Hell's Kitchen Artist Sells Affordable Art At West 44th St Garage Sale

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — This will be Janet Restino's 20th year or so selling her fine art at the West 44th St. Garage Sale, and she says it still doesn't get old.

"It’s a party," she told Patch. "It’s so great to meet new people, see their reactions to art, who likes what, answer their questions and see who else is selling there."

She's just one of the around 75 people selling their own goods and arts at the West 44th Street Garage Sale, where treasure hunters can find gifts, clothing, household goods, jewelry, antiques and art on Saturday, Sept. 30th on West 44th Street between Ninth and 10th avenues.

The event, organized by the West 44th Better Block Association and the Friends of Pier 84, is dubbed "one of the most eagerly awaiting events of the year," according to a flyer.

And if you ask Restino, she would probably agree.

Over the 20 years or so that she's sold her original paintings, drawings and photographs, she looks forward to the annual festival.

The interactions she has with people at the Garage Sale, she said, helps to "take me from the solitary creation of an image to how fresh eyes receive it, relate to it and feel it."

"I've made a few great long-time friends there, too," she said, adding that she once got a pretty great painting commission from someone she met at the Garage Sale, too.

She's called Hell's Kitchen home since 1992, and says what makes the neighborhood so enchanting is its centrality to the city's creative core.

"The community here is so adjacent to theaters and houses so many creatives," she said.

An artist since the 1970s, Restino attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and has been making art in her Hell's Kitchen apartment for the last 30 years.

Her art has been shown at galleries all over the city — including at an upcoming group show at Hudson Guild opening Oct. 6.

Restino also sells her work at the Drama Book Shop in Midtown in addition to other street fairs, like the recent Manhattan Plaza Street Fair, and the upcoming London Terrace Street Fair on Oct. 7.

"I have a somewhat populist approach to my art," Restino said. "I want my art to have meaning to people and give them pleasure."

The West 44th Street Garage Sale is open — rain or shine — from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 30th on West 44th Street between Ninth and 10th avenues.

For more information, click here for the West 44th St. Better Block Association website.