Contemporary Art in a Traditional Space

Connie and Chris....

 (well, really Connie, as Chris is just swept away in the fervor of his wife's vision.....) 

wanted art with a more contemporary feel in the living room.

Connie is attracted to modern art.

Chris is attracted to Connie.

I'm attracted to pretty rooms.

So EVERYBODY is happy.

We stumbled upon this print of a flower while shopping for furniture.

We both fell in love with it, but didn't know where to put it.

This was early in our shopping, and the house, at this point had no furniture.

It's a traditional subject, but done in a contemporary manner.

While antique shopping, we then discovered this vignette in a West Palm Beach store on antique row.

 The thing both paintings have in common is that they are iconoclastic images of a traditional item.

Lately, I have been attracted to this love affair with the shape of just one thing, simplifying the composition of the work of art. 

WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY PLACE FOR THIS PIECE EITHER!!!!!

We were just blindly shopping for furniture.

Bumbling along, trolling for antiques or anything else that would catch our eye.

sooooooooo......

The living room continued to develop, and all I had found were the iron grates for over the concrete console tables.

We were trying to think of what direction we wanted to go, and Connie and Chris were racking their brains as to what they wanted.

I took a passive back seat, as artwork is personal, so I let them figure it out by themselves.

NOT!!!!!!!

Did I have you believing that for a second or two???????

We had gotten to this part of the decorating.....

We wanted something fabulous for over the fireplace and iron bench.

I had never been able to get the image of that beautiful dahlia out of my mind.

Soooooo....

I said.....

"Hey! Connie! Remember that painting of the white flower we saw a year ago when first shopping for furniture??????? I wonder if they still have it?????"

Sooooooo.....

Connie and Chris went trundling back to the store, and sure enough.....

IT WAS STILL THERE!!!!!

It wasn't the cheapest thing around, so it hadn't sold.

We were first thinking about putting it over the iron bench.....

But it just begged to go over the fireplace.

It's so sad when a painting begs, it looses all of it's dignity.

To stop that from happening we had the wonderful handyman guys come and hang it for us!!!!!

It was very large and needed some expert assistance.

NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!

That's Connie and Chris.....

We needed the big guns to hang this baby.....

So they got it on the wall, and everyone jumped around and shouted full of happiness and joy.

'CUZ IT LOOKED GREAT!!!!!

Now we just needed to figure out what to hang over the bench.

We had researched the artist who painted the dahlia over the fireplace.

I was very clever and looked at the signature!!!!!

Peter Arnold.

And then I goggled him.

AND LO AND BEHOLD.....

he was a real person.

His images are absolutely stunning.

If you want a visual feast, click on the link above to see some of his work.

 Connie has become his buddy because she has been corresponding with him.

He travels all over the world taking his wonderful photographs and then turns them into paintings.

Now we needed to figure out what to hang over the iron garden bench.

I didn't want another big picture, as the room would start looking like an art gallery.

When hanging art in a room, it's good to vary the scale of the pieces.

We needed a collection of something to go over the bench.

but i wasn't allowed to hang no plates!!!!!

(even though that was a double negative....I really wasn't allowed to hang no plates!!!!!)

In Connie's beach house, we had hung a collection of shell pictures and collages in her entry hall.

The shell collages were done by a Massachusetts artist.

We also hung them in her living room.

Connie loved these collages, Chris.....not so much.

But as we all know.....

a happy wife is a happy life.....

she even made me deign and needlepoint her a pillow with that saying......

Oy,

where was I?????
OH, YEAH.....artwork.

So,

we had 5 pieces of collage art.

I thought they would work just great in Connie's new living room.....

however....

I needed nine.

I wanted three rows of three.

WELL

we didn't have nine.

WE HAD FIVE.....

Soooooo.

I figured how hard could this be, to make four more????

I measured the canvases.

They were 12 by 12 inches.

I checked Micheal's website, and they had similar, if not the same, blank white canvases for sale.

Soooooo...

I told Connie that I would create four more to match.

She was not convinced.....

Oh ye of little faith.

Soooooo....

I very cleverly looked on the back of one of the collage canvases.....

AND GUESS WHAT I FOUND!!!???

A signature!!!!!

(unfortunately I can't remember the woman's name......Connie will know, so I'll let you know at a latter date. I'm so professional!!!!!)

Anyway,

I goggled her and found a number and called and left a message.

WELL.....

A month went by and no return call.....

HAD SHE DIED?????

No, she hadn't!!!!

She was just in Florida, which for some is the same thing.

She hadn't been checking her phone messages on the cape.

I was just about to head on out to Michael's when she called me back.

IT WAS AMAZING!!!!!

HER FLERIDA HOME WAS HALF AN HOUR FROM ME!!!!!

Not only that, but she would create some more collages plus sell us the few she had hanging on the walls in her own home.

Connie and I were in heaven.

Chris......

not so much.

 Well.

2 out of 3 is pretty good.

Soooooo....

Connie and I loaded our old bodies into my trusty screaming blue PT Cruiser and headed on down to the artist's Flerida home.

It was great.

She was lovely.

Her husband was a doll.

But more importantly.....

we got the #$% 4 more collages!!!!!

Now, 

I had to hang the suckers.

What a pain in the a$$.

Lining up three horizontally and three vertically when all the hangers on the back are a little different.....

BUT I DONE DID IT!!!!!

Here they are, just waiting to be hung.

Three down.....

All hung!!!!!

I THINK THEY LOOK LIKE DA BOMB!

They relate nicely to the Gustavian furniture.

I like the way they work with what I hung in the hall.

I think they look great with the flower.

Please ignore the wooden coffee table.

The iron one had to go to the furniture doctor due to a finish problem.

Even Chris likes the way the collages look in the living room.

So everyone is happy.

Now we just need to find another coffee table.

More on that in the next post.

On that note,

Latah, Gatah