DRAWING AND PAINT

This is the day you decide to redecorate your personal space with original abstract art paintings.  It could be a study, the communal living room, or the most private place of all, the bedroom.  Even the bathroom could do with a piece of art, you say to yourself.  Now on to the decisions spurred on by your prodigious reading of so many decoration tips.  Perhaps you have an outsized living room with a grand view of the ocean, but if you’re like the rest of us, your windows show an ordinary view of your neighborhood.  Not that you’d have it any other way, of course; you like living in your neighborhood.  But you want to frame your private living space a bit better with an eye to your personality, though also with an eye to the ambience of your neighborhood.  If you live in the artists’ quarter of a city, it would be easy to get informed opinions about what to hang on your walls, but most of us do not have the option of such knowledgeable sources.  So we tweak our minds and come up with our basic desires:  Is it to be an informal mood, with paintings of intimate gatherings or happy splashes of color?  Is it to be a more formal setting, with magnificent vistas in the paintings, or an historical event flung upon a large canvas?  Abstract art can address these issues, for abstract art conveys in a manner universal to us and to unborn generations the pure quality of form and color to influence a person’s mood.  If it’s a seascape with sweeps of azure and turquoise and spiraling waves coming right at the viewer from the canvas, then that mood will reflect an admiration for nature and its grand scheme of life.  If it’s a portrait of an individual with vivacious red hair, then that brightness will bring out the liveliness inside the viewer’s own character. 

You’ve decided on the mood you want for your space.  You’ve reread your decoration tips list.  Now onwards to the specifics.  For a small area such as a bathroom, a petite canvas of perhaps eighteen inches square will produce a window effect, letting in the distraction of a piece of art to look at while we attend to the necessary bits of life.    For the larger area of the master bedroom, perhaps you have room for a large four by three feet canvas, and want to direct all the attention to this work of art; in that case, you will want to limit your artwork to this single piece in order not to overwhelm the senses with too many things to view.  Lighting is key here, as the overhead lighting is perfect to enhance the artist’s handiwork and allows the piece to stand away from any damaging ultraviolet rays of the sun.  Besides, the wrong kind of glare will obscure the depth of the artwork’s colors and render it flat with a dull sheen, not its optimal presentation.  No, you want the artwork to speak to you as you contemplate going out into the world from your bedroom in the morning or as you head back into the bedroom for a soothing and renewing repose.  A few small knickknacks would not be out of place in this most intimate setting of all, but the important thing to remember is ‘few’, as too much clutter confuses the mind and spirit.

As for the common areas such as living rooms or dining areas, what you are needing is not repose but a related subject to the function of the room, such as happy picnickers from the style of Manet for the kitchen area.  And how about a conversation piece for the more chatty living room, such as a piece inspired by the geometric expressionism of Diebenkorn?  Abstract art, because of its emotional resonance, can add a great deal to the culture of your home by influencing discourse on the nature of the artistic piece.

There, you’re done.  Each personal space resonates with your personality and the desired mood for the room.  Time to relax and enjoy life!