As of right now, every art piece I have on my walls (that I didn't make) is by Tandi Venter. I really, really liked her stuff about two years ago. She's doing this "modern" thing now that I like, but wouldn't buy. Anyway, the pieces I currently have were motivated by color theme and well, just what appealed to me at the time. Now, I feel like the pieces are too "retro" for my taste and I'm itching to get away from the blue and brown combination that our old house was. For some reason (I really have no clue why. I'm sure if I dig deep enough into some of my psych text books I could figure it out...but I'm lazy.) I have this huge need to move towards soft colors...with lots of yellow and green but then again, I feel like some rooms in my house should be filled with warm red, orange, and yellow. See? Random! I'm getting sidetracked again...Here are the pieces I currently have in my living room.
Now...onto what I want to replace my current art with. First, I need to fill you in on logistics. I want to keep the frames from the current pieces in my living room because my lovely uncle carefully made them for me and they're wonderful. I am moving the two square frames in to my dining room and hopefully I will pair them with the prints below. I LOVE the rich colors together and they work perfectly for a room that will either stay white or at some point...if I get the energy...may become some neutral tone.
My kitchen, dining room, and "sunroom" all flow together so they have to work together. I'd like the rooms to have some individuality though. I think the key to this is going to be the purpose of the room (obviously) and the art!
Let's talk framing, hanging, and location. Frames are incredibly expensive when you're hanging something that isn't from Dollar General -cough cough- or something that is an odd size. Meaning, it isn't going to fit into the generic 4x6, 5x7, or 8x10 frames you find in stores like Target.
Dining Room:
* The two large pictures of flowers are 24x24, by Daphne Brissonett, and are named Sunset I and II. I'm using the frames my uncle made.
* The butterflies are 8x8, by Katie Pertiet, and are named Mocha Butterfly, Apricot Butterfly, Cranberry Butterfly, and Ochre Butterfly. I may actually try to frame them if I can find 10x10 frames. Sometimes I see them, sometimes I don't. If I can't find frames I think I'll mod podge them to thin boards.
Kitchen:
* The chicken and market prints are 12x12, by Daphne Brissonett, and are named Morning Call I, Morning Call II, Vine Ripe III, and From the Market IV. I'm going to hang these as they are pictured here. A lot of people in blog land are using 12x12 scrapbooking paper and mounting it on boards or foam, then hanging it on the wall. I'm going to mount these on 3/4 inch 12x12 foam boards from a local craft store after painting the foam a dark brown.
* The fruit signs are 14x11, by Grace Pullen, and are named Fruit Stand and Fruit Stand III. I am undecided on what I'll do with these for framing. Any ideas?
Sunroom:
* These prints are all 9.5x12, by Chad Barrett, and are named Gilded Songbird I, II, III, and IV. These prints are getting mod podged onto thin boards and I'm going to tack 2 pieces of ribbon to the backs of each print, tie the ribbon into bows, and hang them in a row.
In case you can't tell..I like lists, organization, and planning. Just in case you were beginning to worry that I'm not cultured I'm going to leave you with a few paintings by the greats that personally speak to me. Resemblance, no? (Don't worry, all of those web cam pictures of me are from ages 17-19. I worship my face far less these days.)
