Rex Ray at Art.com!

Acapulco Two

Oh to have money to buy art for my walls..... However, if you have a little dough, why not fill your walls with the fabulous work of Rex Ray available at Art.com?

Thanks for mentioning this, Jessica!

Esty Art for the Home

These Etsy artists have caught my eye. At the time, I don't have the money to buy any of these (although they are incredibly affordable) but I thought someone should! They would make great additions to a home wishing to add something timeless to the mix.

A few months ago I saw images from Oh Kirby. The images are mostly of historical dress as in her Historical Ladies of Fashion series and have a vintage "paper doll" quality. In fact, the artist produces some as individual figurines in her Paper Doll Girl series (unfortunately, without the extra outfits.)

Then there is the melancholy beauty of annejulie. Her images are strong and lush, yet delicate in their handling. Note the lacey dragonflies as eyelid and lashes in the lovely Souvenirs. See more of her beautiful imagery at her website, Ma petite theiere. Don't worry that the site is in French as she publishes an English translation under each post.


These are Canadian photographer Jennifer Squires' images. Jennifer sent me a sweet email about her photographs of spring flowers (yes, months ago!) but I was more intrigued with her photographs of less typical images, such as the shopping cart and the image of a smoked salmon sandwich.



I fell in love with the images of johanna wright a few years ago. I swear I will buy one of her pieces soon.



Last night, I discovered artist Jennifer Judd-McGee's Swallowfield shop. She offers beautiful archival prints of her collages and drawings and these two are my favorites.

So, go on and buy yourself your Etsy art, because I can't.

Paint the whole world by numbers!

Many companies (more than you would expect) still produce and sell paint-by-number kits. Unfortunately, many that you see in craft stores are for children, which are not only limited in complexity but also in subject matter. There are far too many adorable baby animals and sea creatures available. Far too many.

However, the best quality kits are still available online and the best are landscapes, some of them vintage designs like mine below.

Autumn Gold

There is also a very modern New York street scene and a French cafe scene I've seen before that I would love to own, but examples like these are few and far between. If you find a great kit, snatch it up because I haven't seen that New York one in years!



I wish paint by number would catch on again. In a way it did after an exhibit at the National Museum of American History in 2001-2002. Produced at the same time was a companion book called Paint By Number: The How-to Craze that Swept the Nation. Here are some other books and combination book and kits on the craft that are available.

RealArt! The Paint by Number Book and Kit

Paint By Number Kit: Everything You Need to Re-Create 8 Vintage Masterpieces Complete Paint-By-Number Set

Painting By Numbers

Painting the Great Masters by Number

Painting by Number is definitely a great way to relax, which is why it was so popular in the post WWI years. They do not need a lot of skill or talent but still impart a feeling of accomplishment when done and hanging on your walls.

Here are some online sources where you can still buy quality kits:

CraftHouse

Craft-Stop

Dimensions/PaintWorks - the best collection of the bunch

HobbyLinc

Hobby Masters

Jo-Ann's

New England Arts & Crafts

Reeves 

Update on Ta Da!!

Update:
I filled in the empty frames and bought new mats for the Leia Bell prints.

Ta Da!!

Now of course, it is not completely finished.

• The canvas still needs to be painted. I didn't want to leave it white, so I painted it the color of the dining table.
• The triptych frame still needs images.
• The diploma frame needs to be filled especially since the frame is turned the wrong way.
• I need to rethink the shelf contents.

However, most importantly:

I made holes in my wall and the world did not stop!

Slow but still making progress

Update: I had a few hold-ups but I will get there, eventually.

Getting a little closer...

I made the color a tiny bit richer for the 3rd and 4th coats. I also dropped a drawer so there has been a repair and repaint of that little section.

Still plugging along...

I'm still working on my picture wall. However, I'm now thinking of moving my mass of pictures away from the huge Swingers poster.

1) There is still so much wall space to cover and this will take better advantage of the space.
2) I think the poster was so much larger than the other pieces that it didn't seem to belong in the earlier design.

I still need to move the whole grouping over about 8 inches to straddle the shelf and there is one more large picture that will be attached on the bottom left.

Here is the dining table primed and sanded. This picture was taken a couple of hours ago so the first pale blue coat of paint is already drying. My procrastination with this project had a lot to do with not being sure of the color I wanted. My solution was pouring all of the Benjamin Moore samples into the Behr sample I had of my bedroom color and creating my own custom shade of blue.

It's exactly how I wanted it to look!

(I just checked my archives; I first started to paint this table in March! That's procrastination for ya'!)

I think this is the arrangement?

First, remember, my blank wall space is huge. My ceilings are 12 feet 7 inches in this room. Not only do I have this area to cover but I have a wall on the other side of the room that is just as high and 1/3 longer. Without something on the walls my furniture always seemed miniature and lost in the space.

I first tried spacing the pictures more conventionally but just couldn't make up my mind on where any one piece would go. I sat on my floor and set up an OK arrangement on the floor. Then, I started moving them a little closer and finally I just pushed them all together. I made a few substitutions, added some placeholders, and came up with this design. I feel this arrangement takes advantage of not only the height of the wall but also the width.

This is the arrangement mapped out on the wall in paper.

This is a better picture that gives you an idea of what they will look like once on the wall.

Note the blank canvas, the empty frame, and the award certificate from an old job. These will of course be changed in time.

Compare it with the inspiration picture. So, what do you think?

Picture from Domino Decorating Contest entrant Abbey from Buffalo, NY.

Update: I just noticed that Abbey said she was influenced by artist Barry McGee.

Inspiration from Domino magazine

Abbey from Buffalo, NY

Kimberly from Brooklyn, NY

Two participants in the Domino magazine Decorating Contest.
These remind me that pictures on my walls do NOT have to be centered or symmetrical. I can just breathe and not make this harder than it is.

Update: I first tried the bottom arrangement but am now working on one closer to the top one. It's much easier to put together; you just make sure that the first picture is level and go from there. I'll show you a sneak peek tomorrow.

October Home Improvement

I'm sanding my sewing/dining table right now so I can finally paint it. One of the legs lost a good chunk out of it during the move three years ago. I patched it with wood filler yesterday. After sanding it level with the rest, I'll prime the whole thing.

I will be working on at least one of my walls this month, filling the spaces above with some of the images below. I took a panoramic photo to give you an idea of what amount of area I will be covering. Note the ceiling track lights, these are at 12 feet 7 inches high. I will only be able to mount pictures up to the middle of the Swingers poster with my 4-foot stepladder.

What I'm looking at today:

Another Shade of Grey's great adaption of a transfer technique in creation of an easy-to-follow pattern you can use to nailhead trim a piece of furniture.

Elloh's pop culture inspired paintings on Etsy. (seen first at Clemantine.) Check out his grouping inspired by the Office cast.

Abby's take on BHG's instructions on how to mock up a picture wall. These are instructions that I need to study for this Apartment Therapy Cure session as my main goal is to get my art up off all horizontal surfaces in my apartment and up on my walls.

I'm inspired by this decor8 post. I like the lamp shades decorated with what looks like children's art. I know one little artist (The Julia*) that could decorate her future baby sister's nursery in a really cool way (or maybe I'll just get a lampshade for me!) Ha! I had originally thought her drawings could be used to make pillows, but...

First and second choices are out

The white frame blends with the mat and the whole thing disappears into the very pale blue walls.

Black, the second choice, is also not right even though it does match her mask and the temporary bedspread.

Weird, but doesn't this look like I drew a frame on the picture with a Sharpie?

I think I need to find a frame that goes with the headboard, perhaps orange. Maybe I also need to change the off-white mat to a truer white?

Why can't I arrange my pictures?

kimhas4cats

I really am going to attempt it this time. I have two great expanses of off-white walls to cover. However, I am terrified of putting little holes all over the place and still being disappointed. I have done my research, I have my inspiration photos, and I have framed the heavy hitters. Now I just need to start playing with display arrangements.

I have my research, like this article from the Better Homes & Gardens site. [By the way, have you checked out the magazine lately? Not bad at all.]

Rentaldecorating.com also provided these helpful and easy rules.

But I still wish it was as easy as this interactive salon wall tool from Cottage Living's website. While playing with this, I came out like a pro and everything looked fabulous.

Some great examples of what other people have been able to do, all found on Flickr:

Photo credits: darwinbell, aoneko, scrtagentmarten, thomatically, and jiminycrow

How do you like them apples?

I wrote about the company Plan59 back in June 2006.

Well, I just found out that last October they started a separate site to showcase old fruit crate labels. The site is called Box of Apples. I have a few postcard images of these labels that I framed years ago, but now it is possible to replace some of them in a larger size, if I wanted.

At this time, they have 84 images ready for reproduction. The only one on their site that I already have is Buddy. (seen above) I think I'm fine with the Buddy that I have, however, I will keep checking that site every once and a while. You should check it out. By the way, the company is out of Fairfax, VA.

Lovely Geisha Girl

Buy this so that I can't.

Available at Etsy.com

Things to get done during or after the Cure

Goals:

• Test Glacial Tint and Himalayan Mist! pale blue samples from Behr and paint bedroom with the chosen color (Done 4/07)
• Assemble white IKEA Vika Amon/Vika Artur desk (Done 5/07)
• Mount empty brightly colored picture frames from to emulate this image from Wary Meyers (Done 7/07)
• Hang Inside a Black Apples' Mysterious Genevieve print (Done 7/07)
• Paint and patinate (yes, I looked it up) my gold mirror using pale yellow and blue paint (Done 3/07)
• Paint dining/craft table a very pale blue to contrast with the red chairs (probably use the leftover samples from Behr or extra Benjamin Moore sample pots) (Done 10/07)
• Special order a quart of the American Accents Leafy Green paint from Lowe's or Home Depot for the armoire (**I found out that Rust-Oleum no longer makes this color available in a brush-on latex paint, I would have to use the oil-based spray, which I don't want to use. Hmmm...)
• Take another try at tailoring the loveseat slip cover (still too loose) (Done 6/07)
• Make the bolster pillows (came up with new idea for the shape) (Done 5/07)
• Mount artwork on the walls, including my heavy Swingers poster and my Leia Bell prints (Done 5/07 & 10/07)
• Hang curtain dividing the kitchen from the living/dining area. The fabric I wanted was discontinued so I had to start again and I am now thinking about one of these below. They are from the same collection as the one I originally wanted.

Update: I bought over four yards of the green, yellow, and blue print.*
Bolded = Done
* = In progress