Art of Art

Transforming Spaces

Art can transform spaces and affect our happiness and well-being.  Whether it’s your home or office, both need art to function best.  It makes the space more visually appealing and stimulating.  Art can reduce stress and promote relaxation, provide an atmosphere, and communicate information and/or aesthetics.  It can represent your personality and be personal, or it can tell a story about you or your business.  You must make it your own to best represent space.  But to know how to select, and how to budget, requires knowing about the different types of art, so here is a quick “Art 101.” 

Exploring art Options

I like to explain first that there is both decorative art and collectible art. It can all work for you, depending on the space, but it has a wide range of costs and effects.  For limited budgets, let’s start with giclees or prints. Today’s printing technology has greatly improved these, and they can be ordered in various sizes, making large-scale art very affordable.  Next, there are artists’ enhanced giclees where the artist paints over areas of the selection to give more of a hand-painted look and to add texture.  These can often be produced in various sizes.  To go a step further, there are totally hand-painted pieces where each piece is hand-painted, but the artists repeat the same painting as ordered.  Following this, there are originals that are one-of-a-kind artist-created, and of course at the higher end of the budget.  From these though, sometimes the artist may offer the originals to a company to make prints, which will offer a lower-priced option.  More recently, there is also a company producing 3-D prints from originals that supposedly look just like the original in detail and texture, but a copy.  The thought of the originator of these is that what if there was only one copy of a novel and no one else got to enjoy it?  Realistically reproducing good art, they believe will make it more available at affordable pricing for many to enjoy, rather than being so exclusive.

Beyond The Canvas

There are many other ways of creating art too.  We can transfer photography to canvas or metal to give totally different textures.  We have done this for several projects and changed and enhanced the colors from the original natural colors to different, unexpected colors which make it look more like contemporary art rather than a photograph.  We have also turned photographs into murals if the resolution is high enough, so it does not appear pixelated when blown up.  Of course, this can be done for all kinds of wallcovering, which can be the art of the room too.  Another form of art that can be just as interesting is architectural elements or collectibles.  We once did a display of antique musical instruments in niches with lighting at a New Orleans-style restaurant.  And LED neon makes it easy and affordable to create art that lights up. 

Artful Spaces

Just as we curate furnishings and accessories for our showroom, we search for interesting works of art in all price ranges, and we would love to search for just the right pieces for your home or office environment.  Art can be comforting and stress relieving in your home, add interest, and create a focal point.  Attention to details of an environment leads to a love of space and consider selecting a variety of art for more interest.  For example, canvases of different sizes, a collection of prints or watercolors behind glass, etchings, and architectural elements.  In an office, art can additionally tell a story or enlighten visitors about the business while adding to the aesthetics.  All of this can dramatically change a space, be a conversation starter, and convey feelings or ideas.   And art has no language barrier either.  So, start exploring, appreciating, and enjoying!