Letty's Blog

Re-cap of the La Jolla Art Association Exhibition

Saturday night's opening was a great success! In Nowak's first solo exhibition at the La Jolla Art Association Gallery she presented a series of new paintings from her Faces of Surfing collection. The show remains open to the public though May 12th. The LJAA Gallery is located at 8100 Paseo del Ocaso, La Jolla, CA 92037, and is open daily from 11am till 5pm.

Installation of La Jolla Art Association Gallery

The installation of Nowak's first San Diego exhibition is complete and the show is now open to the public. Her paintings, The Faces of Surfing Series I are on display at the La Jolla Art Association Gallery from April 23rd-May 6th 2012. The gallery is located at 8100 Paseo del Ocaso, Suite B in La Jolla, CA and is open daily from 11am to 5pm. For a private showing please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Official Invite to Letty’s La Jolla Art Association Gallery Exhibition

Mr. Roberts Painting

The painting of Mr. Roberts has been getting a lot of attention so we thought we would take today to talk a little bit about the piece.

It was painted in 2009 for Nowak's first solo NYC exhibition with the Hal Bromm Gallery at 90 West Broadway and Chambers Street, NY. Before painting the piece, Nowak had known Mr. Roberts for about seven years. He lived in the same Key West neighborhood, Bahama Village, as her gallery at the time, The Lemonade Stand Art Studio. Almost everyday Roberts would stop in, pulling a hibiscus flower from his matte black bicycle's basket. Inside the studio he would peek his head asking, "Is my friend here?" Then inside he would come handing Nowak her flower for the day.  "He was always well dressed in slacks, a button down shirt, and cap" remembers Nowak. "Besides his daily visits to the studio, he would come to all of the openings I had at the gallery as well." Throughout the years Nowak would take photos of Roberts for a painting she knew one day she would make.  Sadly, a few months before her Hal Bromm exhibition, Roberts passed away. "When I heard the news, I immediately started his painting," says Nowak. "It was going to be the center piece of my first New York show. Also- recently- almost four years since my Mr. Roberts visits, I was going through a chest of drawers from the Lemonade Stand and found a little piece of paper I had written on. It said, 'Always be happy. Never be sad. You will live a much better life.' -Mr. Roberts."

Nowak Joins The La Jolla Art Association

Nowak has recently been accepted to the La Jolla Art Association, after presenting her work to the committee chairs. Nowak is proud to be a member of an organization of such dignified artists that was formed in 1918.

New Subject- Maya Gabeira

This week Nowak traveled to Encinitas to photograph Maya Gabeira for one of her next paintings. "I feel the photos I got of her yesterday will make a strong piece. It was a great Southern California overcast afternoon light. Maya is a super strong individual and it was interesting how the mood of the day almost contrasted her and the photo session," says Nowak. "I'm excited to see what happens in the painting."

The Band Wooster Visits The Studio

In town for their show last night in Ocean Beach, Wooster stopped by Nowak's La Jolla studio this morning to check out the progress of the Faces of Surfing project. The band, a diverse medley of soul, rock, funk, and reggae is on their way to a show in Phoenix, AZ followed by the much anticipated 2011 South by Southwest music festival in Austin, TX.

The Studios of Key West Celebrate Their Fifth Anniversary

Saturday March 2nd marked the 5th birthday celebration for the Studios of Key West, Nowak who was in attendance held a studio with them for 3 1/2 years. Prior to the celebration Nowak's longtime friend Hal Bromm was the guest curator for the exhibition Abstract Realities, sponsored by Rent Key West. It was an exciting evening for TSKW due to the progression in their artist in residence program, which now from a successful 2011 campaign enables the studios newly renovated conch cottages to host 40 artists from all over the world each year for one-month residencies. “The idea behind our residency program is simple: we want to give the gift of Key West to artists, while giving the gift of artists to Key West,” explains Jay Scott, executive director. “We believe that by planting the seeds for a creative exchange between artists and our community, we will positively impact the culture of the island for many years to come.”

Announcement of La Jolla Shore’s Exhibition

Nowak is proud to announce the Faces of Surfing Series I will be on exhibition from April 23rd- May 6th, 2011 at the La Jolla Art Association Gallery located at 8100 Paseo del Ocaso, Suite B in La Jolla, California. The quaint gallery is situated in the beautiful La Jolla Shore, a favorite of the artist, and is open daily from 11am-5pm. For private appointment please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Questions for Nowak

If you have any questions regarding either of Nowak's projects: the Faces of Surfing or the Faces of Key West, or any other bodies of work please feel free to email your inquiries to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Also, if you are in the Southern California area and would like a private tour of Nowak's La Jolla based studio please email Liz at the address given above for further information.

Light on Subjects

Since the initial concept of the Faces of Surfing, Nowak understood a strong method in capturing her subjects would be meeting them and photographing them in their own environments. "They are the most comfortable and they are in 'their' natural light," she says, "that light travels through each painting and their personalities and environment stays within my mind while I am making the piece." This theory started for Nowak even with her first portraits at Michigan State. "I could feel the Michigan light coming through and understood it very early on." She moved onto Key West and started her body of work, the Faces of Key West letting the sun of the Florida Keys create her tones, highlights, and shadows. "At first the light was very heavy in my paintings and I pushed a lot of contrast. The air in the Keys was heavier, the sun stronger, and colors had a richness I had yet to explore," she adds. Travel has been a relevant tool for some of the Faces of Surfing paintings as well. Rob Machado was of the first Nowak traveled to photogragh. The light in his painting is from his North County San Diego home. Currently she is working on both Lyndie Irons's and Donavon Frankenreiter's portrait. To photograph them, she made the trip to Kauai to capture the light and experience time with each of them.

Collection the Faces of Surfing Series I Prints

The prints for the Faces of Surfing first series are now available for purchase in Nowak's online store: http://www.lettynowak.com/store The p.rints are available in three different sizes with an edition size of 50: 8x8 inches, 16x16 inches, and 30x30 inches. One of benefits of the prints for this project is clients can start their collection of not only an individual painting, but also have the possibility of creating their own diptych, triptych, or larger panel of the different faces. Nowak is also working towards donating part of the proceeds of these prints to non-profits in the future.

Online Store Now Open

Check out Letty Nowak's new online store: http://www.lettynowak.com/store . There are three great items available for purchase at this time including her limited edition Hurley Faces of Surfing T-shirts, Faces of Key West book that includes all 100 portraits from the series and excerpts about each individual, and lastly- and most exciting- the first series of the Faces of Surfing limited edition prints.

Donavon Frankenreiter

Nowak has completed the final preparation for Donavon Frankenreiter's canvas. The stretcher is cut and the Gesso has dried. This legendary surfer and musician marks the beginning to the second series of the Faces of Surfing. Happy Valentines Day from La Jolla!

Nowak Begins the Second Series of the Faces of Surfing

After two months in Key West, Florida Nowak has returned to her California based studio to begin the second series of The Faces of Surfing project. Stay tuned for updates and information relating to the project and her paintings.

Nowak’s Seminar at The Studios of Key West

Nowak ended her stay in Florida by teaching one of many seminars at The Studios of Key West. Nowak taught 14 individuals to become comfortable with using oils, such as being able to blend the colors on the canvas constructing a contemporary and unique portrait of a person of their choice. Nowak stressed the importance of steering away from the pencil and to use only their brush while developing the abstract curves and ridges of each individual face. Much to Nowak's enjoyment the class varied from professionals to beginners.

Nowak Visits John Martini’s Key West Studio

Late last month Nowak visited the private studio of fellow Key West artist and friend, John Martini. Martini resides in both Key West and Veuxhaulles-Sur-Aube, France. Fortunately during Nowak's visit she was able to view sculptures for his upcoming exhibition at Key West's Lucky Street Gallery. Nowak and Martini have worked together in the past during Nowak's Artist Lock-In Exhibitions that she held in her gallery, The Lemonade Stand Art Studio. .(To view Nowak's painting of Martini from one of her Lock-Ins go to http://www.lettynowak.com/paintings/C8 click, on "Lock-Ins '05" Martini is top row middle.) Nowak has always admired Martini for his consistently strong artistic expression through his vivid shapes and color and quotes him as being one of her long-time local mentors. "One interesting fact about John is if you are ever driving on Interstate 295 North in New Jersey at exit 65 one of his sculptures titled Head2Head towers 27 feet tall on side of the highway. I used to drive every summer from Key West to Sag Harbor, NY to paint and would pass it and smile to myself knowing that was unmistakably a John Martini," Nowak adds.

Anfinson Exhibition

To add to our Key West artist news series, Nowak recently attended the opening reception of friend and fellow artist, Eric Anfinson at Fleming Street Gallery. Anfinson and Nowak have worked closely together throughout the years. They shared a work space from 2005-2007 at Nowak's Lemonade Stand Art Studio in Bahama Village, Key West. Nowak also painted Anfinson for her Faces of Key West IV exhibition ( http://www.lettynowak.com/faces/C6 The portrait of Eric is the 2nd in on the 2nd row ). The two also still meet frequently throughout the year to discuss work and ideas. Anfinson has become known for his oil on canvas figurative paintings. Key West has not only embedded him in it's art scene, but he also has had several exhibitions along the East Coast of the US since his time at the Lemonade Stand. Anfinson has had impressive success at this exhibition and there is still time to view the work. It will be on display through January 26th at 830 Fleming Street.

Hello 2012

Happy New Year from Key West, Florida, Nowak's second home since 2001. Over the next couple of weeks we will be highlighting on a few of Nowak's local artist friends, and visiting some of their studios and exhibitions. This idea came to mind once Letty ran into artist Rick Worth on the Westin Marina Boardwalk near the Fury Surf Shack. Worth has been painting in Key West since the 1990's. His murals, painted cars, works on aluminum shingles, and canvas can be found throughout the tiny streets of the island. Nowak first met Rick when she painted him for the Faces of Key West I (to see painting visit: http://www.lettynowak.com/faces/C3 Rick's portrait is fourth from the bottom). They then went on to work together in Nowak's Lemonade Stand Art Studio Lock-In Exhibitions for several years. Nowak asked Rick where he is currently showing as they caught up on the docks, he responded with "The streets are my canvas."

Thank you to Brian Roy

Thank you to Brian Roy for flying out to California from Key West. He literally flew in two days before the Hurley Town Hall exhibition, helped me package up the paintings, framed work, picked up already collected paintings and took them to the gallery, came for an hour of the opening reception and then had to fly back to Key West to exhibit his Key West Vertical Garden walls the following day.

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