Monday, December 21, 2009

Escape, tropcial beach oil painting



Escape, Oil Painting on Gallery Wrapped Canvas, 6" X 12"
Painting can be purchased for $125 plus $6 s/h: from the artist, Jenny Floravita

I'm excited to be painting oil on canvas again. It's often a challenge to work in different mediums, different sizes, etc... One of my passions is obviously my island landscapes. The next two paintings, which are drying are more sugar island cottages. I'm looking forward to walking this beach in March...

Next show: San Francisco Flower and Garden Show, March 24-28, 2010 at the San Mateo Event Center, BOOTH # 649. More info here: http://www.sfgardenshow.com

To see more, please visit my websites: www.floravitalights.com
and www.floravita.com

Monday, November 16, 2009

San Francisco Flower and Garden Show

Fresco Watercolor Painting on Board, 8" X 8"
Painting can be purchased for $125 plus $6 s/h: from the artist, Jenny Floravita

I am excited to announce that I will be exhibiting at the upcoming San Francisco Flower and Garden Show, March 24-28, 2010 at the San Mateo Event Center, BOOTH # 649. My elegant painted chandeliers in flower themes will be on display as will my tropical oil and watercolor flowers, which are inspired by the wonderful flowers that I see through my travels in the Hawaiian Islands.

More information about the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show can be found here: http://www.sfgardenshow.com

To see more, please visit my websites: www.floravitalights.com
and www.floravita.com

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Bird of Paradise Flower Painting Commission and Hanging Original Art in Your Bathroom

Oil Painting on Canvas, 12" X 12"
SOLD
Contact the artist, Jenny Floravita

This blog entry brings me to the subject of "Is it suitable for original paintings to be hung in bathrooms"? And the answer is Yes, if the room is not too humid and has proper ventilation. I've sold countless works, usually oils but sometimes watercolors, that were destined to add beauty to bathrooms.

By adding an original oil painting to the wall of your bathroom, you are adding class and originality to your space.

This particular oil painting was a commissioned piece for a client, who also purchased another exotic flower painting. It is destined for a special place in second home in Mexico. I had to match the background and accent cobalt blue colors to a tile, that is being used in the room, seen below.

A bit about Birds of Paradise... they originate from South Africa and are pretty hardy in California and can be seen through out the tropics and sub-tropics. I grow them in my garden here in Northen California. The weather is nice and warm in the summer and though there can be a bit of cold in the winter, the plant survives.


See more tropical paintings on my website:
www.floravita.com

Also check out my reverse painted glass chandelier blog:
http://floravitalights.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Evening in Kauai, Kauai Hawaii tropical island beach painting

Oil Painting on Canvas, 6" X 6"
Painting can be purchased for $95 plus $6 s/h: from the artist, Jenny Floravita

I'm getting ready for a big art festival in La Jolla in June, the La Jolla Festival of the Arts and I've been trying to carve out precious time to create new island paintings in oil and watercolor. This little gem was the study for a 36"x24" oil painting that I've already completed.

What I love most about the islands are their gorgeous sunsets and sunrises. It's absolutely the perfect way to both start and end your day! Now wouldn't this tropical island painting remind you of your last island getaway?

See more tropical paintings on my website:
www.floravita.com

Also check out my reverse painted glass chandelier blog:
http://floravitalights.blogspot.com/

Saturday, April 04, 2009

Pink Water Lili Blossom, tropical flower painting

SOLD
Fresco Watercolor Painting on Board, 8" X 8"
Painting can be purchased for $125 plus $6 s/h: from the artist, Jenny Floravita

Water lilies are absolutely fabulous in our backyard pond. They thrive most of the year but do die back in the winter. As spring is now if full swing, they will begin to blossom and not only add color and beauty to our pond but will also provide an extra measure of protection for our fish! And, they do help with algae blooms!


www.floravita.com

Also check out my glass painted chandelier blog:
http://floravitalights.blogspot.com/

Monday, March 16, 2009

Orange Ti Leaves, tropical flower painting


Fresco Watercolor Painting on Board, 8" X 8"
Painting can be purchased for $125 plus $6 s/h: from the artist, Jenny Floravita

Tropical flower paintings are always a great source of inspiration. This one is of the exotic Ti leaves that are found around Hawaii and other tropical islands. I was struck by the bright orange that is illuminated by the sun shining through the leaves. I had done a similar painting to this a few months back that sold and I plan on doing some large work later this year with these illuminated themes.


www.floravita.com

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

White and Yellow Plumeria...and a wealthy Shakespeare


Fresco Watercolor Painting on Board, 8" X 8"
Painting can be purchased for $125 plus $6 s/h: from the artist, Jenny Floravita

Here is an interesting link to an article that suggests that a painting from the early 1600s is indeed Shakespeare. http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/03/09/william.shakespeare.portrait/index.html

What's most interesting is that, if true, it supports the theory that Shakespeare was a wealthy man. Of course we will never really know for sure but it is interesting to speculate!


www.floravita.com

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Light Pink Ginger...and so little to say

SOLD
Fresco Watercolor Painting on Board, 8" X 8"
Painting can be purchased for $125 plus $6 s/h: from the artist, Jenny Floravita

This has been a somewhat hectic week but as everyone says, busy is good! I'm looking forward to creating some more of these back lit flowers...was up very early, bustling around and preparing my studio for a visit...so much to do this week and yet I have so little to say! So I'll let my painting, above, speak for me instead.

www.floravita.com

Monday, March 02, 2009

Violet Banana Fruit... and a perfectly balmy day

SOLD
Fresco Watercolor Painting on Board, 8" X 8"
Painting can be purchased for $125 plus $6 s/h: from the artist, Jenny Floravita

I'm very inspired today...woke up to really balmy weather here in California...am working on a new oil painting that incorporates the dramatic mountains of Oahu and the weather is adding the perfect ambiance to my working environment. It's supposed to rain but I have my studio windows open and the scraping of the palm fronds that surround my house are the perfect sound. There's a slight breeze. The outside temp is really comfortable. As I write this blog from my office below, I am also listening to the sound of the waterfall in our pond.

The particular piece that I'm working on today is an Oahu North Shore scene that is from the viewpoint of Sunset Beach area looking in the direction of the mountains that loom over Waimea Bay.

During my last trip in January, I was really awestruck by the intense beauty of the mountains, which has never been a subject that I've been taken with before. It's tempting to try to catch every detail in every crag and nook but I know better than that...that softening up the details in the distance adds a more balanced feeling of depth...am hoping to make a lot of progress on this painting today and perhaps bring it to a point where it can sit and dry in my studio for a while.

www.floravita.com

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Soft Lily Reflection

SOLD
Fresco Watercolor Painting on Board, 8" X 8"
Painting can be purchased for $125 plus $6 s/h: from the artist, Jenny Floravita

One of my favorite parts in my back yard is our pond. It's the size of a small swimming pool and is several feet deep. And though my first pond included mature koi fish, this pond contains goldfish, which has become a love for my husband and I.

In the summer our pond flourishes with lilies and greenery. I painted the above piece a couple days ago, here in my studio in the dead of winter, while dreaming of summer months in the back yard.

www.floravita.com

Friday, February 27, 2009

Bird of Drama...inspired to paint watercolors!

Fresco Watercolor Painting on Board, 8" X 8"
Painting can be purchased for $125 plus $6 s/h: from the artist, Jenny Floravita

I have been really missing painting in watercolor and have spent much of the last two years working in oil. As an artist that has gone between the two mediums several times over the last several years, I've learned that some subjects simply come across better in certain mediums, for me, at least. And I've decided that if I'm going to paint florals in watercolor, they will most likely be high in contrast.

I started out life as a serious artist through watercolor painting. Many of you know that I was introduced to painting at an early age and when I was 11, I learned through a private art instructor, who is also a good friend and collector. This was many years ago, of course! Watercolors were my tool of expression and I focused on both watercolor and fine pencil drawings all the way through college. My style was realism and through the years, I've explored trying to "soften" what comes naturally.

My large watercolors have always been my best pieces. This year I hope to finally bring a vision to light that I've had since 2002: to expand a series of paintings about tropical lakes and present them in a show. A few of these may become oils but I suspect that I paint this particular subject best in watercolor and have a couple of the paintings in my office that I will not part with.

Of course, I'm balancing all of this with my oil landscapes and my painted chandeliers. It's not easy to work in different mediums and I often find myself revisiting themes that I've explored before as these themes go round and round in my life. Sometimes I want to paint flowers when I am doing landscapes and sometimes I have great ideas for watercolors when I am doing oils and vice versa. It's this inspiration that keeps me creating!

www.floravita.com

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Oahu's Waimea Valley Botanical Garden is a hit


North Shore Expanse, Oil on canvas, 6" X 8"
Painting can be purchased for $95 plus s/h: from the artist, Jenny Floravita

I'd like to share with everyone our great experience at Oahu's Waimea Valley Garden: http://www.waimeavalley.net/

One warning is that when you click on the front page there music, so don't open this site at work!

The garden is a lovely tribute to a forgotten way of life in the Hawaiian Islands. You can either explore on your own or take a guided tour. There are craft stations and examples of what life might have been like in the valley over a hundred years ago. The garden walk is simply beautiful and in the back, you can swim by a waterfall. The botany is divided into sections, like South America, or Canoe plants, which were the plants that early Polynesians brought with them as necessities in their sea travels to plant in the newly inhabited Hawaiian Islands.

The garden offers a pretty good gift shop. I bought some gorgeous ceramics as gifts as they were made in the islands. The "made in Hawaii" crafts are in the front section as you walk in and the prices are very affordable. You won't find work like this in Waikiki and certainly not at these prices!

The shop also offers a good selection of books on the history of Hawaii. If you get hungry after your walk, there is a decent snack shop. I rarely eat burgers but Patrick and I did split a burger that had a taro bun and it was good!

And you know that gardens always need support! So next time you're on Oahu, venture out of Honolulu and up to the North Shore. When you come to Waimea Bay, you'll see signs for the garden. It's right there in the valley behind the famous big wave spot!

We loved it so much that we went twice! I'm sure I'll blog on this garden in more detail in the future...so much to share.

www.floravita.com

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Jenny's photo and art featured in Santa Cruz Magazine


Oil on canvas, 10" X 20" titled, Esplanade Palm
Painting can be purchased for $275 plus s/h: from the artist, Jenny Floravita

Today I received the new Santa Cruz County 2009 Official Traveler's Guide and a HUGE photo of me and my paintings are featured in the middle of the magazine. Santa Cruz is a very colorful beach town with a rich history in culture and art. It is a college town. I graduated from UC Santa Cruz and lived in the area for around 10 years. And, of course, it has fabulous beaches. Each of the neighboring cities has their own flavor and I'm sure to blog on this a bit later.

If you are thinking that you might want to travel to this unique California beach town and would like to receive a FREE magazine featuring all fun places to go and things to see, you can find it here: http://www.santacruzcounty.travel/index.shtml

This piece, Esplanade Palm, is 10"x20.

www.floravita.com


Saturday, January 10, 2009

Shade on the North Shore by Jenny Floravita


Oil on canvas, 6" X 8"
Painting can be purchased for $95 plus s/h: from the artist, Jenny Floravita

This painting was definitely the study for a larger piece that I finished last week and in which will be posted in a couple weeks. I'm ramping up to my next tropical adventure. Next Sunday morning I'm flying to Oahu to spend some time on the North Shore.

The scene above just happens to be of the North Shore of Kauai but I thought it would be a good challenge to discover some new inspiring scenes to paint. I choose this time of year because I know that the waves will be heavy and that there will be a lot of mood and movement in the ocean and in the air. Winter time is an exciting time in the Hawaiian Islands and for me, it's a wonderful break from our dreary California weather.

I know...I'm a wimp when it comes to weather. If it hits below 75 degrees, I'm chilled! And actually, we tend to have mild winters, definitely no snow, right up to Christmas. Though the one thing that I miss the most is the fresh air. Even in the summer when the sun is cranking the heat in, we have our windows open, unlike all of our air-conditioned polar bear neighbors.

Today I'm inspired simply because it's warmed up to the mid 60s and we've got the windows open to air the place out. What a difference! My spirit has lifted to a new level and I feel like I can breath again. I truly do not like even the slightest cold, preferring tropical weather but also loving temps in the 80s and 90s. In fact, 90 degrees is somewhat perfect for me.

And now that my beautiful tropical yards have been maturing for about 6 years, it's paradise here when it's warm. And as I write this blog with my tropical office window open, the sound of our pond waterfall and the lushness of the palms outside my window is simply lovely.

Now if only we had our hot tub installed...it's waiting in our garage to be moved to the back. ..

www.floravita.com

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Message of Hope in the new year

Romance on the Coast, Oil on canvas, 36" X 48"

Those of you who know me well know I'm a very goal oriented person. I'm always reaching for goals and typically contemplate and revise my art business goals in late October. For some reason, that has always signaled the end of a year and as I write this, I realize that my birthday is at the end of October. So it truly is the beginning of another year in my journey as an artist. Go figure, an artist walking to the beat of their own drum!

That being said, New Year's Eve has almost always been a time for me to reflect in general terms as my specific goals have already been thrown into action. And New Year's Eve is rarely about parties as my husband and I prefer a quiet evening together and last night was no exception. But what made the night different from other New Year's Eves is that we did decide to go out. We had plans to dine at a favorite Japanese restaurant and before that we stopped by a locally owned mom-and-pop fish store to buy supplies for our treasured fantail goldfishes.

Like so many other people that we know, the owners of this shop were not faring well and in fact, they were feeling very desperate. They are on the brink of failure in their business and loss of everything that they own including their home. My immediate reaction was to try to relate on a human level so I told them that we knew many who were in the same boat and that they are not alone. As we left the shop, tales of the owners losing everything and having no hope for a new future clung in the air all the way to the Japanese restaurant. It was hard to shake off.

Reading about economic horrors in the news is one thing but knowing so many people who have been touched in this economy is another and if I had to describe the feeling, it would be frightening. The events at the pet store had me thinking more in terms of what I am grateful for right now instead of what I plan to achieve next year. And to be truthful, I've been feeling grateful for an awful lot lately as I know what it's like to have struggles. We all do and it's that comparison that helps us appreciate small things in life.

Despite the hard economic times, my year as an artist was actually quite rewarding. I completed several large paintings, some being commissions. I explored a wonderful series of sugar plantation cottages paintings in oil, based on cottages seen in my travels through Kauai. Most of these paintings have sold. I had a surprisingly successful San Francisco solo show where the gallery owner sold 13 paintings in the spring. And though my art festivals felt at times like they were just a lot of work, I met a lot of wonderful people and improved the look of my display. My fine art publisher turned over a new leaf and started to promote my work more, resulting in sales. Also, I must have painted 30 commissioned chandeliers though my greatest achievement in this vein is that I figured out how to launch my very own line of glass, painted chandeliers. That was no easy feat as each of these pieces is totally custom and made from scratch. It took several months before I had a complete piece. Several of my clients snapped up these lights in the fall, including a ginormous custom piece (that I'm particularly proud of) that we installed in Reno.

And I could go on and on and on on positive things related to my art business that happened in 2008. It really wasn't a bad year though I did work hard. Who knows what 2009 holds?

From a personal level, I've felt blessed with such good friends and family to surround me like my husband, parents, brother, all of my wonderful in-laws, cousins and extended family from my husband's side. I don't want to jinx myself, but things on the home front are positive and that allows me to continue to create joyful art. Come to think of it, my biggest challenge lately has been deciding on a series of paintings to start as my inspirations are great right now and that is a challenge for an artist. The ability to choose a direction and focus on it is key to success.

Hopeful in general is how I feel most of the time though I realize that many of my contemporary artist colleagues may wash out this year, at least for a while. That is the cycle of things and nobody ever said art is an easy business. We who do art for a living do so because we feel it is the best way we can contribute to society.

With all this being said, what I think is useful to almost everyone is to list all of the things that you are thankful for, even if you are going through trying times, and try to keep those thoughts close. And that is exactly what I did last night...write a full page of things that I am thankful for.

Health, happiness and prosperity to all of you in the new year! And to those of you who feel less positive, know that times will change as change is the only thing that is certain.