Selecting and Displaying Art

There is no science to choosing a painting. When you find something that brightens your day, or makes you happy, or speaks to you, you simply want it nearby. You find a home for it in your own home.

Some art work has the ability to draw you in while others may carry you far away. It is not true that we haven’t achieved time travel. Some paintings are time machine. I can stand in front of a painting and be transported through time and space. It can carry you to a great distance at a glance.

My favorite way to display art is a wall full of frames – all different sizes. They are hung randomly without first being measured. The wall gives you a very interesting background to explore as your eyes hop from one image to another.

I remember going to an outdoor art festival once. There must have been over a hundred artists exhibiting. I visited each and every booth looking for something I had yet to know what it is. It turned out to be a small 4 X 6 oil painting of an outdoor café in Paris. I think because I painstakingly seek it out as opposed to buying on impulse, it remains one of my favorites today. I knew it would be the moment I took it off the hook and said to it, “You are coming home with me”.

"Spring Once Again Soon" - #34

Every year about this time, we have braved through most of what seems like another endless winter.  Cabin fever sets in.   Some surmise optimistically that only a few weeks of cold weather remain.  While others justify the cold days with the hopeful thought that at least each passing day stays brighter later.  No matter what method of choice you chose to get to the finish line, the icy chill continues to wear us down both physically and spiritually.  To refuel, I daydream about spring.  I plan my yard projects.  Each and every year, the first thing on my list in welcoming spring is to fill two window boxes with flowers for the garden shed.

I am an impatient gardener.  As soon as pansies are available at the local garden stores, I am there.  I haven't decided, however, whether I buy them every year because I truly like pansies or because they are usually the first flowers available each season.  I like lots of different colors and I mix them in each pot.  I often wonder why there aren't any red or pink pansies.  Maybe the botanists and growers will surprise me one day.

Once these boxes are up, there will be no guessing that spring, once again, is here.

A Room Built Around A Painting - #23

     In 2008, it was clear to both my husband and I that our little house was indeed too small for us and our cats.  The thought of moving made me sad.  The idea of having an addition put in was exciting.  We started to shop for a builder. 
     I imagined a spacious family room with minimal furnishings.  Windows carefully planned to catch the best light.  Wall space that would work well with furniture placement and still have ample room to display art work.  At that time, I was not necessarily thinking about my paintings but the ones collected.  Then it dawned on me, why not paint a big painting for the room?  We both wanted something modern and simple.  Surprisingly, I found a Van Gogh painting to copy that is a departure from his usual style.  We both agreed that it would look nice in the new room that isn't built yet.

     In May that year, we contracted with the builder.  The painting was completed sometime in June.  The builder and his crew started the foundation end of August and finished their part end of October.  To save on costs and to experience the joy of doing it ourselves, my husband and I did the finishing work of the room - painting, flooring, wood trim and lighting. 
     Finally, in mid-November, we moved the first piece of furniture into the new room and hung the painting above it.  The feeling of accomplishment words can not describe.  As if we were in our private gallery, we quietly admired the painting AND the room for quite awhile.  Both were exactly what we had envisioned.

("View of Paris From Montmartre")