Welcoming in a New Year

December 30th, 2008

I'm sure you're like me….can't believe we've completed another year! So, like everyone else who maintains a blog, I feel compelled to comment on the year that's passed and look forward to the year to come. I'm not one who likes to look backward all that much…i'm always looking ahead…professionally and personally….but this past year was certainly monumental…nothing surpassed the Presidential Election. Of course, it remains to be seen what the effect of the election of Barack Obama will actually be, but i'm going to go along with the majority on this one and welcome a breath of fresh air for 2009.

I also am not one to make New Year's resolutions…however, i have pinpointed a few things that i'm looking forward to accomplishing in 2009.

1. I will be launching my daughter Heather's Art Collection at Art Expo, New York in March. She's been working very hard – has a new company called “Crook Couture” and not only an art collection, but a clothing line and furniture too. She has a real “look” to her work and i'm excited about her debut. We'll be sneak previewing some of it on this site soon. – oh…and i'll be showing my own work there too! :-) I hope to see many of you there. I”ll be showing a lot of new, large mixed-media uniques and of course, some great new limited editions.

2. I'm looking forward to perfecting and launching my new line of plexiglass sculptures. I've blogged about them before and the first of their kind have actually been completed and sold in Germany.

3. I'm very interested in the state of arts education in this country right now. I plan to launch a “Fazzino Arts Education Initiative” and quite frankly, i'm not sure exactly what that means yet. I'm hoping you will all help me begin this conversation and together, we can start to have an influence.

4. In July, I'll be headed to Pori, Finland as the official artist for the Pori Jazz Festival. That event will be the culmination of a lifelong dream for me – to have my artwork shown in my mother's native country of Finland.

5. I'm launching a new travelogue on FazzinoCollectors.com. I LOVE to travel. It's been my passion for a long long time. I'd like to share with you some of the things I learn on my roadtrips…i'm a rather seasoned traveller at this point…if i do say so myself :-) So send me your questions about the places i'm going….. Starting with Japan early in January!

6. I want to get back to doing some college campus artwork. I still get requests for the Florida Gators piece i did in the 1990's. i think it's time to go back there….maybe 2009 is the year. I'd also like to have my artwork exhibited on college campuses. There are some incredible museums and art facilites in our educational institutions and i'd love to start exposing some of the younger folks to my work.

7. Speaking of exposure…i'm looking forward to having my work shown in many new places in 2009 – Finland, of course, tops the list. But I'm also exploring the idea of doing a museum retrospective in Kansas City, and i'll be doing the MLB All-Star Game in St. Louis. My work has been shown there on a limited scale, but it's not all that common there. To me, one of the most exciting moments is watching someone discover the work for the first time. I watch their eyes. That's how you can really tell what they think.

I'm sure you are all looking forward to what you can accomplish and where you can go and who you can meet in the New Year…but really, the most important thing…and the thing i wish for all of you is a VERY HEALTHY NEW YEAR FULL OF LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP!

–Charles

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Peace, Love, and Joy

December 24th, 2008


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Collectors Mail Bag: Pop Art Chiefs Helmet

December 23rd, 2008

This from Lawrence, an avid Fazzino collector, about Charles Fazzino. Thanks Lawrence. We LOVE getting emails like this one and thanks for sharing!

–Julie

I just wanted to send a note:

There are no words to express how happy I am

with the Works of Art that Mr. Fazzino created.

I am sending along a few pics in case you would like to put them on your website.

The helmets are outstanding as are the balls.

I will cherish them for a lifetime.

Thank you again.

Peace and Blessing's Have a Wonderful Holiday Season.

CHARLES FAZZINO YOU ARE THE MAN!!

*Note – Julie Maner is the Director of Charles Fazzino's publishing company and the moderator of this blog. Please allow 24 hours for all comments posted to this blog to become live.

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Justin Tuck and 3D Pop Art Cigars at Nat Sherman last night

December 17th, 2008

Last night was the official unveiling of the Charles Fazzino Romeo y Julieta Museum Edition humidor by Altadis, USA at Nat Sherman International in New York City. What a party! Justin Tuck – yesterday named to the 2009 Pro Bowl team, by the way (CONGRATULATIONS TUCK!) – joined me for the unveiling and cigar signing. Duke Castiglione from Fox 5 and Tracey Chang, the recently crowned Miss New York were also part of the proceedings. Duke did a wonderful job hosting and Tracey…well Tracey just looked gorgeous!

The Humidor is quite something. I'm very proud of the product they created out of my artwork. It's sleek, and glossy, and luxurious. The Humidor itself is black and smooth like glass. Inside, my artwork is professionally matted and inserted into the top of the humidor. Each cigar is packaged in a frosted glass tube embossed with the trademark and lined with the artwork. Each piece of artwork in the humidor is signed and numbered, so there's only a limited edition of 2,000. Jim Colucci from Altadis explained to me how limited and truly special the cigar is – i admittedly don't smoke cigars but for those of you who do, this humidor is absolutely incredible. The humidors can be purchased containing the 36 tubed cigars…or the cigars can be purchased individually. Lots of people bought them last night for holiday gifts.

I thank everyone who joined me there – it was a very special event. Special thanks go out to Joel and Bill Sherman of Nat Sherman, and Jim Colucci and Janelle Rosenfeld of Altadis. I had a great time and it's all because of you. Here are some pictures and of course, i've included some links to where you can find out more about the humidors, cigars, and the artwork.

–Charles

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Posted in Pop Culture and Entertainment Art |

Collectors Mail Bag – Michael

December 15th, 2008

My friend Michael sent me an email through my page on Facebook. I thought i would share it with all of you. It's really great to hear from people who are so touched by my 3d pop art. It reminds me just why i am a pop artist. It also shows what an incredibly small world we live in. I have been showing my work in Germany for more than 15 years…it figures that Michael would have to go all the way there to see my art for the first time. Amazing.

I also happen to agree with him about “Steppin' Out on Broadway.” It was a favorite silkscreen art edition of mine…particularly the way the sky came out in silkscreen…it was magical. I'm working on another piece now, called “Singin' and Dancin' on the Great White Way” that i hope will end up with the same sky effect…should be ready with it towards the end of next year.

Thanks again Michael! Your email is inspiring!

–Charles

Dear Charles,

I have a story about your work that I simply must share with you.

A couple of years ago I was on a business trip in Frankfurt Germany. After my meetings were finished I went with one of my colleagues for a few beers at a couple of pubs and then walked around the city a bit. We stumbled (to some degree I’m serious) into a really cool little art gallery. They had a number of your pieces and I was immediately drawn to them. I had never seen anything like them and stood there for quite a while looking at them and wishing them I could own them. At the same time, I made the assumption that they were way out of my price range and didn’t even ask the prices as I fully expected to be disappointed that they would not be affordable. Also, I didn’t bother to write down the artist’s name; after a while we left the gallery.

A month or so later I began to deeply regret not buying one specific piece that I saw. I began to regret it to the point where it could have been 15, 20 or even $25,000 and I would have bought it if I could only figure out who made it and where I could get it. I described your work to a number of my friends and offered $1,000 to any of them who could simply tell me the name of the artist. We all went to great lengths, including me calling many of the largest Galleries in Frankfurt -no luck.

Nine months into this process was I heading to lunch with a friend and I was walking by a gallery on Central Park South. I very coincidentally looked in the window of the gallery as I walking by and, absolutely astonished, I saw your work. I couldn’t believe it. I was stunned!

I spent a long time in the gallery (bought a PR edition of The Apple is Manhattan on the spot) and upon arriving home I started reviewing all of your works and found the one –the one-, it was Steppin’ Out on Broadway. I can’t tell you how happy I was to finally solve this mystery! The gallery didn’t have this one as it was from 1993-1994 but I was able to find a collector in Scarsdale who had it. I went with a friend to go pick it up and was mesmerized when I saw it there hanging on his wall; needless to say, I bought it immediately. He also had a PRDX edition of A Dream for Peace beautifully framed on the wall and I bought that as well.

Since that time, I bought another copy of Steppin’ Out on Broadway which was damaged during shipping so I had your shop embellish and reframe it, and now I have both. Subsequently to me going to the art collector’s house to pick up the first one, my friend who drove with me there, Andrew Miles, has become a serious collector of your work and owns many pieces and has given many as gifts. He has developed quite an appreciation for Steppin’ Out on Broadway so I have agreed to loan him one for a while. I have a feeling that he’ll be trying to find one to buy as soon as I ask for it back.

Coincidentally, my wife is a huge Broadway fan and our neighbor happens to be Julie Reiber, the stand in for Elphaba, the lead role in the show Wicked. When we first met Julie in our common hallway it was fun to bring her in to our apartment to show her your work. She’s really a celebrity (www.juliereiber.com) and it was fun to be able to prove to her that we were serious Broadway fans. She was blow away by your work!

That’s my story, Charles. There is a tremendous amount of mystique around Steppin’ Out on Broadway for me. I love it a lot and have had crazy thoughts such as trying to buy every one in existence (no, I’m not actually that crazy). It’s such a wonderful piece to me and the color balance and content are just perfect. Perhaps one of these days I’ll find an original DX edition.

Thanks for producing such great work, Charles. I expect to be a collector for many years and look forward to continuing to grow my collection and sharing it with my family.

Warmest regards,

Michael

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Budding Artist Corlette

December 10th, 2008

I met Corlette two weeks ago in New York City at a show i was doing. She came to the New York Dental Convention with her mother. She's a high school student and budding artist and i had the pleasure of talking to her about her art aspirations. When i returned to the studio, i had an email waiting for me…from Corlette. She wanted my advise on pursuing her art career and she sent me a few of her drawings. I was very impressed. I've been thinking a lot lately about kids and art…the state of art education in our schools…the importance of encouraging young artists….the future of the art world and what it means to our kids as they grow through their most impressionable years. I so enjoyed speaking with Corlette and i was so glad to receive her drawings. I'm thinking about trying to do more to encourage, promote, and support arts education in this country. I'm sure i'll be blogging a lot more about it, but for now, i'm doing a lot of thinking about it. In the meantime, I thought i would share one of Corlette's pieces with you. I'd love to hear from any other budding art students out there…..where are you headed? What are you thinking about? Art teachers too? What's the state of things out there?

Thank you Corlette for sharing your work with me. I wish you much luck and success.

–Charles

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Back from Boca!

December 8th, 2008

It seems like years since i left the studio last Wednesday but i'm back and i have so much to report on the events we did with tennis star Andy Roddick in Florida. What a great time! On Friday, Andy joined me at the Wentworth Gallery in the Boca Town Center mall and together, we unveiled the 3D pop art original painting i did for his foundation gala. He hadn't seen it before and it was fun to watch his face when he unveiled it. He said it was “like seeing eight years of my life on one canvas.” Crowds of people showed up….including many of YOU! It was great to see you.

On Saturday night, I went to The Andy Roddick Foundation Gala and that too was a spectacular event. Many thanks to Jeanne Brander for organizing an incredible fundraiser. The evening brought in more than $1 million for the Foundation that gives money to organizations that support children and babies in need. I finally had the chance to meet Mrs. Roddick, Andy's mom. She told me stories about how Andy had grown up with my artwork on their living room wall. We had a lot of fun and Boyd Tinsley from the Dave Matthews Band bought my original painting at auction. I was honored!

My congratulations go out to the entire Andy Roddick Foundation for a successful event. I thank you for involving me and I wish you much success in the future. I was proud to be able to help, even a little bit, with the work that you do!

–Charles

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You Can Hire An Artist

December 2nd, 2008

I have worked with a lot of talented artists over the years…one of the most talented is Kathy Benton. She's worked with me for so many years now that i've lost count. She's come up with a really unique way to market her own work by launching a new website, http://www.youcanhireanartist.com/. While the focus is on her incredible talent as a designer and painter, the site also promotes her special ability to convey so many different types of ideas for her clients through her artwork. She's very adaptive and very creative and has a special knack for listening to her clients and interpreting what they have to say through her artwork. She can work in almost any medium you can think of and creates custom-made signs, cards, paintings, and more. If you need something custom-made, give Kathy a call. You'll be happy you did. She's fantastic! Read more about her on prlog.com.

–Charles

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