WELCOMING IN 2024...

In a war-torn world, we all grow weary and become fatigued by the incessant heartbreak over innocent lives lost. I am one of the lucky ones who still lives in a free nano-world, far from all this mass violence and destruction. So what can I do? What little contribution can I make since I don’t have my boots on their grounds? Simply enough, I can donate money to important charities, while hopefully bringing more awareness to all sorts of tragedies out there, not just the ones we keep hearing about.

I know that not everyone is in a position to donate, but for my profession, I look at it like this: A gallery’s commission is 50% and an art advisor is typically 20%. I have actively chosen not to sign with a gallery these past several years because I got burned real bad last time (although interested art advisors, please reach out!), and selling from my studio has not only given me confidence, but has allowed for me to make a better living. Since I’m not having to part with my income as much as before, I’d rather give a portion of profits to a charitable organization who does have boots on the ground and systems in place to help people in desperate need get the most help as possible. So, just as I have done every year since the Pandemic in 2020, I will be doing the same in 2024.

Every month in 2024, 20% of profits from sales of paintings over $1000 will be donated to a different NGO, with January being Children in Conflict. * Please click on the link to read about the good work they do and the many countries they help.

It’s a win-win-win all the way around: You live with art you love, I continue to make a living doing what I was meant to do, and in this month, children in war-torn nations get help with life’s basic needs & necessities.

As always, proof of the donation is provided. If you yourself want to do the donating under your name, then donate 20% of the cost to this charity above, show me evidence that you have donated, and I will deduct 20% of the final cost* of your purchase, and then you have that amount to submit for your 2024 taxes. Same rules above & below apply.

I’ve written enough here. Let’s do our best to contribute to better our world and let Love shine whenever and wherever it can.

Peace + Love,

Randi

*please note: commissions, shipping costs, taxes are excluded.

HAPPY 2022! Working together to make the world a better place...

Happy New Year!

I have always felt it is important to give back to those in great need to live a decent life. In the past, I have chosen a monthly charity to donate some of my profits, and I'm doing it again this year.

The people who will benefit from the money are in dire need. That's why for January, I will be donating 22% of the profits from my art to the UN's World Food Programme. Please click on the link to read about the good work they do and the many countries they help. This mission of theirs is close to my heart.

From their website: THE UNITED NATIONS WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. ...saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

I'd love for you to read through my slides on my latest instagram post (and I reposted it to my artist facebook page). It's so much easier than sending you a long email (it's already long enough!). It also gives an honest 'backstory' for other reasons why I donate, including how this also protects my art, my collectors, and my business. I hope you take a moment to read it.

Please email me for more information on how this works if you're interested in buying some of my art!

* please note that at this time this applies to existing art from 2021 and before.

Happy New Year! (should I say Happy Belated New Year when it hits the 12th?)

I’ve been meaning to post a blog since the New Year hit. Funny how it never seems like there are enough hours in a day, even during a pandemic, even when you are your own boss.

Just an update:

My Get And Give 2020 initiative raised hundreds of dollars for NAMI, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels, MusiCares, cerf+ The Artist Safety Net, Direct Relief, Feeding America and Frontline Foods! Feels good to help out! Not to mention, sell THIRTY works in 2020!

It’s an absolute heartwarming joy for me to help others and it has always been part of my mission to help others through my art and music. …Not only by what art & music does for our souls, but using any money raised to go to organizations that help people directly with aid to address their urgent needs.

Looking forward to a successful, healthy, peaceful 2021 for all!

With LOVE,

Randi

Looking for that special gift?

Art is not always as pricey as you think…

I created a new page simply called Extra! — maybe I could have left out the exclamation point but maybe that’s my nerd homage to Jeopardy!/Alex Trebek (and not to that celebrity show that says the word twice in that sing-songy way).

I wanted to put up some smaller pieces that are reasonably priced, as well as easy to find a space on your walls. These make perfect gifts — so unique and lovely! And through the year 2020 (one month left!), 20% of your purchase goes to charity (read more about Get and Give 2020 here.) The list of the charities is there but I will post again below.

On the Extra! page, be sure to click on the thumbnails to see the full image. If you hover over them, you will see the info which includes pricing (on mobile devices, there’s a dot in the RH lower corner that you click to see info). These pieces are from $75-150.

Contact me if interested in purchasing one by going to my contact page and describing or sending a screenshot of the one(s) you like.

It’s been a success so far! In a few days, six sold! For an artist, that’s pretty damn good!

And so here’s the list of charities to choose from (in no particular order of importance):

1. CDC Foundation Corona Virus Response Fund

2. Global Empowerment Mission

3. International Rescue Committee

4. Habitat for Humanity

5. Doctors without Borders

6. United Way Worldwide 

7. cerf+ The Artist Safety Net 

8. NAMI – National Alliance on Mental Illness

9. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention 

10. Feeding America

11. Direct Relief

12. Meals on Wheels

13. Frontline Foods  - 100% of your money goes directly to restaurants serving hospital workers.

14. Elmhurst Hospital 

15. Cedars Sinai Hospital 

16. Mount Sinai

17. UCLA Health

18. New York Presbyterian

19. Modest Needs

20. MusiCares

Art Show for Angelenos during Quarantine!

I am so proud to be invited to exhibit one of my paintings via a series of video projection installations by TZ Projects. It’s called, Going Home: a picture show, running from MAY 15-20th, 8pm-12AM (note start new time!).

The exhibition marks the official launch of TZ Projects. The show “consists of projected video window installations to provide a destination activity for Angelenos during quarantine.” (TZProjects.org)

My painting “Industrial Pastures of the Present” will be projected on a large screen up in the windows of TZ Projects’ space right on the corner of Beverly Blvd & Crescent Heights Blvd. 8070 Beverly Blvd to be exact… right in the center of Los Angeles!

Five nights of coolness and beauty! Read more about the show’s mission here, as well as see the list of many amazing artists who are part of it! Plus, there are ways to benefit charities associated with TZ Projects (please see their website).

So wonderful to hear that art is alive and well in LA! (of course it would be!!)

Oh, and in line with LA’s adherence to the rules during the pandemic, here is how you experience the show: You can view the show from your car or walk up to the window display while adhering to social distancing guidelines. It’s as easy as that!

For those of you not in Los Angeles, I will take video (of the videos!) and post to my social media pages. Do you follow me on Instagram and Facebook? Not yet? Why not?! I provided you links to make it easy…

AND, I have a music show coming up! But one blog post at a time ;)

View fullsize

Industrial Pastures of the Present-mixed media on canvas-58x78”

Get & Give 2020 - Extended until the end of the year! Also, new charities on the list to reflect these urgent times

I started a campaign called March Gladness 2020 on March 1st (you can read that entry to get the details). For obvious reasons, the name of the campaign was changed to “Get & Give 2020” to reflect the current atmosphere of the times (there’s another blog post and press release on that; just look to the right to click on and read). I also extended it until April 15th (originally, this was just supposed to be a March campaign).

I am proud to announce that I am still doing Get & Give 2020, but I will be doing it throughout 2020. Yes, that’s right — for every online purchase of art from now until December 31, 2020, I will be donating 20% of your purchase price (gross, not profit… so more money goes to the organization!) to a charity of your choice from a list of 20 charities chosen by me.

In light of how dark these times are, I revamped the list of 20 charities. While all of the charities I’ve listed under March Gladness are still very worthy and in need, we are at war here. We do need to address this emergency situation. Some of the charities are the same as the previous list (CDC Foundation, Doctors Without Borders, IRC), but I added a whole host of new ones that are helping hospital staff, restaurants (who are helping hospital staff!), artists, low-income unemployed families, direct relief all over the world, and the elderly. I also have kept some mental health organizations, as the suicide call rate is up.

As stated before, I have works large and small. Most of the works featured here on the website are medium and large-scale. I know that not everyone can afford that now (and if you can, please consider buying if you’re looking to beautify your space and wanting to help people in need at the same time). I do have works on paper on sale for as low as $65. I have some works on panel for $150. They go all the way up to $10K (those are for works the size of a queen-size bed!). Anyway, there is something for almost everyone.

If you truly love something and are unemployed or a hospital staff member, we can work out a payment plan and I’d give you an additional 10% off. Honor system here. :)

And here’s the updated list of charities to choose from (in no particular order of importance):

1. CDC Foundation Corona Virus Response Fund

2. Global Empowerment Mission

3. International Rescue Committee

4. Habitat for Humanity

5. Doctors without Borders

6. United Way Worldwide 

7. cerf+ The Artist Safety Net 

8. NAMI – National Alliance on Mental Illness

9. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention 

10. Feeding America

11. Direct Relief

12. Meals on Wheels

13. Frontline Foods  - 100% of your money goes directly to restaurants serving hospital workers.

14. Elmhurst Hospital 

15. Cedars Sinai Hospital 

16. Mount Sinai

17. UCLA Health

18. New York Presbyterian

19. Modest Needs

20. MusiCares

I’d like to thank the people who already have taken a part of this and donated to three very worthy organizations… but let’s do more!!! I promise to post more videos of smaller works… that seems to be more helpful than pictures with the lighting and I can get many in at once. I’ll keep you posted on that!

*Also, there is the fine print: Buyer pays for shipping and handling (including crating for larger pieces) for any purchase. Paypal, Zelle, Venmo accepted. If paying by credit card, a 3% fee will be added to your purchase. All sales final. All rights reserved by the artist. No reproduction of the work can be made without artist’s permission.

Press Release: An Artist’s Push to Help Charities: Get & Give 2020

LOS ANGELES, CA, March 15, 2020 – LA-based artist Randi Russo is doing something special for those in need. She is currently running a unique kind of fundraising campaign. Formerly called “March Gladness 2020” – which has now been renamed “Get & Give 2020” – Russo will be donating 20% of sales from any of her paintings purchased from now until April 15th to a charity of the buyer’s choice from a list of 20 non-profit organizations chosen by Russo herself. The organizations range from causes dedicated to human rights (including some specifically engaged in women’s causes) to animal rights to climate-crisis causes to cancer research and to other health-related organizations, most importantly including one run by the CDC Foundation in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

 Russo said, “I have combined selling my art with raising money for charities in the past but usually it’s in conjunction with an event such as an art opening or studio open house.” She added that, “however, this is an online campaign.”

On the artist’s blog and on her social media accounts, Russo introduced her March Gladness 2020 campaign back on March 2nd, and it became apparent within several days that it had become the right name at the wrong time, but as she then emphasized, “its mission is [still] important.” Her solution: rename it as the Get & Give 2020 Project and move forward. She stated, “I feel so much more comfortable with this name… and it gives me a chance to do something else: extend the campaign until April 15th.”

The purpose of this campaign is two-fold. It not only helps the selected non-profit organizations, but it also reinforces Russo’s belief that artists and their art deserve respect from buyers. On her Facebook page, she addressed the value of a work of art beyond its price tag. In order to help her followers understand why she uses donations instead of putting paintings “on sale,” she explains that it is to keep the integrity of the art intact. “Not only [do] I care about these 20 important organizations which do good in the world, but I also care about valuing artwork and valuing artists who create the work.” Russo said, “It is [also] important to protect the collector who supports artists directly (financially) and indirectly (emotionally). It’s imperative that I protect their investment in my work by protecting the value of my work.” Finally, she asks her readers to “Help lift artists up! Don’t bring them down,” and added, “I hope the donation to charity is an incentive... maybe I’m not receiving as much income but the integrity of the work is maintained.”

To date, Habitat for Humanity, the Hirshberg Foundation of Pancreatic Cancer Research, and NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Health) have all benefited from this project. 

For more information and a list of the selected charities, go to www.randirusso.com, or contact the artist directly at rr@randirusso.com

Update on the charitable giving campaign for March: New Name

What’s in a name? Maybe not much, but words do matter. This is not a typical COVID-19 announcement, as in the grand scheme of things, what I call my latest project (formerly called “March Gladness”) is not so important. However, its mission is important.

Over the past few days, I have been thinking about the name “March Gladness 2020” for my charitable giving campaign. I am sure it is obvious that the name was a tongue-in-cheek reference to NCAA’s March Madness. But with the current atmosphere, being tongue-&-cheeky feels uncomfortable. It is a serious time and I feel like authentic living needs to match the times we’re in.

When I came up with this idea, it was March 2nd. In a matter of 10 days, the world took a deep, dark turn, and now it seems odd to me to use the phrase “March Gladness” — it feels awkward because there’s not much to feel “glad” about right now (and I’m not the kind of woman to get all pollyanna and try to glue a “happy” word that just doesn’t fit my experience). Grateful (for my health and much more), yes; but glad… hm. Also, now that March Madness is canceled, it feels strange and off-putting to me to keep it under this name.

I am now renaming the campaign “Get & Give 2020.” I feel so much more comfortable with this name. It simply is what it is: You get yourself (or a loved one) some art made by me, and by doing so, you also give to a worthy charity 20% of your purchase price (don’t worry— your donation comes out of your purchase; I give that 20% to a charity of your choice as opposed to keeping 100% of the profits). You have a list of 20 charities to choose from (see blog post below for a list with links to each one, plus a more complete explanation of the “rules”). That’s where the 2020 comes in — OK, so a little tongue-in-cheek is not too offensive, I hope!

Regarding the charities, I did update it to include one which is addressing the COVID-19 pandemic (the CDC Foundation has a response fund) and an organization which is helping those affected by the devastating tornadoes that plowed through Tennessee earlier this month. There are other organizations on the list that also have a covid-19 action plan, amongst other dire situations that need our help.

And with this new name, it gives me a chance to do something else: Extend the campaign. Instead of it just being for the month of March, I will extend it another two weeks. So from now until April 15th, the Get & Give 2020 project will be active.

So far, the Hirshberg Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, and NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Health) have benefited. I am so honored to have your support and so happy to hear that my collectors are happy with their art! No purchase is too small or too big (some works start as low as $65).

So please, visit me on Facebook and Instagram to follow the progress and to watch videos showing available smaller works that are not on the website. I will be updating this throughout the campaign since there’s LOTS of art to share! For medium to large-scale works, you’re already in the right place, as the bulk of them are up here on the website!

xoxo

Randi

MARCH GLADNESS 2020

**update 3/14/20: in light of these times, the name has been changed to Get & Give 2020: see new post on 3/13/20**

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

TWENTY percent (20%) of any painting purchased through me, Randi Russo, in March will be donated to a charity of your choice from this list of 20 charities (you can break up the donation any way).

The list (in no particular order of importance):

Organizations:

1. CDC Foundation Corona Virus Response Fund

2. Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Research

3. International Rescue Committee

4. Habitat for Humanity

5. Doctors without Borders

6. WWF.org – Adopt a Koala

7. P.S. Arts – bringing art to children in schools in underserved communities

8. NAMI – National Alliance on Mental Illness

9. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

10. St. Jude’s Hospital

11. Heart to Heart International Tornado Response

12. Ocean Conservancy

13. Sandy Hook Promise

14. Humane Animal Rescue

15. The Orangutan Project

16. Planned Parenthood

17. The Innocence Project

18.National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

19. Malala Fund

20. Free the Slaves 

Just a small selection of available paintings is below… Want to see more? Make an appointment or contact me and I will send you more information…

the fine print: as is customary, the buyer pays for shipping and handling (crating) for any purchase. Paypal, Zelle, Venmo accepted. If paying by credit card, a 3% fee will be added to your purchase. All sales final. All rights reserved by the artist. No reproduction of the work can be made without artist’s permission.

20% of Profits from art saleS to Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month PLUS additional 5% to charity of your choice!*

This month I will be donating 10% of art sales to the Lustgarten Foundation of Pancreatic Cancer Research: https://www.lustgarten.org/. What makes this twice as good is that an anonymous donor is matching all donations (up to $100,000) for this month and next, so that 10% becomes 20%. Also, due to private funding, 100% of their donations go to pancreatic cancer research.

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness month. My mother has been suffering and battling this illness for nearly four years, and the last few months have been devastating to witness. No one should have to suffer like this. Help us advance research for a cancer that doesn't get as much awareness and money as other illnesses do, yet it is one of the most deadliest, painful ones.

I know not everyone has the space in their homes for 5 -7 foot paintings, nor maybe the budget. So I realize some of you might be interested in something smaller. I admit that my website needs to be updated with many small works. I will try to get to that soon (and forgive that they'll be mobile phone pics and not pro pics at this time!).

There are so many small works that I'm sure I cannot do all, but I'll try to add what I can. Checking out my Instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/randirusso) might give you an idea of some of the smaller works, as many have been posted there (in between my nature shots and cute kitty pics!).

To make this even more appealing to you: I will give an additional 5% to one of the organizations listed below. You get to choose from the list below.*

Please note that anything purchased after Nov 11th will need to be shipped in early/mid-December, due to me being in another city to be with my mom, so I'll be unable to ship the work if I'm not in LA. But know that I keep my word and get it to you as soon as I can. If purchased before Nov 11, then I will be able to get it out to you this week, depending on size (very large works involve outside sources and may have to wait until Dec to ship).

Thank you... and that's all for now.

*And here are the other organizations for 5% donations that you can choose from:

- The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence https://www.csgv.org

- International Rescue Committee: https://www.rescue.org (heavy focus right now on refugees in Myanmar)

- Human Rights Watch: www.hrw.org

- Direct Relief: https://www.directrelief.org (Puerto Rico relief)

- Free the Slaves: https://www.freetheslaves.net

- Hirschberg Foundation (also a great Pancreatic Cancer Research Foundation): http://pancreatic.org

Be well,
Randi

Note regarding my work: I have an inventory list with details and pricing of large works and some medium-sized pieces, emailed upon request. Smaller works start at $175. Buyer pays shipping & associated costs (insurance, etc).

All purchases over $250 will get a Randi Russo CD of your choosing (out of print on 'still standing still' EPs; I have copies of all LPs -- while supplies last). Check out the website to hear & decide:https://www.randirusso.com/music. Under $250, and I can send you a ZIP link to mp3's of an album of your choice.

Each week through February, 10% of art & CD sales goes to a new charity: THIS WEEK: INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE

From Jan 30th to Feb 5th, 10% of all art and CD sales will go to the International Rescue Committee. Whether you buy art/music or not, I would love for you to donate to this wonderful organization!

Last week, $225 was raised for Free the Slaves. The week prior, $520 was raised for Gilda's Club of Chicago and $520 for Imerman Angels.

Do good in this world. Always do good.

---

UPDATE! I would love to give as much as possible to the IRC because I've followed this organization for so long and I'm a huge fan of what they do, so I'm extending the 10% donation to go to them through the end of February. Stay tuned for March's charity...