Italian artist Laura Fantini, who divides her time between Bologna, Italy and Brooklyn, NY, creates large scale images of intimate still life subjects.
Her compositions feature unassumingly simple objects like leaves, seed pods and flower blossoms, rendered in large sizes, perhaps 30×40 inches (74x98cm). Her subjects are observed with the precision of botanical art, but presented with a visual drama and freshness that pull them out of their normal context and present them to us as something to be viewed and considered anew.
She works primarily in colored pencil, a medium that seldom receives the respect warranted by the effects that can be achieved in the hands of an artist like Fantini. She procedes by working up layers and layers of intricate cosshatching, gradually building up her subtle areas of color.
There are photographs, though not descriptions, of her working process in the In Progress section of her website.
The major presentation of work on her website is in three sections but you will also find a gallery of cityscapes — works in gouache, ink pastel and colored pencil in a photorealist vein, as well as portraits and a section of sketches.
The use of colored pencil, like pastel, can blur the definitions of “drawing” and “painting”. Fantini’s finished works combine elements of both, but her sketches (images above, second from bottom) are firmly in the category of drawings, and have their own aesthetic and visual appeal.
Fantini also maintains a blog, with announcements of shows and images of work in progress.
http://laurafantini.wordpress.com, (blog)
Article on Par Excellence magazine, with gallery
Oh, I do love a bit of realism and detail!
Coloured pencils do not get the respect they deserve, but that used to be the same for pastels too, so hopefully people will start to realise that they are a medium to be respected also.
And this work proves that.
The colored pencil is a tool. Her work is art. Viewers will come around. Her art is hers. Fantastic, and thanks for highlighting her today!
I used colored pencil in a very similar way, layering, for years as an illustrator. Guys like Bill Nelson were my cup o’ tea. When I really discovered paint I couldn’t go back but I use some of those layering lessons with paint. Thanks for sharing this artist Charley.
Her work is exquisite! Joanne Mattera (a NY based artist) wrote a series of posts about this year’s Miami Art Fair. In one post, she had a contest to see if readers could tell if a piece was art or not.
#18- a washing machine can now be considered art if the artist says it is. The rest of the “art” isn’t any better.
http://www.joannemattera.blogspot.com/2011/12/fair-play-art-or-not-art.html
If that crap is considered art, then Fantini’s pieces are more than art – beautifully and skillfully made. Thank you for writing this blog where those who uphold real standards of artistic skill can be celebrated.
Unique concept of art work. This visual painting is virtually identical to one. It’s great.
Brilliant Laura!! Love to see her work – enormous detail and concentration to achieve such stunning results .. congratulations!