Spring has slowly arrived! The season brings color, green grass and trees, and finally, the flowers are starting to bloom. There was lots of promise of May flowers during April’s cool rainy days. I’m happily looking out on a sunny day and the sparkle of sunlight throughout the grass, trees and early buds. Flowers have been a constant source of inspiration to artists over time. Here’s a look at some of the beautiful artworks from re: artists, as well as a few more.
Read MoreThe Art of Waiting // National Donate Life Month
Spring has been slow to arrive this year. It feels like we have been waiting a long time for the winter to end and for warm weather to arrive. We wait for many things, but nothing compares to the wait being endured by 122,000 people waiting for a life saving organ transplant. Being on the wait list means not knowing whether a donated organ will be received in time.
I was reminded of the issue of waiting while visiting with a sculptor in his studio a few months ago, I was moved by this piece, Waiting for News. Christopher E. Green captures what it is like for family members to wait for news while a loved one is receiving critical care. From the moment I saw it, I felt the emotion he portrays about his experience in a hospital waiting room. “We were all waiting for news of our love ones...Waiting for News attempts to convey the emotion of those that were in limbo, not knowing whether their news would be good or bad. Not knowing which way their emotions would go.”
My family knows this experience well. My husband Howard was diagnosed with Ideopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, an illness with no known cause and no known cure. We were told he had 5 years, at which point, he would be a candidate for a life-saving lung transplant. I wrote about this in a previous blogpost, now, I will emphasize that it is 2 1/2 years later, and we are grateful every day to his organ donor for providing him with a second chance at life. His story, and more about organ donation are on our organization’s site, Share Life.
Last spring at our Inaugural Event for Share Life, we featured the photography of Stuart Zaro, particularly this image, Waiting. This photo, taken in Grand Central Terminal, became a symbol of the long and emotional wait sick patients endure while waiting for a transplant.
When I make studio visits, I am drawn to artwork in the colors of Donate Life, the national organization that promotes the issue. April is National Donate Life Month, and groups around the country promote all things blue and green, colors that signify life and health. This Friday, April 11th is National Blue and Green Day.
Romanoff Elements, along with Share Life, supports the efforts of the New York Organ Donor Network, the New York City based Organ Procurement Organization that coordinates organ donations within New York State. Each donor can potentially save 8 lives and impact up to 50 lives with their organs and tissue. A portion of proceeds of RE sales this month will go towards the NYODN’s work. The artists I work are supportive of this issue as well. I’ve included a few blue and green artworks, prints, paintings, photographs and paintings, inspired by nature in shades of blues and greens.
Photographer Nancy Woodward captured this springtime image, First Day of May, while shooting in the woods, she looked up and “saw the canopy of skies in the afternoon sky”. The image is about light and blue and green and spring all at once!
In True Blue, painter Anne Raymond's vivid colors are inspired by the beauty around her Hamptons' studio.
I love the blues in John Duckworth's abstract photographic landscape, Bohicket Creek. It captures the serene beauty of the South Carolina coast, the ocean, sky and horizon.
This is one of Artist Kerri Rosenthal's paintings with "happy colors", 20/20 Vision, like many of her abstract paintings are filled with exuberant colors and combinations
I extend my appreciation to each of them for allowing me to show their work. I am equally appreciative to those artists I have worked with over time, for being supportive of my family and me as we go through this journey. Please browse artwork here, on the RE site, Facebook and in our gallery. Be in touch if you have any questions.
The wait for spring seems to finally be behind us. We can personally say that my husband's wait is also over, but we think about the 122,000 in the US and over 10,000 in NYS who are waiting for life-saving transplants. If interested in more information about organ donation, or to register to be a donor, please go to ShareLifeNY.org or DonateLife.net to find your state’s registry.
Thank you!
Color // Cool Summer Nights
Late August, and the reality is setting in that Labor Day is around the corner. Barely two weeks left of summer and the ease we feel in the months of July and August. But, two long weekends lay ahead and time to still enjoy the long days and cooler nights before the pace picks up and the fall season begins. The cool shades of blue in these artworks speak to the start of the changing seasons.
Blue is nature’s color, from the water to the sky, it has many depths and hues, from a soft “sky blue” to an intense almost black, “midnight”. A look at the range of blues, from Pantone, an international color resource.
From the soft blues in Bewitched, a great name for this ethereal photo from Elena Lyakir where sky meets water and barely changes color but for a few clouds and horizon line.
To the vibrant color that Andrea Bonfils captures in the depth of the ocean’s blues, in one painting in an encaustic wax diptych, Beyond Deep.
Figurative artist Alex Katz uses broad flat colors in his portraits and landscapes. In August, 2007, he captures sky and water with a medium range of colors, in a spare yet definitive way.
Kerri Rosenthal, an artist known for her colorful work, also reflects the seasons in her paintings. She describes blue as, "Summer skies and the blue oceans, feelings of warmth and happiness." Rosenthal's expressive Monsieur Bleu,
Blue is statistically the most popular color. I have experienced this as I’ve shown and sold artwork and visited homes with varying degrees of the color. Artist Anne Raymond is strongly influenced by the natural beauty of her surroundings in the Hamptons. Blue July is one of her many stunning blue works that reflect the natural color, combined with warmer colors.
The color blue is considered cool and slow as opposed to the warmth and intensity of reds. It’s a comfort color, it takes you to a good place, to where you feel the cool water and endless sky. Photographer Elisa Keogh captures the spectrum of colors in Weston, CT (blue-green-black) from her Horizon Series.
Artists use blue pigments evolved from natural sources, dating back to the mid-1800‘s. The Impressionist painters introduced some of the blue paints, including cerulean, cobalt and ultramarine. Vincent Van Gogh famously captured the night sky in several paintings. In Starry Night Over the Rhone, painted in 1888, he described the many blues, "The dark blue sky is spotted with clouds of an even darker blue than the fundamental blue of intense cobalt, and others of a lighter blue, like the bluish white of the Milky Way ... the sea was very dark ultramarine, the shore a sort of violet and of light red as I see it, and on the dunes, a few bushes of prussian blue.”
Blue is often balanced or calmed with the contrast to white. Traditional blue and white porcelain has been made for over 2000 years from the pigment cobalt. This striking abstract blue and white painting, Passion Noted, aptly named by artist Xanda McCagg, considering the strong feelings many have for their favorite color.
and back to August, the beach and the water. These boys are looking to catch The Wave, a great way to end the summer - from Bramasole Photography by Christine Wexler.
For others, the last weeks of summer are a bit more quiet and reflective. Balance 5, by Andrea Bonfils,
For me, I plan to enjoy the last summer days and will keep wearing my white jeans on these last August nights...before it's time to transition to the blue jeans I'll wear throughout the fall!
Hoping these last days stay warm and the nights comfortably cool.
GREEN // The Color of Spring
In New York, it's trying very hard to be spring, it feels like it's taking a long time to warm up and change seasons. In my last post I talked about organ donation, at the same time I sent an eblast with various artworks that to me, represent spring. Green is the color that symbolizes spring.
I received lots of great comments and compliments about the art I selected to represent spring, so I wanted share some of the artworks and acknowledge the artists. I was drawn to nature when thinking about spring, and when I worked with my good friend and graphic designer, Sandy Shekel, to edit the images and create the layout, the greener the better...and there's a reason. Green symbolizes life, new growth, the environment , ecology, recycling and nature.
The lush foliage in COBAMONG BOAT, by Stuart Zaro 
LAUGHTER, by Elena Lyakir
It also represents tranquility, health and luck. We used it for the Share Life logo, to inspire good health and sharing, through organ donation.
Green is also thought to reduce stress and is recommended for a work environment. I'm not sure I'm ready for a return to green walls, but I would love to look at these paintings,
LINE-ING_12"x12", by Xanda McCagg 
and combined with warm colors that evoke a combination of nature and calm, WATERFALL_60"x48", by Anne Raymond 
Christine Wexler's photograph, THE WAVE, of 3 boys waiting to surf, captures the warmth and spirit of the spring and summer seasons.
There are other artists that come to mind when I think color, and light and spring. Wolf Kahn creates beautiful paintings that evoke nature. I pinned SPRING GREENS on my Pinterest board recently, and it was 're-pinned' and 'liked' many times.
Photographer Bonnie Edelman captures the extraordinary colors of nature in her SCAPES series.
Color theorist Josef Albers explored the relationship of colors and perception in his series of over 1000 geometric paintings, HOMAGE TO THE SQUARE. One of his green paintings, SOFT SPOKEN,
We will be seeing a lot more green in 2013 since Emerald green was selected by Pantone as the Color of the Year. Versions of emerald will find its way into many products this year.
The spring RE eblast, with the variety of inspiring green artwork was created and sent in support of National Donate Life Month. Thanks to President Obama for making it official and acknowledged throughout the country. My family and I are involved in a number of events during the month to help raise awareness and the profile of the dire need in New York State and throughout the US to increase the organ donor registry. Romanoff Elements will be donating a portion of sales to the New York Organ Donor Network and their work on behalf of increasing the donor registry.
I'm hoping that the sun starts to shine more, and we can all enjoy spring; the warmth, the natural and beautiful colors, and the new energy that comes with it!
An American artist in Paris // New works by Xanda McCagg
Artist Xanda McCagg is spending the fall in Paris, leaving her Chelsea studio to exhibit, explore and experience life in Europe for a few months. The NYC based abstract painter spent time last year in Rome and France participating in two academic residencies which I blogged about this past summer.
Her time there resulted in a new body of work and Paris' Galerie Charlot's interest to exhibit her paintings.
I have known Xanda for several years and I’m drawn to the colors, and composition of her work. It evolves and yet it remains familiar as she explores the themes that drive her work.
Together we have shown her work in Bridgehampton at Comerford Collection and placed a number of pieces with new collectors, both there and privately.
I think Xanda’s paintings are familiar due to their basis in figurative work. In the exhibit overview, McCagg says, “At the core of my work is a fascination with the human experience. I consider systems of human behavior in relation to larger happenings: poverty, war, systems of control and understanding, government, and religion vs. mythology. As an artist, I observe and comment on the human condition on both a global and an intimate level....
My work continues to explore the fine line between perception and imagination of these relationships through an articulation of compositional effects. Using line and form, I determine how much or how little information is necessary to communicate these shifts. Although abstract, my work is influenced by formal principles. I use these principles both literally and metaphorically as the vocabulary with which I develop my compositions.”
Valérie Hasson-Benillouche opened the French gallery in 2010. They exhibit both new, young artists, and established European artists, exploring a mix of classical and new media.
Xanda’s work ranges in size from from 8” squares to large format paintings, up to 72"x60". Her signature remains regardless of the size.
Xanda's color range is expansive - yet knowing Xanda's work, there’s a consistency. Her palette ranges from neutrals to the use of strong colors, composed of graphite, oils and collage, in a way that the paintings are always balanced with her unique combination of line, color, texture and form.
The exhibition is October 20 -Nov 17, Galerie Charlot , 47 Rue Charlot, Paris
I wish Xanda lots of success and a great experience in Paris this fall ...
Abstract Works by Xanda McCagg // at Comerford Collection
Xanda McCagg’s energy and enthusiasm about her work is evident from the moment you start speaking with her. We met at an exhibit opening a few years ago in The Chelsea Arts Building, at Spazio 522. Xanda’s studio is there as well, and soon after, I visited with her and was immediately drawn to her work.
In McCagg’s canvases you can see her background in traditonal figurative work, and yet as her work has evolved - the line, composition and color have abstracted into her unique form of expression.
"Although abstract, my work is influenced by formal principles. At the core of my work is a fascination with the human experience. As an artist, I am observing and commenting on the human condition on both a global and an intimate level ... Central to my work is the analogy of line to form; to light; to color; and to the spaces these describe."
Judy Ross, of Judy Ross Textiles introduced me to Karen Comerford, owner of the beautifully edited home decor shop, Comerford Collection, in Bridgehampton, NY. Karen brought Xanda’s work into the store, a wonderful compliment to Comerford’s aesthetic of “modern handcrafted furniture and design”.
The shop is "Modern," but Karen's goal is to "strip it of its implications of austerity and imbue it with a comfortable, uncomplicated simplicity." The store has achieved that, it's fresh and modern but warm and filled with unique and beautifully designed furnishings (many pieces of her own design), accessories, and art that compliments.
Xanda's work ranges from small, intimate 12"x12" canvases
to the larger-scale canvases like Pearling, 72"x60"
There are colors, textures and always enticing furnishings throughout the shop (and in the window...as in this photo)
I enjoy meeting with both Karen and Xanda in her Chelsea studio each spring to make selections for the summer at Comerford.
In April when we met, Xanda shared some highlights of her experiences at two artists residencies last fall in Europe. First at CAMAC, Centre D'Art, Marnay-Sur-Seine, France and then at the American Academy in Rome - visiting artists and scholars program. Xanda talked about the exhilerating experience of working and living among a community of scholars and artists for several months.
Next up, will be an exhibit in Paris this fall, in October. In the meantime, if you are in the Hamptons this summer, stop in to Comerford Collection for the beautiful selection of both home decor and art ...
