A Figure Eight
Art can be intimidating.
When we make the choices of what to hang on our walls, I sometimes wonder why more homeowners don't consider original artwork of any kind. A painting on canvas is certainly art whether contemporary or a whimsical vintage piece. A beautifully handpainted platter is art. Photography is art:
In an age where most photographers have moved to producing digital work, Lori is still kicking it old school. She shoots only film with a cool old Hasselblad camera. Then develops everything in a traditional wet dark room in her basement. I swear...magic happens down in that darkroom (and some art!). Besides the fact that her work speaks to everything I love visually, I have an emotional attachment to her work since she's been the best friend to me a girl could ever have for nearly 30 years.
Few of us will ever own an original masterpiece. So what. That's what museums are for. I'm no expert on art by any means, but by making the choice to look for art, visiting a gallery here and there, dropping in to a local show or art festival and talking to the artists who love to talk about their work and creative process it has taught me to have an eye for what I like. And that's what I want to put in my home.
Art exists for all budgets and I want to encourage you to look for it.
One of my favorite artists is Anne Packard
As a family, we often seek out isolated beaches for vacations and the limitless horizons in these paintings are familiar and inspiring to me. And I love the boats. Her work is pricey and worth every penny (thousands of dollars!) but for now, Anne, you are out of my budget. Let's deconstruct my process and see where this goes:
California palette knife artist Leslie Saeta is another favorite.
These beautiful paintings are all done strictly with a palette knife instead of paint brushes.Water, boats, color, texture. It's all there. And affordable (average $350.00)
Our vacation destination this summer was Monterey, California. Carmel's high concentration of galleries had my head swimming. So much inspiration!! And yes, very expensive. But there is art available for every budget and I came home with two small oil paintings..and I mean small. They were 3" x 3". And they were beautiful:
Along with our local galleries and colleges Etsy is another great resource for original art.
artist Lauren Maurer price $20.00
At the Bayou City Arts Festival this year, my boys and I met mixed media artist Dolan Geiman and picked up this little print reproduction:
Are you seeing a theme here? It's a 7X5 print mounted on wood that fits in with a small gallery wall space under our stairs.
When considering original art, look for what makes your heart sing. The piece that you'll walk past every single day and smile. The piece you'll feel a connection to. I promise it will be much more rewarding than the mass produced mistakes we've all bought and displayed just to have something on the wall. And if your walls are blank and you're waiting on an upswing in the economy before you're willing to make even the smallest investment, then why not call upon your inner Picasso and create some art. Yes YOU!!
A simple sketch drawn by your own hand. Go all the way ...put it in a frame, hang it and call it art.
It's as simple as starting with a figure eight:
When we make the choices of what to hang on our walls, I sometimes wonder why more homeowners don't consider original artwork of any kind. A painting on canvas is certainly art whether contemporary or a whimsical vintage piece. A beautifully handpainted platter is art. Photography is art:
Few of us will ever own an original masterpiece. So what. That's what museums are for. I'm no expert on art by any means, but by making the choice to look for art, visiting a gallery here and there, dropping in to a local show or art festival and talking to the artists who love to talk about their work and creative process it has taught me to have an eye for what I like. And that's what I want to put in my home.
Art exists for all budgets and I want to encourage you to look for it.
One of my favorite artists is Anne Packard
As a family, we often seek out isolated beaches for vacations and the limitless horizons in these paintings are familiar and inspiring to me. And I love the boats. Her work is pricey and worth every penny (thousands of dollars!) but for now, Anne, you are out of my budget. Let's deconstruct my process and see where this goes:
California palette knife artist Leslie Saeta is another favorite.
These beautiful paintings are all done strictly with a palette knife instead of paint brushes.Water, boats, color, texture. It's all there. And affordable (average $350.00)
Our vacation destination this summer was Monterey, California. Carmel's high concentration of galleries had my head swimming. So much inspiration!! And yes, very expensive. But there is art available for every budget and I came home with two small oil paintings..and I mean small. They were 3" x 3". And they were beautiful:
Along with our local galleries and colleges Etsy is another great resource for original art.
At the Bayou City Arts Festival this year, my boys and I met mixed media artist Dolan Geiman and picked up this little print reproduction:
Are you seeing a theme here? It's a 7X5 print mounted on wood that fits in with a small gallery wall space under our stairs.
When considering original art, look for what makes your heart sing. The piece that you'll walk past every single day and smile. The piece you'll feel a connection to. I promise it will be much more rewarding than the mass produced mistakes we've all bought and displayed just to have something on the wall. And if your walls are blank and you're waiting on an upswing in the economy before you're willing to make even the smallest investment, then why not call upon your inner Picasso and create some art. Yes YOU!!
A simple sketch drawn by your own hand. Go all the way ...put it in a frame, hang it and call it art.
It's as simple as starting with a figure eight: