Monday, January 25, 2010

Paradise Cottage and the Dynamics of Squre Compositions

6"x6" oil painting titled "Paradise Cottage", awaiting a new home...
Painting can be purchased for $100 plus $6 s/h: from the artist, Jenny Floravita

Many of my recent paintings are square and I'm inspired to create many of my next wave of large oil paintings in the square format as well. I love the dynamic compositions and the contemporary feeling to the square shape. It is less traditional and can result in a big impact on a wall, if the piece is large in scale. You can even give a 'traditional' subject a very contemporary twist by painting it on a large square canvas, which is what I did today with my ongoing exotic flower series, which I'm preparing for my next two art shows in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Both my tropical flower paintings and island landscape paintings have adapted nicely to this format. I admit that it can be a challenge to make a square composition work but I enjoy challenges and I'm also aware that I employ my years of experience as a graphic designer in the process of selecting the final composition.

Over the past couple years, I've learned to literally see my world cropped within a zillion different dynamic compositions. My coconut palm portraits are likely responsible for my beginnings down this particular path because my goal was to capture the gesture of the palms in tall, skinny compositions. The tall skinny shapes are just as contemporary as the square shape and though much of my natural painting style is highly traditional in terms of technique, I use these interesting shapes to inspire me to go beyond the "traditional".

The painting above is titled Paradise Cottage and I've composed the composition with the plantation house at the very bottom of the canvas, with only a sliver of the grass line. These paintings are all created on what is called "Gallery Wrapped Canvas" and this does give the painting a stronger 3D presence on the wall. The grass and beach lines continue on through the bottom of the canvas so depending on your perspective, the scene looks very complete.

Hope you've enjoyed my little slice of paradise for today!


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

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Waimea Living and Thank You to Livermore Art Association & Pleasanton Art Association

6"x6" oil painting titled "Waimea Living", awaiting a new home...
Painting can be purchased for $100 plus $6 s/h: from the artist, Jenny Floravita

I would like to extend a big Thank You to the Livermore Art Association and the Pleasanton Art Association for inviting me to be their guest speaker Monday evening. I truly enjoyed this event and it was really nice to meet all of you in person. And Thank You to everyone who braved our stormy weather to come and stay so late. I hope that my presentation will help some of you to carve your own paths in your fine art endevors.

And a big Thank You to Jeanie, my mother-in-law, for helping me with the presentation. We're lucky to have such smart teachers and we should treat them right! They are very under appreciated by the sate.

And Thank You to Pat Smith for purchasing one of my small Mini Master island cottages...because it reminded her of her holiday stay at Kauai's Waimea Plantation Cottages with friends.

Now, about my Mini Master above: I'm continuing in my delightful plantation cottage painting series because so many of you have memories of staying in cottages just like this one on the islands. This cottage is from the Waimea Plantation Cottages on the Westside of Kauai and I must admit that these cottages do provide endless inspiration for my paintings.

What I particularly love about this painting is the livable feeling that it has. I've composed the composition so that just a sliver of grassy ground can be seen at the bottom and this allows for maximum height for the very tall and magestic coconut palms that help to define this small village of ideal island retreats. The actual painting has high-contrast in colors and the splash of flowers in the foreground completes your island experience.

Stay tuned and you will see many more of these paintings as I have a current stash that are just waiting to be released. I have also created quite a few medium-large exotic flower paintings, in preparation for my solo gallery show at Kumquat in San Francisco, which starts 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, January 04, 2010

Blue Island House ....and Size is everything

6"x6" oil painting titled "Blue Island House", awaiting a new home...
Painting can be purchased for $100 plus $6 s/h: from the artist, Jenny Floravita

24"x18" oil painting titled '"Just Another Perfect Day" drying, awaiting a new home...
Painting can be purchased: from the artist, Jenny Floravita

Usually I let the public tell me what size they would like their paintings to be and they do this by collecting some sizes more often than others. Patterns. You start to learn them before kindergarten and they serve the thoughtful artist well. And for the most part, in the last couple years I've done better with either very small paintings or very large works, with the odd show thrown in that breaks all the rules. That's what I believe my market today is very large and very small, based on public feedback.

Funny thing is that, I find myself painting in a size (24"x18") that I don't normally believe sells all that well for me at festivals. In March, I have an annual solo show in San Francisco at a gallery that tends to sell these medium size paintings. The ceilings heights of many average San Franciscan homes are short and many of the older homes have smaller rooms. Keverne, the gallery owner, prefers medium and smaller works and gets nervous if I show up with too many large paintings, so I'm doing my part now to assure that this doesn't happen. And of course, without a crystal ball it's impossible to tell how many paintings I will need for this show. Usually I sell a few but the year before last, I sold out...around 16 in total. Actually, I had to replenish paintings a few times. Keverne might have jinxed that luck by saying in only a way that she can say 'It'll probably never happen again' but that's ok, I'm going to be prepared for just in case. Artists, this would be a great example of painting for a niche market.

In the past, I've sold lots of exotic flowers with coppery backgrounds through my solo shows in The City. I've also sold some of my contemporary palm portraits in narrow and tall sizes and it never fails that I end up selling multiple Mini-Master paintings to people who see my work on the internet or through my own website. When a particular painting is at a gallery, I simply let the gallery owner handle the sale and make the commission. This way we both win and they handle the shipping.

Here's the other thing that never seems to fail to happen: I sell, sell, sell when I'm in the islands. It's likely good karma and I do try to be good. In March, I'll be going to Kauai right after I deliver the new works for my show. Also, our traveling laptop usually decides to go haywire with broken keyes galore and for some reason, it doesn't like for me to answer emails during this period either. (I'm going to now knock on wood to the awesome gallery sales part but Not for the bad computer luck). Did I mention that artists are usually superstitious? We can't help it! You never know when your next big sale or big month will appear.

So please tell me, what size paintings do you collect? I would love to know!!!


Next artist talk: Livermore Art Association and Pleasanton Art Association/PAL meeting, January 18, 7:30 PM at Cultural Arts Building, Pleasanton

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

Saturday, January 02, 2010

Paradise Can Be Yours ...and Optimism in 2010



6"x6" oil painting titled 'Paradise Can Be Yours' drying, awaiting a new home...
Painting can be purchased for $100 plus $6 s/h: from the artist, Jenny Floravita

CNN online has a new poll tonight and the question is: Are you optimistic about 2010? Yes, is my immediate answer and as I write, 73% of the readers who took the toll agree. Working artists tend to be optimistic in general. I think I've written that line a lot lately and it's because when I think about the economy and the business of making and selling art for a living, it's impossible to not acknowledge the perseverance of the artistic spirit.

We working artists tend to have an intense desire to step out of the box and simply 'make' something that may not have function but will definitely add to the ascetic life of the collector. I question myself about this often and yet I have no real answer on why I feel this desire. Artists are born simply wanting to create and to survive, we must present our works to the public. Why some people are born this way and others not is a mystery to me. As a question to myself I sometimes ask: why didn't I have a desire to become something practical, like a dentist, for example. (For the record, my dentist does wonder the same thing when he sees me at my check-ups and remembers that I am an artist). Optimism is definitely a driving force behind keeping the inspiration for art alive.

Ok
, there are the odd balls artists that are truly pessimistic (and they are grumpy at exhibitions, complain about everything) and then, yes, there are many manic artists. It's impossible to not have a few of them. Come to think of it, us creative kin probably all display some form of manic or compulsive trait, to say the least.

Artists who create for a living must be full of the feeling that there is a future for their work. Every industry has it's ups and downs and the American artisan movement (my term) is no different. And 2010 will be a much better year for those of us who are still exhibiting. If anything, those of us who are still in the game are even more creative than we were in years past. Our work is better and our ideas in general are more innovative. This is all happening during a time when a big portion of the US is now accustom to buying 'art' and everything else from big box stores at unbelievably cheap prices. This alone has forced us, as a group of modern gypsy artists who travel the posh towns and the internet, to be the best that we can be. Yes, there is still the tent factor (and I have a funny story to share at a later date about that) but basically we are still very viable in the small business world.

About the painting above: it's one of my newest Mini-Masters and it's titled Paradise Can Be Yours and is a 6x6 oil on gallery wrapped canvas. This is another one of my North Shore Kauai paintings. When it's dry, I'll post a straight on view of this painting.

Now, that's looking up to a great 2010!!!

Next artist talk: Livermore Art Association and Pleasanton Art Association/PAL meeting, January 18, 7:30 PM at Cultural Arts Building, Pleasanton

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

Friday, January 01, 2010

Own your own Hawaii Beach House



6"x6" and 12"x6" oil paintings drying, awaiting new homes...
Painting can be purchased for $100 plus $6 s/h: from the artist, Jenny Floravita

As we roll into the new year, I've been here working in my studio, contemplating the direction of my work (as always). The life of an artist is filled with challenges: which painting or set of paintings to work on next, which colors will set the overall tone of a piece, composition, solving spacial/color issues, choosing shows, etc... The list goes on and on and I haven't even touched the tip of the ice burg nor have I even touched upon how I go about selling my work and making a living, ie, running a small business.

What is exceptionally challenging for me is the fact that I work in a few different disciplines equally well. I paint my island scenes in both oil and watercolors as I do my tropical flowers. And my reverse painted chandeliers are a total work within themselves and that's taken me on an interesting journey these past couple years...but I won't go into that here as this blog is for my 'traditional' paintings.

No, what I want to tell you is that as an artist, I'm filled with inspiration most days of the week. And it's difficult to pick the next painting. I'll be at my easel, as I was today, and I'll switch directions right before I start a painting. It's a process in my mind that I go through...and as an artist, I'm constantly challenging myself to learn more about my paintings and the subjects that I paint and how they are going to be approached. It's hard to explain but it's a process that I bet a lot of artists struggle with: reigning in the inspiration. And let me tell you, having too much inspiration sure beats the few days in the month where I just don't feel like painting at all (and indeed, I don't paint on these days).

Lucky for me, today was an inspired day!

And while I'm at it, the photos above are paintings drying in my studio and are from this past week. They are my newest Mini-Masters. As I was painting them, I was thinking that the island cottages that have have been so popular with my collectors are an excellent way to "own" your own beach house. No monthly dues or electric bills and you don't even need hurricane insurance! Now how good of a deal is that!

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