On Wednesday, March 30, 2022 Paul Paiement presented a check to Chef Bruno Serato in his White House restaurant in Anaheim, California for $7,000. The money was raised through the sales of his edition of prints/collage and donated to Serato's philanthropic organization Caterina's Club.
"I was inspired by Chef Bruno," said Paiement. "He is a very talented culinary artist. He has taken his talents and applied them to helping children who really need assistance. It's hard to imagine that anyone can go hungry in the richest country in the world--especially children. Like Chef Bruno I used my talents to create a limited edition of prints--40. I worked with master printmaker Abel Alejandre to create a two-color etching--silver and black. Then, I did a full-color painting, digitally scanned it, and created an edition of digital gicleé prints. Finally, I cut up the gicleé prints and pasted them onto the black and silver print. The result is a mash-up of ancient and cutting-edge technologies. It was a very involved process that took months and I'd do it again. in a heartbeat."
After Paiement finished making the prints he and Caroline Laid-Tufenkian, Director of Tufenkian Fine Art in Glendale, California sold the prints using social media. They sold all forty of the prints in about seven weeks. Art collectors from fifteen different states and four countries bought the prints. "I wanted the prints to be affordable for everyone. That's why we priced them at $250 for the framed prints and $200 for unframed. Some of our costs were more than I anticipated. The framing, tax, and shipping turned out to be a little over $50 per print. But, the net profit from the sales came out to just about $7000, so I was really happy that we met our goal."
In addition to serving nutritious (and delicious) meals to over 25,000 underprivileged kids a week, Caterina's Club has also partnered with Mercy House and Illumination Foundation. Welcome Home is a program that assists families living in cars and motels to find long-term living solutions by providing first and last months rent. "In addition to covering the move-in cost, Caterina's Club collects donated furniture, appliances, and other home goods to jump-start these families new lives." --http://www.caterinasclub.org
"I felt the time was right (for me) to take on this project. Our country's been plagued by years of divisive politics and I wanted to put my super-powers to good use. And, the folks at Caterina's Club do such great work. I was inspired."
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