The Crooked Antler will be keeping their doors open late on Nov. 25 after the Santa Claus Parade, for an exclusive art exhibition featuring paintings by local artist Brandi Romano. Romano’s collection, entitled Lost in the Forest, represents a very personal, yet very universal struggle.
“The exhibition represents an artistic sense of being lost and finding your way,” said Romano. “Accepting truths, moving forward and seeing it through to the end. It’s about struggling with creative blocks, taking risks and turning flaws into beauty, learning along the way to accept the creative process as it comes and trusting the outcome.”
An artist right from the start, Romano didn’t travel the world or go to some fancy art school, but she had no shortage of inspiration in her life.
“My education and inspiration comes mostly from my mother,” she said. “She always kept me well stocked with creative tools and lots of space to work in. From painting my first mural at age 2 on our home wall (that was short lived), to the limitless creative tools I had to work with, bags of clay, yards of canvas, boxes of brushes and an endless supply of paint. I have been creating my whole life and painting has always been a passion of mine.” After years of painting, Romano has become very comfortable with her creative process, painful as it can be sometimes. “In reality, my creative process goes a little something like this: think of an idea, start to sketch it, erase, sketch, erase, paint, pout, paint, whine, and then eventually work through it,” she said.
“Creative blocks don’t bother me anymore. It’s not that I don’t go through them kicking and screaming, it’s just that I know now to keep going and trust that it will work out. It’s pretty cool to see what comes out on the other side when you push yourself a few steps further.” The doors open at the Crooked Antler at 7:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served, and there will be live music, so come on in and warm up after the parade.
