Showcase @ P!ay Hair Lounge

All set up for my showcase!

Thanks to the awesome ladies at P!ay Hair Lounge and to my amazing husband and mother who came to help me set up yesterday!

We hit a few snafus - as one often does - like a frame that suddenly broke and a small mismeasurement that threw things off.  But there was no panic and there was much laughter and we had a great time setting everything up.

My Drill Sergeant!

It was pretty fun to play the part of director: I basically outlined everything and told Ian where to drill the hooks, and he did it.  Not only that, he did an amazing job, making sure that everything was level and perfect.  My mom played the hero and ran out to pick up another backup frame from the house when the one "Gamera" was in broke (and when I say "broke," I mean BROKE...the wood cracked, the glass chipped, the nails came out...wotta mess!).

But we got everything in order and it all looked great!  Brig, the owner, told me that it was the "most bizarre" display that they'd ever had up...and then qualified that comment by insisting it was a compliment!  I told her that there was no need to clarify, I DEFINITELY take that as a compliment!

If you make your way to Simi Valley in the near future, the display will be up at P!ay for 8 weeks ('til early October 2012).  The salon is right off of the 118 freeway at Kuehner Ave.  Some paintings are for sale (marked with the price), but some are for this display only.  If you do make a purchase, the funds are very fairly split between myself and P!ay, so you'd be supporting two local "businesses."

Enjoy!


My mom, chronicling the display.  Awwww...thanks, Mom!

MARAVILLAS

"Maravillas"
by Dani Selvaggio
2012
(for sale)

Here is the finished version of the DIA DE LOS MUERTOS piece that I had been sketching out in September of last year. Initially I had planned to have it done in time for Dia de los Muertos, but of course - work and other time constraints prevented me from being able to sit down and actually finish it. Incidentally, it all worked out for the best because I definitely needed the practice with watercolors that I hadn't had the time to develop.

At any rate, it's done. My goal was to make something that was very visually "Californian." I think I achieved that with the color palette (to me, California = dusty), but there are other things I would have changed, knowing how it's come out now.

Enjoy!

ALL DREAMS COME TO PASS

"All Dreams Come to Pass"
by Dani Selvaggio
2011
(sold)

I haven't yet decided if I want to keep this piece in my personal collection or sell it. For the time being, it's for sale...that may change in the next hour or so. Or maybe it won't. Or maybe it'll change and I'll forget to update this blog.

This piece was cathartic for me - I got to experiment with materials that I wasn't necessarily comfortable using...I ended up using color schemes that I typically don't (although you can find the "shock of red" that I like; somehow I couldn't resist that)...and I ultimately ended up producing a piece where I had no clue what it was going to look like when I started. All in all, it was tons of fun. Even my fiancee told me that it was good to see me "doing art for [myself] for a change." It's been a while.

Good to be back, though!

OLDER PIECES

"Untitled"
by Dani Selvaggio
2006

private collection

Like anything else, art requires training. This is a type of eye warm up where you put your pencil to the paper at one point and don't lift it up until you've completed sketching the contour of what you're looking at...oh, and you can't look at the paper either.

"Bottom of the Canyon"
by Dani Selvaggio
2001
for sale

My first attempt at "abstract." The texture experimentation came out well, but I was still really too confined in developing my own style at the time.

Far Fallen

"Far Fallen"

by Dani Selvaggio

2008
for sale

I am a huge fan of Italian opera and Puccini in particular. My absolute favorite opera of all time is Madame Butterfly. What is ALSO very special to me is a memory I have of going to see this opera for the first time as a treat from my father when I was about twelve years old. I was absolutely captivated by the climax where Butterfly commits seppuku and Pinkerton rushes onto the stage only seconds too late. For the number of scenes leading up to the final one, the Soprano playing Butterfly has been clutching and wringing her hands in agony. And then as she slits her wrists, she throws her hands up into the air...and, cascading to the stage come these liquid, unfurling ribbons of bright red silk. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life.

I kinda hate this painting because it doesn't come anywhere even close to capturing what I saw.  Oh well.  I might take another crack at it in the future.

"Despite a Wall"

by Dani Selvaggio

2003

For sale

Although this piece doesn't quite fit in with the rest of my style of work, I do adore it very much so. The colors are particularly important here, especially because the character that emphasizes a masculinity is done in the culturally feminine hue, whereas the character that emphasizes femininity is colored in the masculine. Yet each tone fits.

This was back when I unfortunately titled my paintings on the actual canvas itself. Silly me! Additionally, my painting signature was different as well. Nevertheless, the painting itself is one of my personal favorites. I enjoy limiting my color palette and seeing where that takes me. Sometimes the best way to encourage creativity is to restrict oneself!