When I was first out of college in the utterly shit job market that was 1983, I, oddly, vowed to never put anything but original art on my walls. I came to this conclusion with the help of my roommate at the time, an art major who worked at the local hospital in–most have one!–the art department. Colleen was vastly more informed and opinionated about art than I was. From her I learned why Fountain by Marcel Duchamp is considered revolutionary (she was unable to convince me it is great art), how artists don’t agree on the color wheel, and that, yes, Jackson Pollock actually had a plan when he splattered paint.
We lived in a fourth floor walk up with a long windowless entry hall. One night, after what I suspect was probably too much cheap white wine, we decided to decorate the passageway with our own original art. We took my old Monopoly game which was missing the thimble and several property cards and glued it to the wall, as if it were a game in play. So, as you walked into our apartment, at eye-level, you encountered first the tokens, then the cards splayed out about the board, the bank, and the board, game in progress, as you passed. It still bums me out we never took a photo of it!
After that, I began to buy art at local fairs as well as attempted to make my own, mostly collages. Once I had kids, I ventured into Puffy Paints and Sculpey. Over the years, I’ve probably made twenty works that hang on someone’s wall somewhere–I have two in my own home which I still like looking at even though they’re, let’s be honest, not so much.
Once I met Dr. Feelgood who is a gifted artist–our house is full of his work and that of our kids, all of whom are far more talented than am I–he and I began to collect art together. Our walls are covered with works from art fairs and friends, antique shops, and the places we’ve traveled. Sometimes, when he and I are bored, we play: “If the house were on fire and you could only take one work of art and it couldn’t be by anyone in our family, what would you take?” (Because my favorite pieces are those he and our kids made of course!)
Sometimes my answer is The Bucket. This is a work by an unknown artist we found in an antique store in Asheville, NC in the early 90s. We paid $75.00 for it, I think. It reminds me of a Wyeth. Other days I pick a large piece called Women’s Work which we saw in a garage in an junk store in Washington, DC and persuaded the owner to sell to us for a few hundred dollars. I never get tired of looking at it–the intricacies of the reflections amaze me. I also love Red Rocks by my friend Lori–art by good friends is the gift that never ends.
I love art almost as much as I love books and I feel so blessed to have so many works that give me such joy. I’m sure other people come to our house and think we’ve a bunch of junk on our walls but who cares? Not me.
How about you? Do you have art in your life that brings you great joy? If so why do you love it so? And if you were running out of your burning house and could only pick one piece, what would you take?
I have a lot of art hanging in my home, all of it dearly loved. My mother was a painter and I treasure the paintings I inherited from her. My sister-in-law was a painter and I dearly love the paintings of hers that I own. The rest of my art has been collected over many years many of them from dealers on Etsy. My art is what makes my house a home. Choosing just one to save would be excruciating and I hope that I am never placed in the position!
I prefer having some of the best art or all time… edited https://imgur.com/a/suksgGq so there is nothing I would even think about saving.
The art on my walls is pretty basic—mostly reproductions (like my favorite painting, Time Transfixed by Rene Magritte), although for Christmas my daughters gave me two very bright canvases by a local Baton Rouge artist. If my house were on fire (God forbid), and I knew my family and important papers and sentimental mementos were all safe, I’d save my Le Creuset Dutch oven, lol.
We have a fair bit of wall art. My first purchase back in 1988 was a Benjamin Chee Chee print called Good Morning. I’ve purchased a few more of his prints over the years. Our taste is somewhat eclectic. We have 8 molas from Puerto Rico. My MIL also gifted us a batik from Guatemala and 3 paintings from Portugal. Our artwork tends to be colourful.
Yep, I own an original Hodges Solieu (a baby sitter’s club book cover), and an original Paulina Stuckey-Cassidy.
What an interesting topic. I have been buying original art and antique prints and maps since college days. Always looking on holiday in galleries and junk shops alike. The snowy street scene is an oil painting I bought in Kyiv when I spent 6 months working there some years ago. I
Love this topic Dabney…I’ve always dreamed of filling the blank walls of my home with art. Although I couldn’t afford to before…in the past few years I’ve been able to collect original botanical art in different mediums (watercolours, prints, acrylic, plaster and even corbels).
For most of my life I’ve thought I had no creative spark whatsoever. A very kind artist/musician pointed out this belief was a fallacy. We can channel creativity in different ways other than producing works. My creative abilities are expressed through the act of curation rather than production.
A few years ago, I fell in love with the works of a local artist. I followed her on IG and met her at a market event. I asked about commissioning a painting but she said she stopped accepting commissions as she was attending art school full-time. Eventually, I was able to buy a small painting of her’s at the school’s annual art sale. Fast forward 18 months…she reached and asked if I was still interested in a commissioned work and I said YES! We just completed the conceptualization process and the painting will be completed in November. Dream come true!
That sounds fabulous!!!! I love botanical art.