I have been admiring Georgianne Fastia's work from afar for some time now. She holds a studio space where my husband used to paint, and I've always been drawn to her paintings. There is a sweet but eerie quality to each work that I find captivating.
Read on to read what inspires her and how she got her start.
Name: Georgianne Fastia
Age: 45
Town: San Francisco
Number of Children and ages: Sophie Lee, 2
Job: independent artist and founder, promoter & curator of FRESHART SF
How long have you been an artist? When did you get your start?
I started painting in 2001, when a boyfriend and I broke up while still sharing a rent controlled apartment. He actually rented my studio for me, to get me out of the house until I found a place of my own. The Art Explosion rented studios on a month to month basis for under $150, and was open 24/7. It was the ideal corner to hide out in, observing the artistic process of others. I was unemployed and disheartened, however that turned out to be a blessing as I had 18 hours a day to muck about, there were art supplies in the free pile, and good artists that I learned from by observing what worked for them and what did not, and my own interior world, which provided the emotional reservoir from which I drew. Given an equal amount of talent as the next person; there is nothing like an eviction notice from your landlord to help you make smarter painting choices.
Do you have any formal training?
I am completely self taught, however my mom is a high school art teacher and much of what I take as common knowledge, I picked up from her. She taught me to figure things out for myself, mix red and green to get richer blacks, leave parts unfinished for the eye to fill in and when in doubt, throw it out.
How do you find your subjects?
I remain open and receptive to serendipty, a sudden inexplicable congruence in imagery from the collective unconscious. In between shows,here is a fallow period where I allow myself time to idly look through images on flicker, old national geographics, wander the studio, letting songs, images, bits of a poem, sift into my mind.
What is your favorite painting(s) you've created?
For spring Open studios 2009 I was inspired by photographs about Candomble, the AfroCarribean religion celebrating the Orixas.
What inspires your paintings?
Usually an image torn from a magazine will become the inspiration, although I rarely paint directly from a photograph as I did with Girls studying.
Usually it is more about creating an emotion in the studio and projecting outwards from there. I try to inhabit a state of mind until it has a soundtrack, favors a certain time of day, quality of light. I compile these snippets, in what used to be overflowing notebooks. Now, thanks to blogging, I can upload just about anything, and that becomes my inspiration board, including music in the form of youtube clips.
How do you find time and energy to be creative and paint while having a young child?
The short answer is I don't require much sleep, which is good, because I don't get much. I usually paint at night after my baby goes to bed, 8pm-2, 3 or 4am. The long answer is I am really only able to have this all consuming career because I have an amazing supportive and wonderful partner, Asher Abrams, who has taken off fulltime work to share in raising Sophie.
What do you do for childcare?
We are part of a day care co-op: Puddle Jumpers Workshop, founded in 1975 by local parents who sought an alternative to traditional daycare. My partner and I work there 4 hours for every 16 hours she has care. It works out really well for us and we have made an extended support system of other parents through this amazing experience.
What do you like to do to relax?
The answer to this question has me stumped. Hypothetically? I actually get anxious when I relax. I have a condition called hypomania, and I have learned to channel that energy to my art. It is a genuine struggle for me to relax and that is why motherhood has been so healing for me, because being with my daughter keeps me present and stops my mind from racing.
Do you have any advice for others on how they can make a living as an artist?
Make good work and sell it for a good price. Make it impossible for the patron to not buy it. I notice good artists not making a living — the investment in higher education has a detrimental effect on their ability to sell their work. I believe an emerging artist has not earned the right to charge more than a fair wage for their labors, no matter what they owe for student loans When first starting out, I priced my art for just what it took me to make it: A 30 x 30" painting cost me $100 in materials and averaged 20 hours x's $20 an hour = $500. I consciously call my artwork,“product”. I do not get attached, I work quickly doing prep work in assembly line manner, hen I try to get deeply into a state of inspiration to make something beautiful and affordable that I would like to buy myself. Most of my clients are first time art buyers: To inspire a person who has never bought art before is a significant thing: You are helping them reframe themselves, now they are “ collectors”. You never know how this goodwill will reveal itself.
Establish a presence in the art world. I practice a principle of abundance and have found ways to become known in the art scene told that feel right for me as an older (unhip) artist and mother (really unhip): giving back to the community by reviewing art shows, offering workshops for beginning artists, and sharing exhibition opportunities through FRESHART SF's Calls For Art.
Think of your career in the long view: I consider every opportunity to get my work before the public eye a good thing, and have vigorously pursued alternative spaces. I sold my first painting at StarBucks for a few hundred dollars to a woman who has since become an avid collector. This July her home was highlighted in Elle Décor and that first painting featured prominently. I have been getting commissions from all over the country as a direct result of that "little sale almost nine years ago, in a coffee shop."
Put equal effort into the business and marketing aspect of your art career as you do the creative. I did not have the benefit/burden of school, I sought out experts in the field that I could afford. I paid Alan Bamberger, writer of artbusiness.com for a private career consultation, the best $150 I ever spent. I read all his articles for artists and took notes. Some of his good advice includes:
Easy-to-read price list
Put your photo on your promo material
Be friendly, approachable and willing to do whatever it takes to get that painting home with them
Accept payment on installment, and a discount for repeat customers
You can find Georgianne, as well as many other artists at San Francisco Open Studios, October 9th-11th. Georgianne's studio is at Art Explosion, 2425 17th Street @ Hampshire.
The local jazz scene hasn't really thrived since the days when the Fillmore played host to Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, and John Coltrane, while Miles Davis held court at the Blackhawk in the Tenderloin and Duke Ellington premiered his Concert of Sacred Music at Grace Cathedral.
But there's been something of a jazz renaissance about town lately, especially in the area of intimate, retro-moderne venues where hepcats can sip cocktails and have a nice meal while the sounds of what jazz scribe Grover Sales called "America's classical music" works its magic.
Joining Yoshi's, 1300 on Fillmore, Rasselas, and Savanna Jazz in the supperclub sweepstakes is Coda, a two-month-old venue on the northern edge of the Mission. Six nights a week, this friendly and attractive hangout features live bop, bossa nova, Afro-Cuban, and modern jazz with an occasional hint of tango, funk, R&B, and hip-hop — not to mention food, drink, and that irresistibly Copa Room "dinner and a show" ambience.
Owner-musician Bruce Hanson and chef–general manager Chris Pastena have created a space that certainly looks like a jazz club, with mood lighting and exposed brick walls, banquettes and barstools, and original neo-noir avant-garde artwork by Georgianne Fastaia.Cool blue drapes part to reveal a stage where Mucho Axé, the Broun Fellinis, and other jazzpersons practice their craft. The backlit bar is a swingin' place to hang out and enjoy the music. And while the food isn't always up to the joint's high spirits and 'Round Midnight vibe, the total package is well worth experiencing.
The menu is divided into four sections (Vegetables, Salads and Soups, Starches and Grains, Meats and Fishes), each featuring half a dozen à la carte items in a range of prices and proclivities. This way, hungry jazz fans can assemble a full-fledged meal, a noshfest for a few friends, or just a cocktail-friendly small plate or two. The vegetable offerings in particular are surprisingly inexpensive, considering the abundance of roughage proffered, but results were mixed. The broccoli rabe ($4) was sautéed in just the right amount of garlic and olive oil to accent the greenery without overwhelming its fresh, slightly pungent flavor. The lush, earthy pleasures of the sautéed spinach ($3.25), on the other hand, were subverted by too free a hand with the salt shaker. But the tricolored cauliflower ($3.50), while a tad al dente, had a subtle buttery flavor that made the dish worthwhile.
Among the starches was a gummy risotto ($8.50) that absorbed enough red wine to color it a striking deep purple, but the combination of grape and carbs and overtangy goat cheese was oddly unexciting and overwhelming at the same time. Another starch, the trio of sauces with rosemary toast ($4), makes a nice snack for a group: a dozen spears of slender, crunchy sourdough served with housemade salsa verde (chunky, sharp, and tasty), aioli (too much salt, not enough garlic), and romesco (a sweet, garden-fresh pleasure). Our favorite salad was the Israeli couscous ($4.25), luscious pasta pellets draped in parsley and tender bits of sautéed zucchini. It was simple and irresistible. The squash salad ($7.50) wasn't as successful: long unwieldy strips of raw zucchini tossed with an overly subtle lemon dressing, a few clumps of goat cheese on the side, and pretty boring. And the seared tuna ($11.75), while perfectly fresh, had all of its creamy texture cooked out of it, although its bed of Napa cabbage jazzed with beets and horseradish was bright and delectable.
One of the seafood dishes, the roasted halibut ($18), was moist, delicate, and perfectly cooked, but the best part of the dish was the bed of slender soba noodles soaking up its wine-infused broth. The crab ravioli ($15.50) featured good rustic housemade pasta, but the minimal filling tasted more of pepper than of crab, and its sauce was overrich and oily to boot. Happily, pork loin ($14.50) is on the menu as well. Two thick filets of tender, richly flavored meat were served in a luscious cream sauce spiked with a dollop of Irish whiskey and dusted with just enough ground coffee to jolt the dish out of its own gaudiness. A saucer-sized croûte is provided to soak up the yummy drippings.
Booze (in the form of Jack Daniel's) also ignited our favorite dessert, the pecan tart ($6.75), a miniature pie so tipsy with Tennessee whiskey you almost don't notice that its pastry is flaky and rich; its filling is dark, sweet, and decadent; and its nutmeats are crunchy and absolutely abundant. Not so good: the lavender panna cotta ($5.50). Unlike the delicate, almost ethereal panna cottas we've known and loved, Coda's is burdened with a thick, chewy texture as well as a perfunctory hint of lavender and a sour, watery strawberry-fan garnish. An excellent alternative is the grapefruit Campari sorbet ($5.75), a bracing, bittersweet, taste-bud–expanding digestif with a somewhat redundant drizzle of balsamic syrup on top.
An interesting aspect of Coda's wine list is the selection of wines "on tap," vintages purchased from wineries by the oxygen-free barrel instead of the persnickety bottle and available by the glass ($6.50-$12) or carafe ($26-$48). Aside from these four options (Truchard's 2008 Carneros Chardonnay, Sutton's 2008 Rattlesnake rosé, Saintsbury's 2008 Carneros Pinot Noir, and Miner's 2008 Napa Cabernet), the restaurant offers 21 thoughtfully selected French, Italian, and California wines, seven of them by the glass. It would be a shame to pass up one of Coda's impressive house cocktails: On the Skizz ($9), for example, a tall, cool, ruby-red concoction of Jameson, ginger beer, orange bitters, and pomegranate juice that's all tang, zap, and zest; or the BaCu Sour ($10), in which Stolichnaya, Hendrick's gin, lemon juice, cucumber, and fresh basil attain a perfect balance among the sweet, the tart, the spicy, and the potent. Not unlike America's classical music itself.
What is your favorite painting(s) you've created? For spring Open studios 2009 I was inspired by photographs about Candomble, the AfroCarribean religion celebrating the Orixas.
Oxum the orisha of sweetwater 36 x 36 oil 09 sold goddess of freshwater and pearls
What inspires your paintings? Usually an image torn from a magazine will become the inspiration, although I rarely paint directly from a photograph as I did with Girls studying. (below)
36x 60oil 09 girls studying Usually it is more about creating an emotion in the studio and projecting outwards from there. I try to inhabit a state of mind until it has a soundtrack , favors a certain time of day, quality of light. I compile these snippets, in what used to be overflowing notebooks. Now, thanks to blogging, I can upload just about anything that becomes my inspiration board, including music in the form of utube clips.
I am most excited by the new social networking platforms allowing me to, in eseense create a virtual tour of the series as it progressed in the form of mini websites, specific to a single body of work which I call weblinks. Please take a peek inside my virtual studio as I created the seriesThe wayfaring strangerson display at Coda Jazz and Supper Club through november 2 2009.
This page is where I started germinating the inspiration for the candomble series:reference photos, and clips of music from the region, notes on the culture :
Ovum’s dance recalls her bathing in a waterfall,Ovum likes beauty, and devotes her life to it. also the goddess of love and fertility, and looks after newborns
The girl with her toes painted yellow for Ovum, the little sun, and the word for power—axe—written on the wall Procreation, beauty, riches, love, and fertility. The mistress of jewels and fresh water. This is Oxum
What a thrill to be a part of the Grand Opening of Coda Enjoy the elegant vibe, feel good knowing this is a jazz supper club for the future---musicians are motivated to do it yourself as they keep an unprecedented 100% of the door. In the former Levende Lounge is Coda, a jazz supper club which after 9 PM devotes itself to showcasing " the best in local jazz"... Sunday brunches that thrill to live gospel and Tuesday night takeovers by the Jazz Mafia. A sparkling place to eat, drink and groove.
HELPING ARTISTS
Coda’s mission to support artists extends beyond musicians. Visual artists have been given a voice as well. With an economy that has forced many Bay Area gallery doors closed, this alternate location gives much-needed exhibition space to local artists.
GIVING BACK
See something you like and are considering buying it? You can feel good knowing that a portion of the proceeds goes to help area music and visual arts programs in the community.
ALL ART AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE
Contact Michelle Jader at art@codalive.com for purchase inquiries
gALLERY 560: a COLLECTION OF well known emerging artists, all providing substantial representations of their work. Most impressive were THE ELEGANTLY executed resin-covered works buy LuCKy Rapp,,
HOWEVER , more than the work itself, i WAS INTRIGUED ENOUGH TO SIT DOWN
AND READ THE ENTIRE 70 PAGE bound journal documenting HER entire
process. It WAS A pEek into the artist's heart and mind: very BEAUTIFULLY PUT together ,REFRESHINGLY unpretentioUs and intimate.
pAUL Morin'S work, faithfully rendered male nudes are both sensual and COMPOSED, and do what they set out to. the figurative paintings of fernandoreyes WERE PLAYFUL AND complex . I was moved BY ceceliaweldons ATMOSPHERIC ENCAUSTICpaintings in saturated red, and IMPRESSED WITH kirstentraDOWSKYSREMINISCENT PAINTING STYLE WHICH REVEALS MORE TO THE VIEWER THE CLOSER YOU LOOK.
THE STAND OUT PIECE FOR ME , WAS THE WORK OF ELANA KUNDALL, WHO MAKES ABSTRACTION APPEAR AN EFFORTLESS DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE OPEN HEART AND A RADIANT MIND. there ARE NO EXTRANEOUS OR EFFORTLESS MARKS IN HER WORK.SHE MAKES EXCELLENT CHOICES AND BEAUTIFUL PAINTINGS.
kEVINpINCUS DEBUTED NEW WORK THAT WERE A JUMP FORWARD FROM THE RESTRAINED WHITED-OUT ABSTRACTIONS HE HAS BECOME KNOWN FOR,.THESE WERE BLOODY IRREVERENT ANDWITH TITLES LIKE "THE MISFIT" AND "The NITWIT" SEEMED TO BE MOCKING THE VERY SERIOUSNESS WITH WHICH THE PANELS ARE PAINTED AND CONSTRUCTED.
Body Language: Figurative Art Speaks Friday, July 17th 7-1opm
CANDOMBLE: the Orishas of Brazil. Slaves in America were criminalized for practicing the forbidden African Religion... It is said that is why Brazil got the Samba and America got the Blues...
ALSO Artists ANNUAL HALF-OFF STUDIO CLEARANCE SALE Older works , many Flood paintings and Cows
Studio 5, the Art Explosion 2425 17th St @ hampshire 415 368 1620
In 2006, I responded to Hurricane Katrina with a series of abstract flooded landscapes. Three years later, I revisit the ninth ward with The Floating City which seeks to convey the sadness and loss of an inexorably altered world.
find my work year round at: The Barber Lounge, 845 Folsom @ 4th Starbucks, Bryant at mariposa Starbucks, Brannan @4th
Please stop by Artist-Xchange Gallery. In addition to an eclectic assortment of jewelry, gifts and artwork from local Artists, you can find a selection of my paintings there year round .
Artist-Xchange Gallery is open late in theHeart of the Mission: 3169 16th Street San FranciscoCA 94103 Mon-Fri: 12pm - 9pm Sat: 11am - 9pm Sun: 11am - 8pm
We don't want to be annoying. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, simply reply with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject.
I created FRESH ART SF as a complimentary service for merchants
To present Artists I admire to venues showcasing local art
To create a user friendly online portfolio of exhibiting artists
To assist in coordinating a rotation of Art for local venues
As a SERVICE FOR ARTISTS:
To provide artists with exhibition and low-commission sales opportunities
To serve as a resource:assisting Artists with promotion, marketing and referals
To assist new Artists hang their show, and host a reception
TO FACILITATE SALES and PROMOTE GOODWILL
Please view the non-exclusiveArtist Contract defining the terms by which the Artist provides Art to FRESH Art’s exhibition venues & for which FRESH ART earns a 25% commission.
Sales go through the Artist. It is the Artists responsibility to accurately report sales. My commission is based on the benefit I bring to the Artist bycultivating relationships in the community in order to provide the artist with opportunities to sell their work
is a labor of love founded by San Francisco Artist Georgianne Fastaia, who has been helping Artists exhibit their work in alternative venues since 2005, in an effort to support the independence of the working artist.
laura
Georgianne Fastaia
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