Anita Marci's "Palm Bark Plaid"

"Palm Bark Plaid" was a very fun piece to create!  I had never used palm bark before, but it is very plentiful here on Maui.  The under-painting is inspired by a Helen Frankenthaler painting.  The blue and brown were selected to match the colors in the fabrics.  It is difficult to see here but there is a plaid on the pillow shams.  After the acrylic painting was complete, I glued the bark on top with my favorite Tacky glue.  It was then stretched and installed.

Anita Marci's "Sea Fan"

"Sea Fan" is an interesting piece that I have never shared before.  It was created to go in the same room with the "Sand and Shells" art.  I found this sea fan in a shop and, I bought it because I loved the color and delicacy of it. I had it for about a year, when I got the idea for this piece. The background was inspired by an old black and white Barnett Newman painting. I selected colors from the room's textiles and painted the colors over a cream base to match the walls.  This piece also has a custom plexi-glass case over it. The case is actually screwed into the wood stretcher bars on the top and bottom.  The case looks like it magically floats on top of the painting and, it looks great next to the drift wood sculpture that stands beside it.

Anita Marci's "Sand and Shells"

"Sand and Shells" is a painting that contains natural elements in addition to the canvas and acrylic paint.  The sand had to be sifted and cleaned extensively to make it free of debris.  I ordered the shells on line as it is very difficult to find shells here on Maui and I wanted them to be uniform.  It was tedious work to complete this piece.  I painted thinned "Tacky" glue with a paintbrush in small sections. Then, I placed the tiny shells on the glue and sprinkled the sand over the area.  When the canvas was dry, I held it vertically to dump the excess sand.  Finally, when all the elements were in place, I painted a very soft pink- like the inside of a shell- in the background.  Before I did this piece, I created a sample piece to make sure I could stretch the canvas without the shells popping off. Fortunately, it worked and the piece was a success.  This art has a custom plexi-glass case with wood molding around it.  The molding is painted to match the wall and the lights above it cast interesting shadows. This hangs in the grandchildren's room. There aren't any grandchildren yet, but their room is ready for them when they come!

Anita Marci's "Seaside Sanctuary"

"Seaside Sanctuary" is a composite painting. I usually use only one photo for a piece but, this one required several.  I love the idea of creating a painted environment that is so peaceful and inviting.  The original design for this large 3' x 5' acrylic on canvas was composed of three panels. It was designed for Katherine and Chris Berman for their Maui home.  We had planned to place it in the upstairs hallway but the top railing cut off the bottom of the painting.  With some quick thinking, I suggested we convert it to a single horizontal panel to fit the space better.  That worked, but, Chris decided that he liked the painting so well he had it re-hung in his downstairs home office. It hangs above his desk and he can see it from the hot tub outside, where he enjoys looking at the painting while taking a nice relaxing spa.

Anita Marci's "Hibiscus" Painting

This large 3' x 5' watercolor titled "Hibiscus" is the very first piece of Custom Fine Art that I ever made.  The collector had looked every where for a piece of art to fit the space. After much frustration, she had given up on finding anything that would work.  She was showing me her beautiful new home and I asked why she did not have a painting on that wall and she told me she could not find anything. I said "How about I make something for you?"  That is how my Custom Fine Art concept was born.  I borrowed pillows and a paint swatch. Next,

I created a small study of a section of the painting showing all the color combinations and the center of the flower. She approved the study for the piece. The artwork was completed, framed, and installed.  She was thrilled.  Her wonderful new home was finally complete.

Anita Marci's "Rhubrims" Painting

"Rhubrims" is titled for the bright pink fragrant lilies that are the favorite flower of this collector. This custom, full sheet watercolor painting was created to balance a very large, heavy cabinet on the other side of the room.  If you look closely, you will see up-side-down dragonflies in the Tiffany lamp shade next to the couch.  I incorporated two dragonflies into the art in order to integrate it subtly into the room.  The owner of this piece said "I love my painting today and every day."

Anita Marci's "Pomegranates" Painting

"Pomegranates" is a mixed media piece that I also refer to as Partners. It is a Custom piece that was created for an older couple that has been together for many, many years. I bought the fruit and placed it in this position, kind of leaning on each other the way that married couples do, especially after so much time together. I always admire the way they care for each other and are there for each other all the time.  I feel that this art works on several levels.  It captures the balance of this couple's relationship. The composition is well balanced and it balances the color in the room as well.  The bright red colors in the carpet were making the room too heavy on one side so this painting brought the same colors to the other side of the room.  This mixed media art is a combination of a watercolor base and pastel layers on top.  As it turns out, the owners of this painting like it so well that they moved it upstairs to the family room where they spend most of their time.  As an artist, it is my greatest joy, when a collector chooses to live in constant presence of the art because they enjoy it so much.

Anita Marci's "Banana Baby"- Acrylic Painting

This painting is called "Banana Baby." It is rather large: 2 1/2' x 4 1/2'. It was done for Chris Berman-the ESPN Sports Commentator and his wife Kathy. They wanted to bring up the marble colors because this stone is fabulous. The colors are rich and deep and I wanted to capture that depth in the painting. They selected the exact colors for the piece.

One Sunday morning I awoke to find the sun shining just perfectly on this newly born banana leaf. I ran to get my camera and captured it as you see it above. This provided me with my creative inspiration. I then proceeded to take many more photos, but the first one is the one that I used. That is often the case. I will take a shot and enjoy it and then feel the need to explore the thought. I have many more pics so there may be more banana leaves in my future.

The painting took much longer than I expected because of the detail in the line work. I wanted the focus to be on the baby leaf itself instead of the larger leaf behind it. The background color was challenging as well. It has every color in the pallette and was a very tricky mix. I think there are about five layers of different reds in that background.

The beauty of custom art is that you get exactly what you want without having to go shopping. This art works with the window trim and wall covering as well. Finally, I was satisfied with the piece and so were my clients.

Anita Marci's "R and R's Red Bananas" Painting

This blog will be devoted to sharing my personal thoughts, feelings and process in the creation of my art work.

People often ask me how I decide on what to paint. I will say that creative inspiration can come in many forms: a color, a texture, a photo, a single croton leaf, or even another work of art. I live on the beach in West Maui and the property is full of lush colorful tropical foliage so there is an ever changing vast array of constant inspiration.

The paintings above were inspired by my personal relationship with a Red Banana Tree. This tree grew right next to the front door of my condo. I looked at this tree every day for nearly five years. I did not know it was a red banana until recently when the bananas came. I saw the banana stem which I call the donger. I was excited, but sad, because all banana trees are cut down after they bear fruit. It was so beautiful with it's tiny yellow fringe over the purple bottom. I knew I had to paint it. I took the photos and waited patiently for months, watching every day as the bananas grew.

Finally the fruit ripened and the rich red browns and olive greens once again made me want to paint. I took some more photos and decided I wanted to tell a story about this tree- a portrait if you will. I photographed the tree itself with it's rich red bark and was also moved by the top of the tree where the leaves fan out.

I painted these as a Triptych with matching backgrounds and a consistent color scheme. These three paintings were created especially for Rachel and Ryan as their wedding present, so I matched Rachel's pillow colors and wall color swatch.
She loves green, so I focused on a bright yellow green that she is especially fond of. This became the unifying color in all three paintings. The blue gray background and side panel color was painted last on all three pieces.

Rachel and Ryan are a really cool couple and it is my pleasure to honor them with these paintings and my appreciation of the beauty of this tree. I wish them a very happy and successful marriage.