Frank R. Sofo of Springs, a prolific painter and illustrator who was active in the South Fork’s arts community for many years, died on Jan. 16 at Stony Brook University Hospital. The cause was complications of inflammatory vasculitis. He was 80.
Mr. Sofo exhibited widely on the South Fork. His work was included in shows at Ashawagh Hall in Springs, Guild Hall in East Hampton, the Crazy Monkey in Amagansett, the White Room Gallery in Bridgehampton, the Southampton Cultural Center, the gallery at the Water Mill Museum, and the Society of Illustrators in Manhattan, among other venues.
“My goal is to paint the ordinary and make it extraordinary,” he wrote in his artist’s statement on the Southampton Artists Association website. “I paint what I feel about what I see. I like my paintings to have a sense of movement, to have a life of their own. I paint what moves me, the world around me.”
He was a board member of the Artists Alliance of East Hampton for many years and a founder of the Wednesday Group Plein Air Painters of the East End, which ventured out each week in good weather to paint together on location.
Gene Samuelson, a fellow artist and co-founder of the Wednesday Group, recalled how in 2010 the Artist Alliance had asked Mr. Sofo to start a life-drawing class. Realizing that they would need to pay a model but could head outdoors for free, Mr. Sofo and Mr. Samuelson hit upon the idea of a plein-air painting group instead.
“He was always there for everyone with help and support,” Mr. Samuelson said.
Mr. Sofo illustrated a number of books for children and young adults, including several covers for books in the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series, and also wrote and illustrated a self-published children’s series of his own about a cat named Veronica and her adventures with artists like van Gogh and Monet, each done in the style of the artist Veronica was visiting in the book. In 2007 his artwork was featured on the posters and T-shirts for the annual Sandcastle Contest in Amagansett.
Mr. Sofo was born in Brooklyn on Sept. 1, 1943, to Rocco Sofo and the former Jenny Yetto. He grew up in that borough, graduated from the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan, and attended the School of Visual Arts and the Art Students League, where he studied drawing, painting, and illustration.
In his earlier career he worked with the advertising agency BBDO. That helped train him to draw quickly, his wife, Vincenza, said. He carried a sketch pad with him wherever he went and trained himself to draw with his left hand as well as his right, so he could sketch people on the subway without their noticing, she said.
As a younger man, Mr. Sofo was in the Army Reserves.
He and Vincenza Capello were married on Oct. 17, 1986. They lived in Brooklyn and later moved full time to Springs.
He was a dedicated runner and had completed 14 New York City Marathons and several triathlons on the South Fork.
Mr. Sofo’s life and work were celebrated in a one-man show last weekend at Ashawagh Hall. He was buried at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by her daughter, Michele Leonhardt of Holbrook, whom he helped raise, and four grandchildren, Damien Nuey, Emily Nuey, Sofia Lepore, and Alex Lepore. A sister, Linda Lepore of Levittown, also survives.
