What is art to you?
Art can be subjective.
One person's masterpiece is another person's landfill.
One can see the brilliance of
the abstract expressionism in a Jackson Pollock painting, others will see what
looks like a badly executed spinning wheel painting done by a five
year old, high on sugar, at the fairground. I wonder where mum stashed (I mean, proudly displayed) those works of art we dragged home from the annual fair, covered in straw and sand-flies which seemed to stick to the wet paint, and give the surface a rather "interesting" textured layer.
Art can be expensive. One person can expect to pay exorbitant prices for their artwork, another will make do with a second hand print of Dogs Playing Poker...and both may love their pieces equally. I mean...seriously...it's dogs, playing poker...what's not to like? Go you cheating British bulldog.
Art can be an investment.
One person is happy to tie up large quantities of money in what they see as a way of supporting their future, another is thinking of how they are going to pay this
month's mortgage and asking themselves, how did that painting that looked like something their toddler could produce be worth that much? Maybe it's time to exploit their two year old's pre-school artwork!
But one thing I have come
to believe, as I look around my home at the things that make me happy, however
you think of art, whatever you hang on your walls, it should always be for you…not your
bank, not your portfolio, not your friends.
I remember a particular Salvador Dali print hanging above my family home's lounge fireplace while I was growing up. For some reason, that print scared the living daylights out of me. As an adult, I can appreciate the beauty, but for me, art shouldn't induce nightmares.
I remember a particular Salvador Dali print hanging above my family home's lounge fireplace while I was growing up. For some reason, that print scared the living daylights out of me. As an adult, I can appreciate the beauty, but for me, art shouldn't induce nightmares.
When it comes to art, I have no
particular style - sometimes I find it hard to know what it is I do like, but I
definitely know what I don't (sorry Jackson Pollock...but hey, if someone was to gift me one...I probably wouldn't say no). Some may say my choices are bland and safe. But I'm cool with that. Don't judge my love of neutrals, and I won't judge your love of anything you want to hang on your walls.
No artist greatly influences me...but I have had pieces that have influenced some of my design choices. I remember trying to decide on what colour to paint my bedroom when I first moved here. I had brought along a print I had purchased some years ago. A friend of mine suggested picking up the colours in that picture when selecting the paint tint.
In that same bedroom there was one old fashioned picture left hanging in the room when I purchased my home. One lonely picture in an empty house. I have always felt a warmth to this place, a sense of security, and for some reason it felt reflected in that floral picture. It still hangs in that room and it makes me happy every time I see it. That lonely old print and the one I brought with me have a sense of purpose in the bedroom, they give me a feeling of serenity in my safe space, and they have equal billing.
No artist greatly influences me...but I have had pieces that have influenced some of my design choices. I remember trying to decide on what colour to paint my bedroom when I first moved here. I had brought along a print I had purchased some years ago. A friend of mine suggested picking up the colours in that picture when selecting the paint tint.
In that same bedroom there was one old fashioned picture left hanging in the room when I purchased my home. One lonely picture in an empty house. I have always felt a warmth to this place, a sense of security, and for some reason it felt reflected in that floral picture. It still hangs in that room and it makes me happy every time I see it. That lonely old print and the one I brought with me have a sense of purpose in the bedroom, they give me a feeling of serenity in my safe space, and they have equal billing.
I was fairly broke when I
moved in...and that didn't help when buying more artwork...so I become
inventive. It's amazing what you can do with some blank canvases, test
pots of paint, old music and ribbon. These pictures were just space
fillers...but I fell in love with them somewhere along the way...so they are
staying for the time being.
Last year, while out and about in Auckland, I visited a shop that specialised in
second hand/antique Asian furniture and fabrics among other things. I found an old screen print stencil, loved
it, beat him down on the price then brought it home to be framed...then didn't
for over a year because of the exorbitant price of the framing. When I
finally coughed up the money, I absolutely loved the result. It's unique and
it has history.
I had a book that I purchased in Italy with my mother, many years ago. The book was old and had mildew on some of the pages, but somehow I wanted to preserve the memories. So I grabbed some old frames, painted and white
washed them, then filled them with a couple of pages from the book.
A fun tea-towel a girlfriend
gave me (what is she trying to say?) stretched over a canvas...which hangs in the kitchen...near the fridge...where the bottles of bubbles live!
It doesn't matter what you hang on your wall, it's what you love, what makes you happy, it's what gives you a sense of peace and calm, it's what excites and motivates YOU. That is what art is all about. Now, does anyone have an old Jackson Pollock they want to gift me? What? No? Hummmph!
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