COBALT BLUE

Cobalt blue! This is an intoxicating colour - the colour of sun washed freedom!

I spent the last four weeks refuelling on inspiration and recharging my creative heart in a small coastal surf town in Portugal, called Ericeira.

To my surprise, almost every corner of this small fishing village is painted in cobalt blue, which enriches the town with a vibrancy and uniqueness that are a delight to my eyes! 

Along the coast, the water turns from cerulean to navy, to aqua, depending on the qualities of light and sun. Smooth, ruffled, or simply dreamy; that ocean is not silent. Every time I have watched it and listened to it, I saw a different story. At first it told me only of the plain calm beaches of towns and people close to me, but later it grew more friendly and spoke of other things; of things more distant in space and in time.

I think that a dream like that will never return. I painted my hands and face blue, then all of sudden I was abducted by the wind and I started to fly in the infinite sky, to fly, to sing... In the blue, painted blue... Happy to stay up there, and I flew and flew, happily, higher than the sun and even higher! (NEL BLU DIPINTO DI BLU ~ D. MODUGNO)

‘Whispering tide’ is one of my latest ocean inspired landscapes: every time you will be looking at this piece I want you to feel the soft breeze, inhale the fragrance of sea mist and luxuriate in the warmth of the sun!

'Whispering tide' acrylic and 23 karat gold leaf on canvas 101 x 101 cm

This painting, along with my latest collection of emotional landscapes, will be on show at my upcoming exhibition in Perth ‘Promise of Spring’ opening on Thursday 10th August at Seven Willows Designs Studio, from 6-8pm Suite 4 Second Avenue Plaza, 755 Beaufort Street, Mount Lawley

You are all invited, please email me at info@francescagnagnarella.com if you’d like to receive an invitation or simply RSVP to Sharon at sevenwillowdesigns@gmail.com if you would like to attend.

Hope to see you there!

EMOTIONAL LANDSCAPE EXHIBITION

Last week I launched my latest solo exhibition in Perth titled 'Emotional Landscape' a new series of abstract landscapes inspired by Western Australia, the sunburnt country I now call home.  In this exciting exhibition I have used the visually striking colours of the Western Australian landscape in combination with its scale and texture to explore a new place, land and culture.  

Bird's Eye View II, acrylic and 23 karat gold leaf on canvas H 130 x W 200 cm $5 900 

The gallery was all glammed up thanks to the beautiful accessories by Perth Style Co.  (bed throw cushions and bed side lamps) and the stunning ombré curtain by Help Love Designs.

I thank you all my amazing supporters who attended the VIP launch and made the night such a great success. The gallery was packed with beautiful people and I hope everyone had as much fun as I did and enjoyed the show! 

And most of all a huge thank you to our event sponsors:

Jonte Designs for the amazing outfit,

Zamora Shoes for those divine shoes,

Firesun for the most colourful rug,

Pemberley Wines for the perfect wines selection. 

Request an appointment to view the collection by emailing info@francescagnagnarella.com

SINGAPORE CONTEMPORARY

Well that's a wrap! We have just closed the doors of the inaugural exhibition 'Singapore Contemporary' in Singapore ad we wish to say thank you to all the lovely Singaporeans who visited us at the show! 

It has been a very busy few days during the Singapore Art Week, with thousands of visitors through the doors in only 4 days! We had a fantastic launch showing my works to many VIP guests on the opening night. I also loved explaining my paintings to private groups of collectors and also to some very curious young art lovers! ;-D

A massive thank you goes to my number one fan and husband Russell, for always being the source of my ambition to creating something better at each exhibition and for always being the most amazing supporter one could wish for! 

Now it's time to wrap up all the sold works and deliver them to their new forever homes! 

Thank you Singapore, it was great to meet all our new followers and collectors and we can't wait to be back next year!

ALL THE COLOURS OF THE RAINBOW

Yesterday I ventured on a day trip with my business partner (in crime and other doggy adventures) Donny to the South of Western Australia to meet with my fellow artist Todd Cleave.

Todd and I have collaborated to create a new exclusive collection of beautiful original resin art pieces after our first successful joint exhibition last year. 

I absolutely adore how the brilliant colours come out onto resin and how they talk to the paint I use on my canvases, they are just a match made in heaven! 

'Lost in a daydream' 90 x 60 cm 

Each piece is uniquely created just like a painting and there is not one that is ever the same as another!

'Winter solstice light' 80 x 54 cm 

After the meeting, Donny and I had a lovely walk along the river in Bridgetown and explored the natural beauty of the landscape around the town.

Donny had the best fun!

On our way back to Perth a lunch stop in Donnybrook was obligatory!  ;-D

All new amazing resin art is now available at the gallery by appointment and on my website.  Here’s the direct link to shop online www.fragnagna.com/shop-resin-art

#COLOURCOMMUTES

What a wonderful night we had at the gallery last night celebrating my friends at Dynamique Blog’s 1st birthday bash!

#COLOURCOMMUTES was also an occasion to celebrate my recent collaboration with Dynamique Blog and our Istagram takeover ‘dynamiquexfrancesca’

 @dynamiqueblog |  @fragnagna_art

Art and fashion, the most perfect of companionships, a complementing relationship, often unexpected brilliance!

So here's to collaborations and to new friendships and everything they bring!

#styledinJonte wearing a fabulous cobalt jumpsuit by Jonte Designs and the most amazing sparkling shoes by Zamora Shoes 

I’ve loved every moment of our collaboration and most of all being able to work with such talented creatives and share our love for all things colourful has never been more fun!

For some it could be too much, for us it can never be enough!

When you can loose the ideal of traditional work / life balance, and fuse the two so seamlessly together & embrace both, that your work can allow you to take adventures that you otherwise might not have been able to, and as such that your life is a more enjoyable one, when you truly love what you do.

It took a lot of risk, patience and persistence, faith and optimism. Blood, sweat and a little bit of tears, working, listening, learning and getting inspired and supported from incredible people, getting doors closed in my face and finding a way in through a window to get where I am today it’s simply a bless and I’m grateful for what I’ve been able to achieve so far!

We had so much fun with our guests at last night event and we deeply thank our generous sponsors for helping us make the night such a success with delicious birthday cupcakes from  Baked 180, fabulous Pemberley Wines and a little memento of our collaboration thanks to Little Sketchy. 

#AlwaysSparkling

#HustleToAchieve

Happy 1st birthday Dynamique Blog, here's to many more years of success and fun! 

FIELDS, OCEANS AND SUNSETS

For this collaborative exhibition I have invited South West based artist Todd Cleave to create an exclusive range of unique resin art inspired by my new collection of paintings to beautifully complement the colours and inspirations.

Together we have created a new series of works inspired by our surroundings: the blue-greens of the ocean, the reds and oranges of the sunrise and the sunsets, and the amber and browns of the earth.

Todd Cleave was born in Christchurch, NZ in 1963, but is now based in Bridgetown, WA. His products are all characterized by organic shapes, tactile feel and bright colours.

Each piece is unique and like an original painting it’s impossible to recreate and that’s what I love about resin.

Perth certainly turned on a perfect winter warm evening for the opening night and we wish to say huge thank you to all our beautiful guests who made the event such a success and to our wonderful event partners and their continuous support!

We had the pleasure of sipping all night on fine wines from our fabulous friends at Pemberley Wines by Robert Bowen and I had so much fun wearing my 'Smothered in Frosting' dress by Birds on a Wire Fashion

ETHEL & LEO COLLABORATION

Ethel and Leo is one of my favourite shops to visit here in Perth. They have the most amazing dresses, that just flow and make you feel like a bohemian chic goddess!

Hailing from the serene beaches of Western Australia, Ethel & Leo has a love for anything coastal and an addiction to colour! They have innate appreciation for the beauty in life that surrounds us here in WA and encourage those free spirited souls to express their inner creativity  & believe in magic. 

Fostering a unique aesthetic and impeccable quality standards, Ethel & Leo is handmade, with original artwork and timeless, hand printed silks.

After our collaborative exhibition in November 2014 our very first limited edition silk maxi dress was born! I loooove it! The colours turned up amazingly true to the original artwork “Future of now” that turned beautifully into a unique silk fabric for the limited edition E&L x FG collaboration.

Ok, I confess – I already own too many Ethel and Leo beauties and I just can’t stop wearing the “Future of now” maxi dress!! 

A TWILIGHT HOME OPEN

17 February 2015

Prospective buyers seized a rare opportunity to sample Perth's premium coastal lifestyle during the launch of a North Coogee home last Thursday night. 

Realmark Real Estate offered visitors a "life in Coogee experience" to highlight the lifestyle vale of the grand tri-level residence on 440 sam in Port Coogee, with the marina and the ocean on its door step.

The property has been styled for sale by interior designer Lorena Ongaro-Anderson in a contemporary style and she has selected some of my paintings to finish off the styling and to bring a pop of colour into the walls. 

"The launch event gave guests a rare opportunity to spend an evening in a beautiful property set in a fantastic location" said selling agent Darren Berley. 

"Guests were able to view interior design and art at its best and experience firsthand how your choice of furniture and selected artworks can bring a home to life complementing beautifully the surrounding coastal environment."