Here's a little corner of my kitchen where the influence is evident. I am sure I will be working more with these colors.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Color Lab - Fushcia and Blue
Here's a little corner of my kitchen where the influence is evident. I am sure I will be working more with these colors.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Color Lab - White Walls and Grouping Paintings
I've been painting for a number of years, but didn't really believe I was an artist. Years ago an art professor, who I respected, told me an artist should never hang their own art in their home, to do so showed arrogance. I took that to heart and I believed him for a long time.
As my readers know, my paintings have been hiding in a closet for a long time. No more. I am bringing them out. And hanging them. And grouping them - which is totally new for me. I never used to group art because I didn't like competing images. But now I love playing with groupings, and it's all because of Kim and Jo at Desire to Inspire.
This is one of the first pics I saw when I discovered their marvelous blog. And it influenced me profoundly. I began to think, what if I turned my place into a gallery? What if I covered a wall in my paintings? I had already painted my walls white to accommodate art.
Here are my first attempts at grouping:
First attempt, June 2007. Thanks to Holly at Decor8 for featuring this during orange month.
Second attempt, September 2007.
Third and current attempt, October 2007.
This particular grouping pleases me. I tried to make the paintings appear as steps. Also, I incorporated canvases painted in a solid color. I often create canvases in one solid color, as a way to contemplate a particular color or combination, and to experiment with living with a color (for example I recently painted the silver canvas because I am intrigued by silver at the moment.)
Sometimes these canvases receive more paint, sometimes they stay in their simple form. I hand paint borders on the canvases to look like mattes, and I custom mix all of my colors.
Kim and Jo thanks for being a daily inspiration! And I am happy to report that I am an artist, it's not arrogance. It's fact.
P.S. This photo inspired me in another way as well. I adore those aboriginal lamps and want to experiment with making lamps. I will keep you posted!
Color Lab - Torn Between Two Color Schemes
And look at this groovy candlestick, also from UO! Combining both warm and cool colors. Hmm. I think this would look great in my place.
Color Lab - found objects
I recently bought this olive pillow at Old Time Pottery for $1.99. I wasn't sure I liked it at the time, but I love it now.
My color lab
My apartment is my lab, and color for me is all about experimentation. Usually I begin to obsess about a color, bring it into my home in a small way and then try to reconcile the color with the existing decor. When I am contemplating decor, or a painting, balance is always foremost in my mind. Lately, I have been experiencing color crisis in my home.
Previously, I had painted my walls fuchsia, as you can see here. I painted them white because I don't like the way my art looked against the fuchsia. The red sofa, was unintended, but was a deal. Vintage furniture is usually built better and costs much less than new pieces. The cranberry rug was also unintended, only$12.99 from Target!
I'd like to do the following to this scheme: cover the sofa in royal blue and have the ottomans painted white. I'd also love to paint the floors white, but this is a rental. Oh well, some day when I own an atomic ranch.
Indecision and overstimulation plague me when considering decor, and I find I am attracted to two distinct color schemes.
1. Turquoise/orange which I wrote about here.
2. Fuchsia and ice blue. I love the idea of warmth mixed with coolness.
No matter what combination I use, it would, of course, include lots and lots of white.
Today I was perusing the Urban Outfitters site and was reminded of something my father told me. "There is no such thing as original thought."
I am not much for pattern, but I find this bedding gorgeous. The pale-corally orange, the blue and the olive look great together. This bedding would be great inspiration for a color scheme, or could be used to update a blue/brown decor that is becoming tired. Even though it didn't, this bedding certainly could have inspired my current pottery display:
And how will I incorporate my orange pillows and my olive pillow into this color scheme? Such fun dilemmas. Whatever I decide, it's all about using what I have. I seldom buy anything new, and if I do, I have sold something old.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Lamp Tramp
I could live there and not change a thing. I love the midcentury modern pieces tempered by Asian pieces. I love the liberal use of white, I love the clean and sparse nature of it. And, of course, the turquoise lamps.
Look what Design Milk posted today! These gorgeous lamps from Swank!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Congratulations Madam VP or the Girl with IT All
SNL did this painting. Isn't it gorgeous? Looks old to me. Like an Asian painting of bark. Beautiful. I love the way the vases pop against the brown.
SNL - I am so proud of you. Thanks for always being an inspiration and for being so supportive of me as an artist!
I'd like to thank Creative Influences' very able assistant photographer, GG for his help with this post.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Blogging - Apartment Therapy's Third Annual Color Contest
I didn't feel as blown away this year as last year. Maybe that's because last year it was novel to me, and the omnipresence of chartreuse (one of my favorite colors) last year. This year I got tired of seeing brown and the homes seemed more traditional to me. I'm clearly biased. I like modern decor and I'm snobby about it. Also, I have trouble with homes where each room is simply painted a different color without some sort of integration or flow. I like all the rooms in a home to relate to each other.
The comments were much more tame this year too. I actually missed the snarkiness as I found it very entertaining. I kept my own snarkiness down when I commented. With no further adieu - I'd like to present Creative Influences' top five winners of this year's contest:
No. 5. Michael and Mindy's Sunny Chicago LoftI've been writing a lot lately about my love of white with silver, and this a fine example of that. And their touches of yellow are pure poetry. Yellow is one of my least favorite colors - then again I used to say that about orange. I find it difficult to use, it requires skill and restraint as it must be done in small does. M&M have done a lovely job with their home. They also did a great job redoing a tired shoji screen. I'm very inspired by this because I'd like to do something with my own tired screen, but I'm not much of a DIYer. M&M - thanks for being an inspiration!
No. 1. Drum roll, please. Creative Influences' winner of AT's 2007 Color Contest is Kemi's Contemporary and Classic Harmony!
Isn't it interesting that my winner also used yellow? It was Jessie from My Mod Style that first got me thinking about yellow, which I wrote about here. This is one of the finest uses of yellow I have ever seen. Done in small does, with the shocking pink, I am in love. I also love the way she gave us a shot of her entry way so we can see how the color is fully integrated into her place. I adore the Urban Outfitters Chandelier hanging on the wall above the bed, the lights beside the bed and the yellow bedspread. Her place is much more complex than it first appears, because it is clear she decorates with a soft hand and exercises retraint. It took me a second look before I recognized the facsinating multi-layering of this place. It would have been very easy to go over the top with those bold colors, and the addition of the earthy elements, yet her place at once demonstrates complexity and simplicity. Amazing. Also, love the addition of the lucite. Kemi, thanks for being an inspiration and congratulations on a stunning achievement in decor!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Painting as Experimentation II or Evolution of a Painting
This is actually the second incarnation of this painting. I tried to leave clues of what it was before. Sorry for the poor image. I only recently began documenting my creative journey. Thanks to SNL and BB who gave me my first digital camera. And here is the painting in my dining area.
It pleases me that it looks like a window. But I wanted to see the couple more clearly, and the canvas wanted orange added. So its next incarnation was this:
I am currently working on all white installation. And wanted more rain on the canvas. So its next incarnation was this:
I was not happy with this version. So knew immediately that the painting had more lives. The canvas wanted a more subtle rain, and I wanted to incorporate shiny metallic paint.
So, here is its current incarnation, which I am pleased with. The auras are clear, the angels look ghostly as they approach the rain. I think I'm going to continue this experiment and make the painting more tactile by building up the rain. I'll, of course, keep you posted.
Here is a detail of the ghostly-angels with love piercing their hearts. I hope this image conveys a sense of somber romance. Just like rain.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Blogging - House and Garden
More Silver and White Inspiration
Enja Wong silver dollar prints. Aren't these stunning? Organic simplicity at its finest. Available from CB2.
Rumba vases. Very beautiful and reasonably priced from CB2. Isn't it hard to believe that these are actually stoneware? This mercury-looking glaze is a fairly new process. Amazing. One of each please.
Tuxedo silhouette lamp from Vitamin D(esign).
"Moonlit Vases" by Takuya Tokizawa available at the Artful Home.
I suppose I am a lover of objects, I feel a little like a curator. And it feels great. I am curating an online gallery. Totally fun. Ah, if only real life were as fun.