The "Buffalo My City" Watercolor Series, by Dr. V. Roger Lalli

Dr. V. Roger Lalli created a series of watercolor paintings titled "Buffalo My City." He painted Buffalo's most notable historic sites, landmarks, and scenic views.  The locations he selected were based on historic significance, aesthetics, and architectural importance. Parkside Candy is a watercolor painting depicting an iconic Buffalo candy store built in 1927.  This painting is a part of the "Buffalo My City" series. It is one of forty two watercolors created over a ten year period.

Lalli was born in Buffalo, New York in 1922. He was a commercially trained artist and studied at SUNY Buffalo State and the University of Buffalo. He was a teacher for more than two decades in Buffalo Public Schools and Amherst Central Schools. After retiring, he focused primarily on his true passion of watercolor painting. Lalli wanted to pay homage to his home town and strived to bring awareness to the rich cultural assets of Buffalo. The "Buffalo My City" watercolor series has been displayed at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, The Buffalo History Museum, and the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum in Buffalo. 

Lalli's photorealistic painting style often fools the viewer. Many people do not realize his works are in a watercolor media. At first glance, his paintings can be easily mistaken for photographs. Interestingly, any white color seen in his works is actually bare paper with no paint. This is a common technique in watercolor painting. Lalli used graphite pencil to draw his subjects and then finished with watercolor. He painted many Western New York Landmarks such as the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo City Hall, Shea's Theater, Buffalo Savings Bank, the Peace Bridge and others.  The full collection of the "Buffalo My City" series are published in Lalli's book, "The Buffalo Architectural Watercolors." 

Tara L. Lyons is the Program Manager and Museum Educator at The Buffalo History Museum where she creates community programming and curates temporary exhibitions. She received her B.A. in Art History and Museum Studies from Buffalo State College. She is expected to receive her Masters in Museum Operations from Buffalo State College in the fall of 2014.