When faced with the decision to become a doctor or an artist, Phil Palmieri, chose to do both. His medical training ran in parallel to his art education. Both careers began in Buffalo, NY; one in medical school and the other in an artist’s studio.

His medical education would take him to the University of Minnesota and the hospitals of Minneapolis, Dallas and Austin, TX and eventually to Albany, NY. His knowledge and skills in drawing and painting grew by working with a variety of artists in their studios in each of these cities along with numerous art seminars ranging from Provincetown to Tuscany.

His medical background informs his art work, which includes multiple series of figurative paintings exploring the human body and disease. These include a series of portraits of family members donning bandages, a series of paintings on vintage medical text book paper, the Malady series exploring illness and the To Die For series. The latter pairs illness with fashion, setting up an unusual duality.  Using color and texture, Phil hopes to demonstrate the beauty of the human form in both perfect and afflicted states.

Today he has developed a successful career in Infectious Diseases while creating a significant body of figurative and landscape work. Many of his paintings have been featured in local, regional and national shows and in the Albany Institute of History and Art collection. Very early each morning, he can be found painting in his studio or in the outdoors before heading into the hospital to see his patients.