Style Imitating Art | “Buon Giorno Venezia” by Caroline Zimmermann

About Style Imitating Art

Style Imitating Art is hosted by Salazar of 14 Shades of Grey, Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge, and Marsha of Marsha in the Middle. Style Imitating Art challenges us to draw style inspiration from pieces of art. Every other Monday, one of the hosts, acting as presenter, selects an inspiration image that they will each post on their blogs. The following Monday, each host shares her art inspired outfit. Participants are invited to submit their art inspired outfits to the presenter by 10:00 p.m. EST on the Tuesday following the hosts’ art inspired outfit posts. The following day, Wednesday, the presenter will share all of the submissions on her blog.

You don’t have to be a blogger to join either! In fact, you don’t even have to join but you can still use the art to inspire an outfit just for the sake of trying something different. If you want to share your inspired outfit, we invite you do so on Instagram or any other social media platform that you prefer. Just be sure to tag Salazar, Shelbee, or Marsha or use #TeamLOTSStyle and #StyleImitatingArt so the hosts know you have joined. Go have some fun in your closets and join the SIA challenge next week!

This Week’s Presenter

Marsha chose this week’s inspiration piece after she came upon it quite by accident. After participating in an experimental event at the Indianapolis Museum of Art last week, she went Googling Georgia O’Keeffe because one of her favorite pieces is a large white flower by that artist. Her Google search for “O’Keeffe” and “peonies” led Marsha to the artwork of Laguna Beach painter Caroline Zimmermann. While Zimmermann also paints lots of floral images, Marsha ended up choosing this painting instead. It is a beautiful view of the Grand Canal in Venice with lots of bold colors and different geometric shapes and lines to inspire all sorts of stylish interpretations.

The Artwork

“Buon Giorno Venezia” by Caroline Zimmermann

About the Artist: Caroline Zimmermann

Caroline Zimmermann was born in 1964 in Laguna Beach, California, to creative parents who nurtured her artistic talents from a very young age. She began painting with oils at the age of 6 and eventually immersed herself in the artistically abundant setting of her beach town.

As a teenager, Caroline began surfing at Laguna Beach and quickly became recognized as one the most notable female surfers in the State of California. Surfing became her passport to travel as she embarked on a journey to broaden her horizons by seeking exotic surfing destinations in locales such as Bali, Fiji, Tahiti, South Africa, Barbados, the Maldives, and El Salvador. Finding her inspiration in all corners of the world, it was during these travels that Zimmermann really began to develop her craft as a fine artist. Her seascape paintings were featured in numerous surf publications and brought her early success and artistic acclaim as a painter.

Caroline began her formal art studies at the Laguna Beach School of Art in 1984 and California State University, Fullerton, where she attended from 1982-1989 and earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration. In 1992, she was accepted on scholarship by California College of the Arts in Oakland where she earned her Master of Fine Arts in Painting in 1994.

In the mid-1990s, Caroline’s interest shifted from seascape inspirations to landscapes, particularly those of Tuscany and Provence. Inspired to capture the differences in light during all four seasons, she began traveling back and forth between California and Italy. Zimmermann’s travels were paused in 1997 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32. With the support and encouragement of her family, friends, and doctors, Caroline was able to spend the spring months in Tuscany while she received two course of chemotherapy treatments in Pisa. She says of this experience, “It was the best time of my life during the worst time of my life… and since that spring, I return to Tuscany to be well.”

Zimmermann eventually purchased a home in Tuscany where she consistently returns to be well. You can see her beautiful healing refuge in Caroline Zimmermann: Portrait of an Artist in her Tuscan Garden. Her California residence and studio are both situated in the Laguna Beach community where she has lived, painted, and surfed for three decades. Many of her most popular paintings with collectors feature her favorite surf spots in and around Laguna Beach.

Caroline has been a featured artist in various galleries and other fine art venues around the world. She is also credited with creating the most recognized painting of the Tuscan landscape in the modern era. Not only is Zimmermann an extraordinarily talented artist and an elite surfer, she also served as Producer and Art Director on multiple motion picture films and created a series of “lockdown films” from her Tuscan garden during the 2020 pandemic.

Caroline continues to travel between Laguna Beach and Tuscany creating her art and living her best life.

About the Art: “Buon Giorno Venezia”

“Buon Giorno Venezia” is an oil painting on canvas that was inspired by the artist’s 2019 trip to Venice, Italy. It features a view of the Grand Canal and measures 40 x 30 in (101.6 x 76.2 cm). It has been sold to a private buyer so I don’t know where the painting currently lives.

I think the artist’s description of an evening in Venice perfectly captures the whole essence of this stunning painting.

“Even in darkness the city reveals itself through shifting light – reflections mirroring empty bridges, sleeping gondolas, quiet alleys and closed cafes. All of it is so dreamlike, ephemeral and seemingly impossible to comprehend.“

Caroline Zimmermann

Resources/References:

• Caroline Zimmermann: Paintings in Oil
• Caroline Zimmermann – Biography of a Surfer and Artist
• Autumn in Venice
• Buon Giorno Venezia
• Fine Art Studio Online: Caroline Zimmermann
• Lahaina Galleries: Caroline Zimmermann Art
• Caroline Zimmermann: Portrait of an Artist in her Tuscan Garden
• Caroline Zimmermann on Instagram (@cwzimmermann)

About My Outfit

I am going to start with the end. I freaking love the way this outfit came together. I felt so very truly my authentic self. I always envisioned my older self looking exactly like the strange and colorful gray haired hippie lady you see in these images. Goal accomplished just in time for my upcoming 50th birthday. I am going into the second half century of my life as visibly and boldly as I can and this outfit suits that mission perfectly.

Now to the beginning. It started with this super old and probably very familiar kimono robe. It has appeared many times here including in two other Style Imitating Art challenges which both featured buildings in the paintings, “Simultaneous Dresses (Three Women, Forms, Colours)” by Sonia Delaunay and “Castle and Sun” by Paul Klee. The geometric print on the robe always reminds me of the angles and shapes that appear in depictions of buildings or cityscapes. As such, I seem to reach for it every time a style challenge presents me with colorful buildings.

The robe layered over a basic column of black could probably satisfy this style challenge well enough but you know I don’t like things to be that easy. First, I tried this solid blue sundress to represent the water in the painting but then I found this recently thrifted kaftan dress with a print that sort of resembles the ripples in the water. Since I will always prefer a mix of prints to one print paired with solids, I opted for the kaftan.

As you can see, there is snow on the ground so it’s cold outside and I needed more layers. I added black leggings and my black Halftee under the kaftan and then a thrifted white and gray striped long cardigan by Cabi in between the kaftan and the kimono. I liked the subtle striping on the cardigan as another print in the mix and also because they serve to also represent the lines and angles in the painting. I added even more stripes with my blue and white scarf.

My accessories don’t really have any significant relationship to the artwork. I chose them based purely on their aesthetic relationship to the outfit. I really love this kaftan worn loose but once I add a long layer on top, it is Frump City unless I add a belt. So I coordinated my tan woven belt with caramel over the knee boots and my brown cloche hat in that good old fashioned way of matchy-matchiness. To keep it modern, however, I kept my purple Teddy Blake in the mix. My beaded necklace and earrings are both fairly new purchases from the STATE ST. Market and they are proving to be very versatile additions to my jewelry wardrobe.

I hope you enjoyed my interpretation of this painting and feel inspired to play along! Be sure to check out Marsha’s sartorial interpretation of the artwork as well as Salazar’s take on it. If you would like to participate in this challenge and have your photo featured in Marsha’s review post on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, please be sure to submit your photos to her (mlrbanks57@gmail.com) by 10:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, March 26, 2024.

Happy styling! 

Keeping it on the edge,

Shelbee

Joining these Fabulous Link Parties.

Outfit Details: Kimono Robe-Rosegal / Kaftan-Thrifted / Cardigan-Thrifted (Cabi) / Halftee-Halftee / Leggings and Belt-Torrid / Boots and Hat-Target / Necklace and Earrings-STATE ST. Market / Bag-Teddy Blake