COAST – AN EVENING IN CONVERSATION WITH LISA MESSENGER

How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? May be you have to be a little crazy. May be you have to see things differently.

I am not one to buy magazines very often, sometimes I just feel like flicking through interior magazines at the beach to get visual inspiration but I still remember the day I picked up the very first issue of Collective Messenger back in 2013, I was simply drawn in. Since then I bought every single issue and I still keep them stacked amongst my favourite books in case I feel the need to get back for some more inspiration.

There’s so many motivational stories featured in each issue of Collective Hub so there’s always something that sparks a bit more inspiration that fuels my creative spirit.

When I heard that Lisa Messenger, editor of Collective Hub, was coming to Perth, I just could not pass the opportunity to see her speak.

We met Lisa on a warm summer evening at Coast Port Beach, one of my favourite beaches in Perth.

If I’m not at the studio painting, you’ll probably find me at the beach!

So I couldn’t resist the opportunity to enjoy a drink by the coast before meeting Lisa and take in the fabulous views over the Indian Ocean, a constant inspiration to my abstract landscapes.

“Life is about the people you meet and the things you create with them.”

I am blessed to be able to work with so many inspiring creatives in my industry and to be surrounded by incredibly talented entrepreneurs in my life.

So here’s to keeping inspired. Connected. Empowered. Resourceful. Excited.

Creative and curious.

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

#GIRLBOSSNETWORKING

Last week, together with fellow creatives Jonté Pike, designer of fashion label Jonté Designs, and Natasha Zamora, of Zamora shoes, we hosted our first exclusive #girlbossnetworking event at the gallery. 

              Jonte Pike (left), Francesca Gnagnarella (centre), Natasha Zamora (right)

We gathered together a small group of Perth’s independent women entrepreneurs and small business owners for a soirée of fun and networking, over a glass – or two – of bubbles :-) and lots of french cheeses and yummy treats!

We all had a fabulous night meeting new inspiring ladies and sharing our latest projects and aspirations. It is amazing how well we all connected, coming from the most different fields – art, fashion, landscape design, writing, styling, beauty, interiors, photography-  simply by sharing the same vision of living our most effervescent lives by making what we love.

In each of our jobs, we have all somehow chosen to make our happiness a priority through our passions.

We definitely live our lives following the famous motto: do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life! 

We have loved catching up so much that we have decided to run the #girlbossnetworking events regularly so please get in touch if you would like to join in next time and make sure to follow us on instagram @girlbossnetworking 

#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!