis, so I understand that you don’t have to be just an ‘art geek,’ you can be a well-rounded person.”
He is survived by his sons, Jon Capasso and wife, Teresa, of Novato, Calif. and Chris Capasso and wife, Robin, of Andover, N.J.; daughter, Leanne Prete and husband, Philip, of Wilmington; and grandchildren, Julia Capasso and Alex Capasso, both of California.
An informal celebration of Mr. Capasso’s life was held Wednesday, July 23, 2014, at the Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington.
In lieu of flowers, his children request that donations be made to Lower Cape Fear Hospice or St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
Mr. Capasso’s retrospective gallery can be viewed and purchased online at https://frankcapasso.home.comcast.net
Please share memories and condolences with the family online at Wilmington Funeral & Cremation.
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