Artwork by Savanna Redman

Through the 90's I called San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize "home".  My life took on new directions that I could never have dreamed, and my work was greatly influenced by the people and beauty of Belize.  My artwork has continued to revolve around Caribbean and Central American wildlife and my roots connected to my time there seem to only grow deeper over the years. 

I was surprised and delighted when the editor of the San Pedro Sun suggested an article in the visitior guide this month.  I may no longer live in San Pedro... but the distance feels very small.   Here is the link to the 8 Feb. 2007 issue. Thank you S.P. Sun for the nice review.  http://sanpedrosun.net/old/07-06.pdf

There is an image on the cover, and the story is on pages 4 and 7.

October News

July Issue All At Sea Magazine

In the ‘All At Sea’ July issue - Ms. Nancy Terrell, wrote a wonderful feature story about my work.  Along with the article she selected 3 of my paintings, the watercolor of the Queen Conch Shell, the oil painting of the dolphin ‘Discovery’ and one of my mermaid pen & inks titled ‘Madonna of the Reef’.

The story...

Savanna Redman - An Underwater View
More Editorial by Nancy Terrell
July 2006 Issue

The first time I saw Savanna Redman’s large oil canvases, I was amazed. Rich in luminous colors and edging on Surrealism, they show a deep respect for sea life. “My talent is a combination of the environment I grew up in and genes. Born to an artist mother and a builder/designer father, an avid fisherman and outdoorsman, I must have been drawing in the womb - nine months of solitude - perfecting my techniques. I grew up surrounded by creative people - with crayons, brushes and art supplies in my hands. Everyone around me was into nature. It was just natural. I wasn’t taught art – it was just a given – like breathing. The basic foundation of my work is the natural world, regardless of the style or medium I select.”

Savanna spent her formative years in the art community of San Francisco where she owned and managed an art gallery, marketing her own work as well as other artists. “I was encouraged to study business - the difference between a starving artist and a successful one is understanding the business.” In 1990, she moved to Belize to paint and study archeology where she climbed Maya Temples and studied Mayan hieroglyphs. She accepted international offers to exhibit about twice a year - Key West, Guatemala City, Tegucigalpa, Roatan in the Bay Islands of Honduras, Cairns Australia, and throughout Belize, just to name a few.

Savanna’s large oil paintings of rainforests and marine life make a room. Private collectors of her work include resort owners, casinos, interior designers, architects, and villa owners. A hotel in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, has purchased 18 of her originals - another resort in Belize isn’t far behind. “My client list is a very special group of people that connect to my work; they appreciate and respect the wildlife and sea that I capture in paint.”

In 1996 she went to Port Douglas, Australia, for a show and stayed 8 months to dive the Great Barrier Reef.  In 2000 she moved to Giza, Egypt, where she lived in the shadow of the Great Pyramid and spent most of her time in the Cairo Museum or at the zoo drawing animals. “ Egypt was a place to shift directions. I had been so focused on diving and reef life that I found I wanted to study more ancient history - everything affects my work although not always in a direct way.”

There is a feeling of peace in Savanna’s style. Her paintings are like going for a nature walk, removing the stresses of the day, a place to focus and meditate.

In 2001 she moved to Thailand to experience yet another culture highly influenced by Buddhism. She traveled throughout exploring temples, doing sketches and writing. “I paint in my sleep. I know the finished painting before I stretch the canvas. I consider this my gift, not having the battles some artists do with subject, composition or the light - it’s all done subconsciously, a cumulative effect of a lifetime of observing and drawing.”

In 2003 she came to the BVI to sail. “I love it.  I am starting new oils with a Caribbean twist. My work has migrated toward murals which I am having recreated on kiln-fired ceramic & marble tiles.” A company in Italy, with a combination of the oldest knowledge and newest equipment for manufacturing tile, can reproduce Savanna’s designs onto marble, glass or ceramic – for any size mural or swimming pool floor.

An exhibit of her newest work is being scheduled for late July in the BVI, check the ‘events’ link in Savanna’s website for the exact time and date.

I know that I join other BVI artists and sea lovers by welcoming Savanna to our island. For more information please go to – www.savannasgallery.com

The original article is here. http://www.allatsea.net/specificissueeditorial.php?featureid=911

Main entry to a beautiful estate home overlooking Charlotte Amalie and the bay.

Before Mural   

Problem areas; no space to bring in color with potted plants, an odd and un-useable 2 inch deep niche flanking the front doors with electrical outlets in them, and a very stained driveway that continued up to the front entry tiles.
The owner’s wanted an area to display their beautiful bronze sculpture of 3 children looking at an insect, kids that resembled their own.  

Mural, 1 of 3 walls

This project covered the 3 walls of the main entry and the driveways ugly cement slab.

I created the bright tropical garden the owners wanted - in full bloom, a special area for the bronze to set, and made the whole entry area seem larger by adding in a distant skyline.

For the bronze sculpture, with the children setting on an old log, I painted a cobble-stoned area to make the transition from the wall to the drive softer.  The result was a natural surrounding for the sculpture.  The illusion of the cobble stones covering the old driveway worked so well that guest walked around it, and one guest asked, “if they had a problem with grass growing in the cracks of the stones?”

The owners are practicing Hindu, so as a special touch (where the odd niche had been a problem on each side of the front door) I created 2 red gates, with the symbol of Om painted on them in gold, beyond the gates - shaded trails with dabbled light and scattered fallen blossoms that lead deeper into the gardens, possibly to a place of quiet meditation.  They loved it. 

Close Up

 
This is a close up, showing the flowers and the cobblestones.  The grate in the lower right is a drain in the driveway that I had to work with, like the electrical outlet on the wall, (it disguised in the paint better, curious? it’s in the lower left curl of fern fronds).  The cobblestone of the driveway ends just below the flowers. Up this close you can see the line of where the wall meets the drive but further up the drive the illusion is seamless.

The youngest child, their young man of three and a half years, inspected my work daily and had his own request.  Each day I added an insect or lizard for him and his sisters to find.  He became more interested in my work as it evolved (the mural took 6 weeks… time to get to know his taste), on the last day he said, “we just need one more thing” I said, “Yes?  What would you like for me to do?” He said, "we need a big blue caterpillar so it can turn in to a big blue butterfly someday."  I placed it at his eye level near the front door.  When it was completed I asked, “Is it finished now?” He said, “Yes, it’s beautiful, you do very good work.”  I half expected him to pull the money out of his pocket and pay me.

I received a fun complement from the wildlife in the area.  One day, when I’d just finished putting in the yellow impatiens around the base of the wall, I was standing back from the wall, 20 feet or so up the drive, having a cold drink and deciding what to do next.  When 2 large 3' Green Iguanas hopped off the retaining wall nearest the street, quickly scampered up to the mural and tried to bite at the flowers (that I had just painted! happily the paint was already dry).  They hopped and jumped at the wall quite a few times, before stopping and looking at each other strangely, then clambering back up the retaining wall into the bush.  They must have been laying in wait, watching, waiting for me to move away.  I enjoyed the complement and the laugh.   Funny things make my day.