National Donate Life Month

Carol Romanoff April 7, 2014

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!

Valentine's Day // Celebrate with heART!

Carol Romanoff February 5, 2014

February 14th celebrates love and connectedness. Like most holidays, Valentine's Day has become an opportunity to market and sell products, but it’s hard to ignore the day and the ads, when the sentiment it’s promoting is love and friendship. In the visual realm, the holiday is about color; reds, pinks and fuchsias, and about shape; hearts, hearts and more hearts!

The spectrum of color symbolizes all that’s synonomous with Valentine’s Day. Red is about passion, love, desire and also energy, strength and power. Red is interesting, people love it…or they don’t. There are artists recognized for their strong use of color, particularly red. Abstract Expressionist Barnett Newman, known as a color field painter for his canvases of pure flat color that expressed his philosophies (not for this post), had numerous solid red paintings. Vir Heroicus Sublimis, 1950-51, from his Zip Series, is in MOMA's permanent collection.

Also minimal, this photograph by Elisa Keogh captures the colors of a vibrant sunset, red contrasted with warm golds, from her Horizon series.

Anne Raymond's artwork has a strong focus on color. Clients and I often gravitate towards her blue canvases, but for red-lovers, her paintings are very appealing. Cadmium pairs the color of the red dye itself with natural greens and golds for a strong but warm result.

Painter Xanda McCagg uses layers of color, texture and line in her work. Struck, covers this range of colors in a small canvas, 10.5"x8.5"

Shelli Breidenbach is known for her equestrian photography, which is featured in Ralph Lauren stores throughout the world. One of her series Red, is bold, she silhouettes the horses against strong colorful backgrounds to create a graphic image.

Pink, at the opposite end of the red spectrum is a softer color that also symbolizes love and romance, and in addition, caring and tenderness. Andrea Bonfils uses pinks with reds in her mixed media reference to Mark Rothko, Rothko Pink Window

The heart shape has been the symbol of love and emotion since the Middle Ages. The first recorded drawing of a heart was documented in 1250 and ever since, hearts have been and remain popular with artists and collectors. From subtle and abstract, Red February ll, in a series by Raymond,

to fun and bold. “Drippy Heart”, from Kerri Rosenthal, one of many in her successful heart series.

A peek at how one of Rosenthal's graphic hearts looks in a beautifully styled entry by her design firm, D2 Interieurs

Actress Drew Barrymore recently published a photography book devoted to her heart collection. "I have always loved hearts…the way that a continuous line accomplishes the most extraordinary thing--it conveys love." Her book Find It In Everything, contains the photos of heart-shaped objects and patterns she has come across in everyday life and photographed over the past ten years, from a bowl of cut tomatoes

to a random paper on the street

Contemporary artist, Jim Dine, is renowned for his heart-filled artwork, prints, paintings and sculptures. He combines the influence of Pop Art, with everyday objects and hearts. For Dine, the hearts function as a "sign that one can care, that there is a constant presence of feeling." From a colorful print, Four Hearts, 1969

to the 12' Two Big Black Hearts, 1985

Valentine's Day is about feelings, and the day is drenched in warm colors; from pinks to strong reds, and visions of hearts everywhere to convey the feelings. I will overlook the ads and the commercial aspect of the holiday…because I like that it’s a day that speaks to the sentiments of friendship and love and connectedness.

And, I'll enjoy the chocolates that seem to be everywhere…Happy Valentine's Day!

Color // Warm Winter Blues

Carol Romanoff January 22, 2014

Blue, in all of its variations is the most embraced color. It runs from soft and powdery to rich cobalt to intense midnight. Interesting, that it conveys warmth, trust and calm and then also references the darker “winter blues”, in part due to winter’s more somber mood, shorter days with less light.

As I look outside at a late afternoon winter sky, there’s a beautiful blue mixed with rose but it’s darkened by the bare trees, similar to the sky in Elena Lyakir’s, Dream of Flying

Artists have always been inspired by nature, and attempt to capture the essence of what they see and feel from it’s colors and beauty. Claude Monet’s Water Lilies, a series of 250 paintings of his famous gardens at Giverny, is a striking artwork illustrating this. The Clouds, 1920–1926 installation at the Musee de l’Orangerie in Paris provides an all-encompassing view of the stunning blue canvases

Muse_e_Orangerie_Nymphe_as_panorama_5_02_13_3_Sophie_Boegly

The blues of winter range in depth and hue. Westport, from Elisa Keogh's Horizons Series has rich red blues contrasted with a golden light.

Anne Raymond’sJanuary Blue Series combines similar deep blues with greener warm tones of teal. I talked recently with Anne about her inspiration, always from nature, “The refracted light of winter and the movement in the gorgeous forest where I work are both visual inspiration in this series. The branches move swiftly sealing in my memory their momentary energy.” Two paintings from the series; January Blue lV and January Blue l

I often reference Wolf Kahn, Dark and Deep is one of his beautiful works using a blue palette

Blue, from the Color Block Series by Shelli Breidenbach are softer, reflecting her response to the ocean. “The Color Block Series is a … true abstract landscape photograph, inspired by the early morning hues of Sag Harbor Bay. The challenge has been to capture the integrity and tranquility of the water without compromising it … in hues that suggest simplicity, elegance, and an understated emotion."

The grayer blues of Predator Views, by Andrea Bonfils, a mixed media painting captures the starkness of winter.

AB.Predator's View.oil and encaustic_72"x36":SOLD

Blue has cultural references that have to do with melancholy. One explanation for the term ‘feeling blue’ dates back to the ‘blue devil’ in the 17th century. Songwriters use this symbolism when they ‘sing the blues’. January and the cold, dark months to come are cause for the “winter blues”. The Blues, from Elena Lyakir

Interesting that even with this ‘dark’ side, blue is the most popular color. It also has it’s ‘light’ side; the sea, the sky and with it the intangible references of warmth, trust, loyalty, authority and more. I took a quick look through Pinterest at the blue boards - it seemed endless. There are pins of blue flowers, fish, food, home furnishings, fashion, a bit of everything.

The blues in winter are more serene, and darker. Kerri Rosenthal known for her exuberant use of color, especially bright color, also captures the more somber mood of winter, “Color is everywhere for me, but in winter I tend to see and paint in washed down tones." From her Puzzle Moderne Series, Recharge

"Everything seems a bit out of focus, this is reflected in my wintry paintings…muted, cold, snowy, foggy scapes.” Stormy Sunday No.2

The soft blue I saw in the late afternoon light when I started this post, has now deepened in the early evening to a rich slate blue that rivals any summer sky. The dark evening sky of Stuart Zaro's, Crescent Moon, Blue Sky from The Nighlight Series.

Winter stays around a little too long for me, but I enjoy it’s warm colors, mellower moods and the artwork it inspires while it’s here…

It’s a New (art) World // art & Amazon

Carol Romanoff December 11, 2013

"Amazon prides itself on disrupting the traditional way of doing things". This was Charlie Rose's introduction to his recent 60 Minutes interview with Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon. The question many in the art world are asking is whether Amazon will disrupt the way business has traditionally been done in their industry.

dis·rupt \dis-ˈrəpt\: to cause (something) to be unable to continue in the normal way : to interrupt the normal progress or activity of (something)

The fact that this question is being asked seems to tell the answer. Since the launch of Amazon Art in August there has been lots of conversation, pro and con as to whether the world's largest online retailer can be successful selling art.

Since its launch in August this year, Amazon Art quickly became the largest global art seller. According to a New York Times article, Art Collections a Click Away, they launched with “180 galleries worldwide on their site, offering for sale over 43,000 artworks from 4,500 artists…to their 100 million customers in North America and 225 million customers worldwide.” Selling art in the same way they sell books and toothpaste presents the question of how it will be perceived, and whether it will be successful.

The NYTimes quoted Art Tactic, referencing their survey of galleries, they found that “89% of those surveyed sold art online”. This is not new, it’s just being exploded on a large scale by Amazon.

Giving the Gift of Art, a recent Wall Street Journal article details the numerous art sellers offering art for this holiday season ranging from an $18.00 Andy Warhol soup can puzzle to an $18,000 Warhol screen print. On Amazon, there are Warhol's listed for up to 35 million dollars!Romanoff Elements evolved from an interest to make art more “accessible” - to create an ease for buying art and to bring art to where the customers are. Time is a valuable commodity, and many are not interested in spending theirs browsing galleries and art fairs. Even for those who love art, they may not choose to spend much time shopping for it. It makes sense. Shopping for art online doesn't take away from the galleries and fairs, in fact, it has the potential to create new art customers, and more possibilities for collectors.

Naysayers talk about the importance of seeing art in person, the relationship with the dealer and learning about the artist and artwork. All of this can be done with online conversation and discussion. Criticism is often focused at the highest end of the art market. Yet, according to Business Insider, “Out of some 40,000 items (listed on Amazon), including thousands of original works — 18,000 are under $1,000 and 29,000 are under $5,000”. The focus is not on the much discussed 1941 Norman Rockwell’s painting, “Willie Gillis: Package From Home” listed for $4.85 million, rather on those items listed for under $5,000.

The question of how an artwork is represented by it’s photo is a good one. Can the color, depth and texture be fully appreciated on a two-dimensional screen? A part of Amazon’s disruptive behavior is to guarantee returns within 30 days. Individual galleries have varying policies regarding this, but the artwork can go back. This eliminates a lot of uncertainty.

The presentation of art on Amazon has been criticized for not being “upscale," not being “refined” as it should be for the creative process of looking at and buying art. Business Insider addresses what it does right though, “The real upside of shopping on Amazon for art…is how user friendly it is: You can search by color, size, price, and even subject.” Other art sites, it claims, are not as, “inherently easy to navigate.” Again,Amazon can apply its successful formula to yet another category.

When you browse through photography, you can select an image, the size of the image, and the matte and framing options

and you can see how the artwork will look to scale in a roomAmazon, a data-driven business entered online art selling because they established the growth potential among their customers. Bezos described their "consumer centricity… that they don't want to erode the (consumer) trust" to Rose in the December 1st interview. If anyone can be responsive and create a way to sell art online, Amazon will. They will respond to feedback, take their time and thoughtfully develop a way to serve their market.

They are working to ‘de-mystify’ the process. The dealers and galleries that have joined the site, sell their work elsewhere, but agree that Amazon can help reach many more (millions) of customers than they can through more traditional channels. Stephen Tanenbaum, Co-Founder of UGallery told Business Insider, "We sold a piece of art to Germany this morning and another one to California…As word starts to get out, I think people are giving it a shot."

Romanoff Elements is “giving it a shot” also. We look forward to the potential of attracting new buyers from throughout the world. Please visit our gallery on Amazon Art, scroll through and experience this new (and disruptive) art shopping and buying experience.