Letty's Blog

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.

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