Joie de vivre

One of the luxuries of blogging is that I enjoy a freedom of the press not enjoyed by most of those in the print world. You won’t find my blog filled with scathing reviews and angry rants. I choose instead to exercise my freedoms by writing about only positive things.

It is true that in my photography work I am often given a great deal of creative freedom by my clients, who tend to entrust their projects largely to my artistic vision. That is a rare honor, but blogging affords me even greater creative freedom on the side to showcase people I believe in, causes I support, and places which I enjoy frequenting and want to share with my readers. There are few elements of life more important than having good friends, and I am on a perpetual search around the world for such friends – one can never have too many.

I’ve found a good friend in artist Irene Salley, an incredible French post-impressionist painter. We share in common an island heritage; Irene was born on the island of Guadeloupe, a French overseas territory in the eastern Caribbean Sea.

Whatever one’s taste in art, everyone can agree that what makes good art is passion. Energy. Joie de vivre. Some artists attempt to ride trends, hoping to make a quick buck off of the gullible, but true art can only come from the heart. What I love about Irene Salley’s work is the incredible color, the evident passion and life that radiates from the bright strokes across the canvas. Her paintings brighten any room and it is no wonder that she has found enormous success among the interior design community.

As I make my way up the long driveway to her estate, home to both her studio & house, I pass under majestic, old oak trees and towering pine trees, entangled in the meandering vines of emerald green ivy snaking its way skyward. The rays of the warm afternoon sun penetrate the thick branches and illuminate the dark asphalt drive, bathing it in a patchwork of golden light. At the end of the drive sits a beautiful home, surrounded by a sea of manicured green grass and gardens. It is no wonder that a post-impressionist artist would call this incredible place home.

Around a month ago, Irene Salley donated an entire collection of her art valued at over $85,000 to benefit the Sebastian Ferrero Foundation. The foundation, formed after Sebastian died at the age of three in 2007 due to a preventable medical overdose, seeks to raise money to build a children’s hospital in Gainesville.

Last year, Irene Salley’s beautiful granddaughter Joesphine drowned, and the donation was made in her memory. As Irene poignantly describes, “My love for my daughter was my only reason to stay alive, I mean, for my body to live.  For my heart and who I thought I was, had died….”

“I realized that my patrons always commented on my work, as it gave them a happy, peaceful and energetic feeling!  With a smile and an incredible feeling of joy, I decided to give away that which was only a gift to me:  my paintings, my work, and my talents.”

I am amazed by people like Irene Salley, who in the face of extraordinary grief, find the strength to still reach out and help others.

Irene’s studio sits nestled in her gardens, shaded in the late afternoon sun by the statuesque longleaf pine trees. There is the deliciously distinctive scent of oil paints and canvas inside the studio that brings back a rush of fond memories from my own days of painting. There is color everywhere – bright strokes on the finished paintings that line the walls and new beginnings of life on the unfinished ones, still easel-bound. As a collector and lover of art, I have always felt that seeing where an artist creates offers unparalleled insight into their work. The creative process is not sterile; the floors and brushes are not pristine…but this is what makes it all so magical. Seeing art at its root brings it to life, makes it very real and alive.

Listening to Irene Salley speak about her work, you can hear the passion in her voice. For Irene, art is her poetry.

As the afternoon light begins to ebb we return to her house for tea and pastries. As we speak, I photograph – hopefully capturing a glimpse of her spirit for everyone to enjoy.