Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

I Heart Art

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I love supporting artists. Why buy a print from a box store when you can own an original one-of-a kind piece of art? And trust me, it doesn't have to be expensive to buy original art, especially from up-and-coming artists.

I love Ann Gruchy’s work. She creates both serene watercolours and beautifully vibrant pieces. When I saw this painting at the Ottawa Art Expo a few weeks ago, there was really no other option but for me to buy it :-)

ann gruchy

And pretty much the same thing in the case of this painting by Tracy Armstrong, who was at the Handmade Harvest Craft Show in Almonte this past weekend. Do you see a purple/turquoise/green theme here? :-)

misty morning

I was bidding on a dragonfly painting in an online auction a couple of months ago, but lost out at the last minute. So I contacted the artist, Sheri Lynn Belisle, and asked her if she could create another dragonfly painting for me. She said yes, and created this beautiful painting of a dragonfly & bull rushes.

sheri

It occurs to me now that I totally forgot to blog about our trip to Nova Scotia back in September! How did I do that?! Anyway, we were in Nova Scotia in September and I bought some lovely little prints  by Leslie Snidal at the La Have Craft Co-op.

la have 1

la have 2

Now to find spots on the walls for all this art! I’m thinking I may put together a floor to ceiling gallery wall in the bedroom.

gallery wallImage via  Greige Design

Although maybe there’s a limit to how many gallery walls one house should have? What do you think?

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Tuesday, February 4, 2014

The painting bug is back!

It’s been a while since I posted pictures of my art. Between our foster puppies and not feeling inspired, I just wasn’t in the mood to get my paint on. I did have a moment of inspiration back in September, though – this amazing sunset at Cap Rouge on Cape Breton.

I knew right away how I wanted to capture it in a painting. And this is how it turned out:

cap rouge sunset“Cap Rouge Sunset”

I’ve changed up the gallery wall in our hallway, and this baby is now a part of it :-) Pics of that project coming soon!


Then there’s this painting that had been sitting on a shelf half-done for months because I just wasn’t feeling it. I bought some new foil and decided to try it out on this painting, seeing as I figured if it didn’t work out, no great loss. And I liked it! I added some sparkly crystals to it, and voila…

Be Dazzled sig“Be Dazzled  “


And I just finished this painting on the weekend. I tried something new, and to be honest, I was really surprised that it worked!

molten metallic sig “Molten Metallics”


I guess the painting bug is back, because now I have five more paintings in the go :-) One of them is using my new technique, and it’s looking pretty cool so far. I just hope I don’t mess it up! But like Bob Ross says, we don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents :-)

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Monday, October 28, 2013

Ottawa Art Expo 2013

I found out on Friday that this weekend was the Ottawa Art Expo here in (wait for it…) Ottawa! I love original art and supporting local artists, so of course I had to check it out :-) There were so many talented artists and beautiful paintings and photographs and even pottery. It was truly a feast for the eyes. And there was something for everyone – from abstract to realism to landscapes and everything in between.

These were some of my favourite artists at the show (click the artist’s name to go to his or her web site).

Judith Savic

Judith’s booth was like an orgy for the eyes! Her abstract paintings are colourful and full of texture and I wanted to bring them all home with me! I very seriously considered buying this painting called Parallel Evolution.

judith savic parallel evolution

judith savic

Anne Remmer Thompson

I’ve seen Anne’s work before, and I admire it every time. Her watercolours are so soft and serene, and I just love her ocean scapes.

anne remmer thompson 1

anne remmer thompson 2

 

Sandy Sharkey – Cabin Road Art

Sandy Sharkey is a girl after my own heart – she’s a big supporter of animals and animal welfare. She recently began a new career as a photographer, and earlier this year she traveled to Return to Freedom American Wild Horse Sanctuary in California to photograph herds of wild horses. You can read about Sandy’s experience and the wild horses on Sandy’s blog (scroll down to her July 29th blog post). Sandy donates a portion of the sale of each of her horse photographs to Return to Freedom. Sandy, you rock!

sandy sharkey horse 2

sandy sharkey horse 4

 

Yisa Akinbolaji

Yisa’s booth was one of the happiest at the show. I love the colours and the interesting designs he incorporates into his abstract paintings.

yisa akinbolaji 1

yisa akinbolaji 2

 

John Shea

I tend to be drawn to abstract paintings, but John’s paintings of beautiful old stone houses really captured my attention. It’s interesting that he can make something hard like stone look so soft and delicate.

john shea meeting place

 

Ann Gruchy

The way Ann incorporates light into her paintings it truly mesmerizing. Looking at her paintings makes me think of what it must be like to see the Northern Lights in real life.

HIGHLAND_MIST ann gruchy

Windward_Mark ann gruchy

 

Lori Dunn Scratchboard Art

What is scratchboard? Lori explains on her web site:

Scratchboard art is a form of direct engraving on a specially prepared board. The boards consists of three layers of material. The base is hardboard that has a layer of white kaolin clay applied to it. The clay is then sanded smooth and a layer of black ink is applied over top. The image is etched one “scratch” at a time using an extremely fine tool such as a scalpel or exacto blade. The black is removed to reveal the white clay beneath.

You have to look at Lori’s art up close and even better, with a magnifying glass, to see just how intricate and detailed her work is.

Solitary_Gaze solitary gaze

Young_Blood lori dunn

 

Eric McCully

Eric paints both beautiful abstracts and fun portraits. I think his abstract paintings look like out-of-focus landscape photos.

eric mccully 2

eric mccully joy

 

Louis Helbi

Louis’s work is really unique. The beautiful blues and greens in his artwork aren’t paint as I originally thought. His canvases are actually aerial photographs of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The collection is called Sunken Villages.

On July 1, 1958 the St Lawrence Seaway flooded out 6,500 people & inundated 10 communities, some over 200 years old. For 50 years the murky water hid their roads, foundations, bridges & much more.

With water clarified by the zebra mussel the communities have reappeared.

This image of Louis’s work is actually a collage of various photos.

louis helbig sunken village

If only I had a huge house with empty walls and a bottomless bank account!

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Thursday, October 24, 2013

Kelly’s Seashore: Commissioned painting by Andrada Anghel

A couple of years ago, I discovered the art at Andrada Anghel through my friend, artist Matt LeBlanc. I really admired her work, and it was interesting to see it pop up in the homes of some of my design blog friends and their clients. The more I saw Andrada’s paintings, the more I wanted one for myself :-)

vanessa francis client dining room vanessa francis drDesigns by Vanessa Francis Design, images via Decor Happy

 

Dawna Jones LRDesign by and image via Dawna Jones Design

 

When you walk into our still-being-reno’d master bathroom, there’s a big empty wall in front of you. It’s the perfect wall for a big piece of art…. maybe a big piece of Andrada art!

I contacted Andrada and asked her her about creating a 6’ x 3’ painting for me. She said she could do it – Yay! I sent her some inspiration pictures – I didn’t want to tell her what to paint, I just wanted to show her the beachy colours and feel that I love. I wanted her to interpret them however she liked and to have the freedom to let her creativity flow without me putting any restrictions on her.

painting inspiration 1painting inspiration 3painting inspiration 2 I was so excited to see what Andrada would come up with. A few weeks later, Andrada completed my painting… she named it Kelly’s Seashore :-)

andrada painting“Kelly’s Seashore” by Andrada Anghel

Holy gorgeousness! Andrada completely captured the colours and the beauty of the ocean that I love!

Andrada lives a couple of hours from me in Laval, Quebec. I wanted to pick up the painting and meet Andrada and see her studio, but, well, how would I fit a 6’ long and 3’ wide painting into a car that’s 8’ long and 3’ wide…  and still be able to actually fit inside it myself?! So Andrada shipped the painting to me. Even though the bathroom still isn’t finished, I had to hang it right away. So, please ignore the state of everything around the paintings and just drink in the beauty of Andrada’s talent…

andrada painting wall_thumb[1]

It couldn’t be more perfect – the size, the colours, the feel of the beach that it adds to the room… I’m just so thrilled with it! Thank you so much Andrada for taking my vision and creating such an amazing piece of art :-) You’re a lovely person and such a talented artist, and I’m going to cherish this painting forever!

If you’ve ever thought about commissioning a painting from one of your favourite artists, what are you waiting for? Go for it!

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Please visit Andrada Anghel on Facebook | Website | Etsy

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Facebook find: Artist Myriam Dion

Pretty much every morning when I scroll through my Facebook feed, I come across something that grabs my attention. Today, it was the work of artist Myriam Dion. Can you guess what kind of art Myriam creates?

lace close

Believe it or not, that’s newspaper! Myriam uses an exacto knife to cut out patterns that look like lacework from newspaper pages.

dion-6  cape cod times

herald

Close-ups of Myriam’s work… 

dion-2

close

Pretty amazing!

papers

Have you discovered an artist whose work captures your imagination?

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Sunday, June 23, 2013

Now you see it…

The not-so-attractive thermostat on the bathroom wall…

before pm

And now you don’t!

after 2 pm

Seriously, easiest “makeover” ever! I bought this cute piece of art by Sue McNenly at last weekend’s New Art Festival. And it fits just perfectly on this shelf in the guest bathroom :-)

close 1 pm

Who says art has to hang on a wall? :-) Stand it up or lean it on a shelf…

centsational girl 1    centsational girl 2
Images via Centsational Girl

Or on a piece of furniture…

art credenzaImage via A  Piece of Toast

Or even on the floor…

art on floorImage via Upworld

Do you have a creative way to hide a thermostat?