Featured Artist, Jeff Fioravanti is the guest artist for Pop Up beginning Tuesday, September 18 through Monday, September 24. Read on to learn more about his inspiration, his process, and his work.
September 18 to September 24
“Painting today, to preserve the past, for tomorrow!” This is my mission, it is my inspiration. It is what drives me to create pieces of tangible art. Art designed not just showcase the deep, physical beauty of our country, but art that tells the story of America itself, her people, their struggles, and triumphs. What I often call Painting the Soul of America.
When I stand or walk upon the great earth that is our nation, I am forever scanning the horizon, scanning how best to read and render the majestic landscape. From its’ swaying grass, sturdy trees, flowing rivers, translucent brooks and streams to how to catch the constant give and take between land and sea. The complex and the simplicity of color dancing across the countryside and the breathtaking vistas kissed and embraced by the sun are awe-inspiring unto themselves. Yet I find they become truly rich and magical, alive, when the extraordinary stories of our nation are intertwined with the natural beauty of these magnificent lands.
Though I work in other mediums, including oils and watercolor, it is pastels that are my medium of choice for the majority of my finished work. They are pure, immediate, and luminous, all important components in my interaction with and interpretation of the American landscape. They are durable and offer great flexibility, which I find, allows me the freedom to express and apply a wide range of techniques, necessary to capture the power and strength of the treasured lands, shores, and properties of our country.
Although many of my earlier pastels were created using Canson Mi-Teintes paper, today I find myself using more and more, the papers produced by Kitty Wallis. I often wash them with burnt sienna gouache or with an alcohol pastel wash. I am always looking for other substrates on which to create.
I tend to be blue-green sensitive. Toning or using toned papers that complement my senses really help to make the colors pop. I also find that the Wallis, Art Spectrum, UART and similar papers allow me a more natural feel to each composition. I use less blending of the pastels with my fingers, or other implements, which allows more of the pastels themselves to interact and blend with each other via multiple applied layers. I have also recently experimented with watercolor board and toned canvas, among other supports for my artwork.
My art, my focus, and my passion are my mission. Painting today to preserve the past for tomorrow. I am dedicated to giving a voice, a connection, a link, to those who no longer can speak, but whose spirit forever lives in the bosom of the plants, fields, and waters of our nation.
Fioravanti will be showing his work at Pop Up on Maine Art Hill at 5 Chase Hill Rd. in Kennebunk from September 18 to September 24. The gallery is open every day at 10 am. For more info about Jeff Fioravanti and his work, follow this link to his website. www.fioravantifineart.com