First Criscuoli Website – FreedomStands.com – Launched
Laurel, MD – When Joseph Criscuoli returned to Norristown, Pennsylvania after twenty-five years, little did he know that his visit would result in the launch of a successful website featuring his painting “Freedom Stands – Valley Forge.” The 25th Reunion of the Norristown High School Class of 1977 drew Criscuoli back to his roots; a side trip with Grace, his wife, to the Valley Forge National Historical Park started the ball rolling. “I hadn’t seen the National Memorial Arch in twenty-five years,” said Criscuoli, “and I wanted to show Grace one of my favorite haunts from my high school days. I took quite a few photographs while we were touring the park, especially of the National Memorial Arch.” After returning to his Montpelier, MD home, Criscuoli reviewed the photographs he had taken and began to compose a painting of the Arch. “The National Memorial Arch is our tribute to the beginnings of American freedom – dedicated to those who first established and defended our right to be free,” said Criscuoli.
The painting was completed on January 3rd, and Criscuoli had an idea that perhaps the work might have some value beyond hanging on a wall in his home. Criscuoli did some research on the internet and learned that he had actually started the painting around the time, 225 years earlier, when George Washington and the Continental Army marched in to Valley Forge. “It just started to feel right – with all that has happened in the last two years, and with our troops in the field, I thought there might be more than a few people who might want to be reminded of where the concept of freedom in this country really began.” With the help of his brother, Stephen, and a family friend, Criscuoli registered the domain name www.FreedomStands.com and began developing a marketing and public relations program around the site and the painting.
The site provides background information on the story behind the painting, a bio of the artist and a portfolio of other selected works as well as a way for visitors to obtain their own copy of Freedom Stands – Valley Forge. In addition to a lithographic poster, visitors can obtain fine art re-productions and note cards featuring the painting. Criscuoli, a Vice President for Marketing and Public Relations with a metro D.C. graphics firm, has been painting since his days as an under-graduate at the University of Maryland. Criscuoli resides in Montpelier, Maryland, painting in a most unassuming corner of his home office. Freedom Stands – Valley Forge is the first of his works to be offered to the public. Says Criscuoli, “painting is a simple exercise in tension elimination, and acrylics are my chosen medium because they don’t require the use of solvents that smell up the house or ignite very easily.”