On October 8th at 7:30 PM, come see me ruin a piece of white paper by coloring inside, outside and all around the lines. :-)

I just want to write a quick post about a little known company in Lynn, Massachusetts that is doing a world of good for the creative world and for the environment. Extras Creative Reuse under the guidance of Jocelyn Almy Testa is a non-profit 501c3 organization dedicated to helping reduce the human footprint on the world while giving back to the creative and business communities.

Often teachers are left to provide art supplies to their students. Extras helps. Many students, K-12 and in college do not have the financial means to obtain top quality art products or school supplies. Extras helps alleviate this. Groups trying to bring a bit of normalcy to the lives of people in recovery and struggling with addiction, or other issues, through art, need low cost supplies to help these people in their recovery. Extras can help. Businesses just starting out, with little to no capital are in need of supplies to help them get started and take those first steps on their dream of owning their business and making a life for themselves and their family. Extras can help.

You can help too. If you are an artist with items just sitting around that you are not going to use, perhaps your work has taken a different direction, or you now work in a different medium, and you need room in your studio, Extras can help. (plus you donation is tax deductible to the extent of the law given Extras is a 501c3 organization) If you are a business and you have times, paper, office supplies, that maybe have a wrong logo, or just are taking up space because you have moved, or are moving, Extras can help.

In a world where so many are out for themselves, isn't it good to have a company that is out there for all? Please give Extras Creative Reuse a look and donate, donate, donate! You can find at the web site them below.

Extras Creative Reuse

Just would like to announce that I have a new print released. If you are looking for a unique gift a car buff for their birthday, holidays, here is a great idea. These come singed and limited and are available on both watercolor and canvas. Drop me a line if interested. As always, thanks for your interest.

Just a quick little post to share two recent paintings that have just been completed. The first is a pastel, 12 x 18 unframed, on Wallis paper. The image is from along Rte 3 in Maine, heading West from Belfast toward Augusta.

The second image is a 10 x 14 oil on canvas of the start of autumn on the Medomak River near Union, Maine.

Soft Summer Flow (pastel 12 x 18)

Medomak River (Union, Maine 10 x 14 oil)

I am pleased to announce that I have just released a new and completely redesigned web site. The new site can be found at the following location. I hope you like it!

http://www.fioravantifineart.com

Breakheart Reservation is in my hometown of Saugus, Massachusetts. It is located just off US Rte. One, behind what is now Target. There is another entrance over by the Northeast Technical High School in Wakefield. You can also find your way in from other various fire roads, but these are the two areas with the "proper" parking area. This image is off the beaten path just down the hill from one of the many ponds located in this wonderful wilderness location. You need to get off the beaten path to find the true beauty of Breakheart. I would often walk and run through here earlier in my life, and with my wife as she battled cancer. Now I go to paint and remember. I hope you like it.

This is a 9 x 12 oil painting. Titled Deep Woods Reflections (Breakheart Reservation / Saugus, MA)

This is a recent pastel that I completed. It is on Wallis pastel paper and measures 12 x 18 unframed. The image depicted here is of the sunset on Little Lake St. George in Liberty, Maine. It is from the dock of my wife's parent's house on the lake. My wife always liked the sunsets best. She used to call them her award winning photos because they were always so pretty. I hope I have done the sunset and her proud.

Just wanted to remind people of two upcoming group shows in which I will be participating. First to kick off is the Sixth Annual  "Pastels by Invitation" exhibition at the Creative Arts Center in Chatham, Massachusetts. This is an awesome show and features some of the best pastel artists from around the country and the world. The venue is great and well worth the visit if you are in the area or looking for something to do. The show officially opens Saturday August 2, 2014 and runs until August 30, 2014. I hope you can make it. My piece in the show will be "Three Birches"

The second exhibit is "The Artist's Paintbox II" and is also a group show and features the oil painters currently studying under Robert Farris at his Woodend Studio location in Lynn, Massachusetts. The exhibit also opens on August 2, 1014, and will run to September 3, 2014. It is has an artist's reception on Sunday, August 3, 2014 from 3-5 PM, and is sponsored at the Gallery at Grosvenor Park, in Salem, Massachusetts. I will have three seascapes in this exhibit.

Iconic and uniquely American, the muscle car epitomized the freedom and love of the road by the American driver. Powerful, they ruled the highways and were the envy of all those who did not own one. Here is a recent pastel, 12 x 18 on Wallis paper.

I must apologize as I have been a major slacker when it comes to this blog. I hope that I can change that moving forward.Suffice to say, part of my non-posts is that my wife of almost 30 years was battling cancer. Sadly, she lost her battle in March of this year. Life has thrown a major curve at me and turned my life upside down, but it has also given me new purpose. I have started to try to expand my artistic repertoire by adding oils and watercolors. Though I am just starting in these mediums, I hope that as I progress, I will give all my collectors new possibilities for adding to their collections. I thank you for your patience and for your continued interest in my art. Here for your viewing, are two new oils. Enjoy!