Celebrating the Beauty of NYC // for Donate Life Month

Finally, I’m looking out the window and seeing the sun shine.  Soon the snow will be gone, the grass will be green, flowers will be blooming. Spring is a time of renewal, a season to observe how life comes back in nature, color explodes where its been grey and bleak and after these long months of being indoors we will all enjoy the spring air. For my family and I,  April is also a reminder of a time when my husband wasn't sure if he would see the renewal of spring. He, along with over 120,000 people in the US, was waiting for an organ transplant. April is National Donate Life Month, and efforts are underway to help all of those, including the 10,509 New Yorkers who are waiting to see if they will live for another spring season. LiveOnNy recently launched their new campaign to recognize the beauty of New Yorkers and appeal for them to help each other through organ donation.

Howard was diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis, a terminal lung disease in 2006. He was listed on the transplant waiting list in the winter of 2011, we weren't sure what would happen that spring as he waited for a lung transplant. We remember those few months well, and are very grateful that Howard received a double lung transplant a few months later in August. I have posted before about Share Life NY,  our family’s efforts to raise awareness of the dire condition of transplantation in the US, particularly in NYS. The state ranks last, 50th in the country of registered donors, and in NYS only 23% or the residents are registered vs. 47% in the rest of the country. This month, as NYC comes to life with its unique and wonderful energy, I would like to shed light on the work of LiveOnNY, the New York City based Organ Procurement Organization that coordinates organ donations within New York State. (formerly NYODN) and their wonderful efforts to help build the donor registry in the New York area. Their new campaign focuses on NYC, its icons and the caring of its residents.

And their tag line,

Long Live New Yorkers...Long Live New York!

Click here to see their moving video

I often talk of how artists find inspiration in nature, but they are also drawn to the energy and lights of the city. As a New Yorker, we are sometimes immune to the constant movement and stimulation. This month, RE is focusing on The Beauty of NYC, how photographers capture the beauty and noise of the city in their individual styles. RE artist John Duckworth, captures the light and expanse of the city in this panoramic view of Manhattan from across the bridges in Brooklyn.  As a visitor to the city, his outsider perspective sees the whole, as in Bridge

and also the details in the street, in Taxis

Barbara Erdmann, a RE photographer, tells her story by finding pattern and repetition in her images, Urbane has a great contrast of color against the grey ground

RE photographer Stuart Zaro, is the owner of  Zaros Bakery, a third generation NY business. Even though he is at one of his stores in Grand Central Terminal frequently, as an artist he sees the big picture not just the crowds. Here he captures the Beaux Arts architecture and beautiful light of the landmark 1903 building in Grand Central

Waiting, is a favorite image also taken by Zaro at Grand Central. We have featured this photo as an analogy for organ donation for all those on the “waitlist” for transplantation.

The popular aerial views of photographer Gray Malin's travels and adventures around the world provide a different perspective. His New York collection captures the city in warmer weather, from Sheep Meadow in Central Park

to a birds eye view of  Washington Square Park.

RE photographer Kit Kittle created Enlightenment, a series of images with a Buddha statue in different settings. The contrast of the sitting Buddha against a variety of backdrops are illustrated in his book by appropriate philisophical quotes.  Buddha and Graffiti tells a great NY story, the contrast of calm against the grittiness of the street and graffiti. “Do not dwell in the past. Do not dream of the future. Concentrate the mind on the present moment…” - Buddhist Teaching

also from this series, the statue sits among the commuter commotion, Buddha and Grand CentralRE along with Share Life NY supports LiveOnNY as they celebrate New York and urge New Yorkers to learn more about the issue of organ, eye and tissue donation. Each donor can save up to 8 lives and greatly improve the lives of up to 50 people. In NY State someone dies every 15 hours while waiting for a transplant, there are not enough donors for the number of people waiting. We are grateful that Howard’s donor made the decision to join the registry. During the month of April, Romanoff Elements will donate a portion of sales to LiveOnNY. We hope that others can be as fortunate as Howard and enjoy a second chance of life.

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. If you are in New York State, you can register here.

Enjoy the warm weather, spring and the renewal that it brings.

Choose Color // In Art & Interiors

Color theory and studies provide a myriad of reasons why and how individuals respond differently to color. Color response is sensory, it’s literally the first thing we respond to, it can affect our moods, cause physiological reactions, and affect our decision-making. Artist Kerri Rosenthal has clearly made the decision to Choose Color! She wants her art to make people happy, and her use of color does just that. "I love that my paintings bring color into my client's homes - Although at times I paint in soft tonal hues, for the most part, my comfort zone is painting in color, and what I think it does to the homes they end up in- is take clients out of their comfort zone allowing them to bring bright happy colors into their home, they might normally not gravitate to".

I have written about Kerri's artwork before, but seeing how the paintings look in various interiors, is about how the colors in art can contribute to a different and personal feel.  "All of these homes embrace color, some more dramatically than others but there is a definite underlying common denominator… Happy Art = Happy Home…"

As Kerri says, her work is not all about brights, many of her works  are quiet, more subtle. These paintings tend to have a lot of layers and depth. This is one of a series of abstract landscapes, more Impressionist in feel. As color consultant Kate Smith says about creating a calm environment, “Being surrounded by a peaceful, calming color…could certainly make you feel that life is more under control and you are a little more serene". As in this bedroom

or this tonal abstract that beautifully blends and compliments the sofa

Kerri is influenced by various artists and periods, from the Impressionist type landscapes to the Pop Art-like Hearts and Flower Bomb Series. The Drippy Heart Series is pop-inspired, she uses flat planes of solid energetic color, in a large scale interpretation of an everyday object. Kerri creates a painting from this icon of love, with “drippy’s” spilling out of the giant heart, that make you smile. Sunny yellowor sky blue, the bold paintings look beautiful in these sophisticated interiors.

Bright color, bold images lighten the mood, Kerri’s encourages people to have some fun in their rooms. I like this from Sensational Color,  Smith's color advisory service , “Bright colors are the calling card of a joyful space”.

Sensational Color advises its readers and clients to “create a mood that highlights your personality by using color…to build a fun and whimsical mood…Indulge in your inner Peter Pan or Alice in Wonderland…create a playful room—the kind you’ll love to live in". Be playful as Kerri's client did with her bold mix of unexpected color and pattern.

Or rely on art to brighten a neutral space with color. Many choose to decorate their homes in quieter colors. This provides a great backdrop to accent a color you love in the art you select. The art becomes a focal point.

It takes confidence to follow your instincts, decorate and buy art that’s filled with colors you love. Kerri has encouraged others to do that. It's been fun to watch clients respond to her work, usually with a smile!!

Aly Drew and Bets Miller, owners of Nest Inspired Home have been selling Kerri’s artwork in their chic home decor and gift shop. This is the second spring that they have a window filled with Tulips Pure, a limited edition of mini 12" square paintings

The tulips are fun with a dozen…or just one!

The Rye, NY store is filled with a variety of paintings, all artfully arranged in vignettes among their merchandise.

Customers can easily create joyful spaces in their homes with art, furnishings and accessories from Nest.

Color can create the mood you want in your home. The color in art can be a big part of that, by either being the main focus in a neutral room, as part of an overall color scheme or it can be part of the mix in a more exuberant and colorful space. Kerri Rosenthal chooses to create joyful artworks with her fun mix of color that can work to create any one of these moods.

Choose Color… and enjoy it!

Celebrate Mothers! // Flowers are Blooming

Mother’s Day was initially called the “Second Sunday of May” in 1908. One woman decided that mothers should be celebrated and “honored for the sacrifices they made for their children”.  Anna Jarvis spent several years campaigning for this, and in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson made it official.  

Anna gained early financial support for her idea from retailer John Wanamaker and the first official celebration was at Wanamaker’s Dept. Store in Philadelphia. He cleverly saw the potential. According to a recent Forbes article, 19 billion dollars will be spent this year, but at the top of the list (after cards) are flowers, 85% of women will receive them!

Violet Fuchsia, by Deborah Falls

Exactly a century later, Mother’s Day is now celebrated throughout the world. Since it is spring, the day is synonymous with flowers. For me, that relates to the varied and individual ways that artists interpret the natural beauty of flowers, their shapes and colors.

I recently met Vermont based artist Deborah Falls. Deborah has created a process using dyes to paint on silk, “to capture and portray the sense of beauty and wonder” that she experiences in her garden.

The Emerging Bee Balm

Nancy Woodward has developed another individualized approach to capturing what she sees in nature. She combines traditional photography methods to create an image and then uses the digital darkroom to “alter the color palettes and bring new realms in to view."

Branch Sprites on Coral and Gathering,

Artist Christine Triebert uses an unusual technique in her Cameraless Series. I have admired her work at the Architectural Digest Home Show for several years and we recently spoke about her botanical images, photographs made without a camera. These minimal black and white Shadowgraphs are created by capturing the shadows of the objects on paper negatives in the darkroom.

a grouping exhibited (and my poor photograph) at the AD Show

Painter Kerri Rosenthal, with her spirited approach to color, is recognized for her pop-art  inspired Flower Bomb Series, filled with fun colors and combinations. As I wrote in a previous post, Kerri’s work comes from deep within, she has an innate sense of color and appeals to her clients’ desire for work that makes them smile.

Spring in My Step, from the Flower Bomb Series

A group of Tulips Pure, 12" square paintings, just completed for an installation at Nest Inspired Home in Rye, NY

Sunflowers don’t bloom in the Northeast until summer, but are now available in markets most of the year. Regardless of the time of year, it always feels warm when you bring in these happy flowers, with their bright yellow petals contrasted against the dark center and green leaf. Michael E. Anderson, uses traditional large format photography techiniques to capture the flower’s detailed form in black and white. Even without color, the image expresses the flower’s form and beauty, making a statement as a single flower,

or as a pair, even more striking when hung sideways

Wendy Shalen is an artist who works in many mediums and adds to her watercolor series, “Working Women” each summer. The colorful paintings capture the “hard-working women gardeners in Martha’s Vineyard who each summer plant, harvest and collect spectacular flowers which they use to create gorgeous bouquets.” Wendy’s expressive work captures these women, their work ethic and the beauty of the flowers.

Vineyard Flower Girls and Vineyard Flower Girl lll

Anne Raymond is another artist influenced by nature, who expresses herself in abstraction. The Flare Series, is a group of paintings on paper with vibrant color and composition. These prints, or monotypes, are one of a kind. When I first saw these, I loved the bold combination of fuchsia, orange & red softened with a bit of white...a strong composition, with a feminine feel.

These two paintings from the Flare Series look great placed in the just opened chic design studio, Get A Room, in Armonk, NY. Interior designer Laura Michaels, created the white shop to be a background for the colorful art and beautiful mix of home accessories and furnishings.

Anna Jarvis initially, “conceived of Mother’s Day as a day of personal celebration between mothers and families. Her version of the day involved wearing a white carnation as a badge.”  I think she chose early spring as it is a beautiful time of year, flowers are blooming and life begins anew.

I hope you enjoy Mother’s Day!