Did you ever consider adorning the walls of your home or apartment with art work?

I’ve been doing that for decades.

I can’t explain how comforting it is to look around as I am enjoying dinner, surrounded by images that delight my soul.  Or, when I am working in my office, surrounded by art work that celebrates industry (also resplendent in color), so that I am inspired to keep working.  My bedroom has different themes- all arranged to make my repose joyful.

The trick is to find art work that we will want to own for a long time, that we won’t find boring or tiring after a while.   Oh- and despite the fact that my art work is from original masters, there is no need to have such a collection.  The goal is to find art that is meaningful, beautiful- and clearly affordable.

 

And, it just doesn’t have to be paintings.  It can be photography, it can be fabric, there are no rules!  What sort of colors grab your attention?   Abstractions?  Realism?  Spend some time just meandering around finding what you like, what floats your boat.

And, we are not talking about art galleries.  We can peruse catalogues, magazines, other folks’ homes- whatever.  Don’t forget the gift shops at museums and galleries, where prints, postcards, and posters are available.  There are plenty of places on the web, too, to seek out posters and prints.   Not to mention original artistry ( or is that craftwork) work at Etsy.

Or, peruse a few of the artists that I routinely mention on my blog.  Regina Miele.  Lisa Brandel.  Shelley Koopman.  Christine Zmuda.  Udi Merioz.  And, there are tons more.

In my case, I like knowing who is the artist behind the art.  That backstory just anneals the emotional experience to my psyche more tightly.  (I have biographies for each of the artists’ works I own.)

Of course, our homes, our apartments are replete with furniture.  We need to make sure that what we choose to adorn our walls (or, if you also have some statues, our floors) complements our furnishings.   We need to understand the function- and the aura- we want each room to project.

Obviously , the sort of art work we choose for our dining or living rooms is going to be totally different that what we use to adorn our bedrooms.  After all, the bedroom should be relaxing.  (It’s also why I chose different pieces to adorn my work space- to keep me productive and attentive.)

I look forward to you sharing your art adventures with me.  Soon.