Ed Levine's twenty year love affair with Skaneateles Lake is evident in his artwork of the last few years. His paintings of the Lake and surrounding vistas are filled with emotional impact. Born in Albany, New York, Ed Levine received his art education at the State University of New York at New Paltz and Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Among the artists that he studied with was George Wexler, a well known painter in the Hudson River School tradition and Arnold Singer, a master printer and graphic artist. Ed now resides on the south end of Skaneateles Lake in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State.

Ed has been showing his work professionally for the past thirty years in some of the finest juried shows in New York State as well as other selected shows along the East Coast. Throughout the past ten years of his career Ed has painted still lifes using food as the general source of subject matter. Since retiring after 33 years of teaching and moving to Skaneateles Lake in June of 2005, Ed's attention has been captured by his new surroundings. The dominant features of Ed 's watercolors are shape, color, and transparent layers combined in an active composition. His paintings radiate with an emotional and physical directness created by their saturated color and bright light.

"When creating my artwork, I attempt to consider all the rules that I’ve learned and taught, and follow only those that I feel are appropriate for that day and that painting. I often remind myself to keep it simple, to be direct, not to add even a single brushstroke that is not necessary. I remind myself that I, not a gallery or client, have to be satisfied with this painting. The principles and elements of design, are second nature to me after painting for over thirty years and are a part of every painting. In the end, a painting is all about choices, what to do, and more importantly, what not to do. I take the privilege of making my paintings richer than life, more colorful, often with more striking compositions. I design my still lifes so that they are comprised of elements that are a comfort to me. My landscapes are of very specific places, but remind me of others that I’ve seen and experienced throughout my life. It is my desire that the viewer will also find them to be familiar and heartwarming."