How to paint Abstracts with Skye Taylor

How to paint Abstracts with Skye Taylor

Art

A lot of artists are afraid of using acrylics especially after they have worked a lot in oils or watercolors. But they can be an essential part of an artist's portfolio and here I will give you 11 tips to help you make the most of them.
You can use acrylic paints both like oil paints (taking into account drying time) and like watercolours by watering down the paint so they are hugely versatile. They just take a bit of getting used to. You can create realistic paintings and I personally think they are great for creating abstract art. You can be big and bold with your colours or you can be subtle and detailed.
Below are some of the things that I think are essential or just useful to know about acrylic paints:

 

1. Firstly, although acrylic paint is water soluble when wet, once it is dry it is like plastic. Therefore you must make sure you wash your brushes or painting implements immediately after use and before the paint dries or else you may ruin your art tools, particularly brushes.
2. If you are used to using oil paint and find that acrylic paint dries too quickly, then there are products out there that will stop the acrylics from drying so fast. Buy some good acrylic paint retarder and that will really help you if you want to use acrylics for wet into wet for example.
3. You can get some really interesting effects by watering down the acrylic paint when you use it. Try using the paint as if you were painting a watercolour scene or use for abstract work like 'marbled' style paintings.
4. Make use of the properties of acrylic paints by using layers of paint on top of each other once each layer has dried. The paint will not mix into each other and make a muddy mess as can sometimes happen with oils.
5. Also make use of the fact that acrylic paint dries quickly by adding a heavy varnish to the painting. A good gloss varnish will really brighten up the colours and, unlike oils where you have to wait months for the paint to dry, you can varnish the painting almost immediately therefore protecting it from dirt and damage.
6. Use acrylic paint as a base for your oil paintings - this means you can work on the much more quickly than having to wait for a layer of oil paint to dry. But note that you can't put acrylics on top of oils.
7. Acrylics come in some really great colours including fluorescent green, orange, pink and yellow so experiment and have fun with them!
8. You can also use acrylic paint to decorate clothes if you wish and the paint will not come out in the wash. Therefore do not spill acrylic paint on your clothes by mistake if you can help it. Always wear an apron or old clothes when painting. Any spillages should also be cleaned up before the paint has a chance to dry.
9. If you can't get the top off a bottle of acrylic paint then wear rubber gloves and that should solve the problem.
10. Keep any leftover paint and store it all in a plastic bottle so that you can use it in future for under-painting or creating some extra texture under a painting.
11. There are any number of implements that you can use to apply acrylic. Go to your local hardware or DIY store and pick up some scrapers with different shapes and teeth to add texture. You can also use tools to scrape out parts of the paint once you have applied it.

So, acrylics are very flexible but it does take a while to get used to their properties. Keep trying different things out and practising different techniques and you will soon be enjoying painting with acrylics.

If you want more info on using acrylic paints then check out my step-by-step guide to creating an abstract painting with acrylic paint.

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Thursday Tip # 12- Art above the sofa

Thursday Tip # 12- Art above the sofa

Art art arrangement hanging art Thursday Tip

Do you have  one big blank space above the sofa?  Are you wondering how to fill it?  If the number of questions I get about this is any indication there are lots of question marks out there about this topic.  Ta da... answers.  I  introduced this topic a little in last week's Thursday Tip  when I discussed scale, but I wanted to give more formatting options this week. 

 This is an area where there are lots of thoughts on how to and how not to hang art for best effect.
My guideline is to think about ways to fill at least 2/3 the width of the furniture. It is often difficult to find large scale art so think about pairings of various types.  It also looks good if your art expands to the edges of the sofa.  Once you go beyond  sofa width the art starts to look very top heavy and the sofa  is diminished. You should also consider the height of the art.   Remember it is a long way to the ceiling so refrain from work that is only twelve or 14 inches high.  It will look lost even if it is long enough.

I have to thank  Interiors PL    for creating this great graphic that provides many options for what to hang over a sofa.

11 options for hanging art over a sofa.

My favourites in these options are  4, and 6-11.  They all fit the guidelines I discussed above.  1 and 3 are my least favourite because they don't fill up enough space for me.  I like 5 because it is asymmetrical  and I could balance this placement by adding things on the left of the sofa to create a pleasing balance. Richard Mishaan discussed  another aspect of asymmetrical placement in a House Beautiful post.

Why asymmetrical layouts work

Here is the same idea expressed in one of my painting compositions called Breathe.

 Margaret Ryall, 2004, Breathe, acrylic on canvas, 12 x 24in.

 Are any of these options wrong?  Not really.  There are only guidelines in interior design,  no right or wrong. 

Do you have a favourite way to arrange art above your sofa?  Please share.

Reclaimed wood works

Reclaimed wood works

Art DIY Margaret Ryall artist reclaimed wood

 Old is good. What is old can be new again with a little ingenuity, and I don't mind admitting that the art side of my brain has lots of that.   I think reclaimed wood  is beautiful, and this summer I made great finds on the beaches near our summer house.

Are you wondering how this connects to decor?  Keep reading!

Atlantic Ocean beach wood

 Storm tossed and sea sanded house/shed remnants  were dragged home against my better half's judgement. At the time I answered the strong call emitted by these materials, but  I didn't know why I needed them.  My art often begins with the call of materials rather than with sketches and preconceived notions of a final product.

Not a pretty site/sight

No this is not the home decor section!

Move over hubby,  I am taking possessions of your precious workshed and tools.  Yep!  I know my way around drills, bandsaws, chopsaws and sanders and I discovered construction adhesive will stick most everything together. Drop paintbrushes, fine papers and canvas.  I have a new palette and perhaps a new series for exhibition.

This one is my keeper.

Beach Quilt, Margaret Ryall, 2013, reclaimed wood

 And here it is in the back entry of my summer house.  I have to wait until May to see it again (and take some decent shots of it).

You've reached the home decor part

Stay tuned for more creative moments in my life.  What have you created for your home lately?

10 Ways to use Pantone's Colour of 2014

10 Ways to use Pantone's Colour of 2014

Accessories Art Bedrooms color trends 2014 pantone color of year Radiant Orchid

The news is out and after much  guessing  by designers the world over Pantone has declared Radiant Orchid as the colour for 2014.

2014 Pantone Colour of the Year

 It seems to leave people a little speechless.  Now I am a purple lover and have hits of it around my house, but I lean toward the bluish purples.  Even my front door is BM french violet. I have lavender  front porch cushions  etc.  I wear lots  of purples in clothing.   But this is more pink.

It is a far cry from last year's emerald. 

 If you bought into emerald last year here's a combination of the two.... 

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Certainly colourful.  Notice how white is used to quieten this scheme.

But how to deal with this vibrant pink purple.... 

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 Play it safe and use it to add a  jolt of colour in flowers... Beautiful and temporary.

 

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Invest in a little leather that can be moved from room to room.  

Paint a piece of furniture or a mirror.

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Throw in a daring light fixture. 

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 Buy an accent chair in this lovely hue and connect it with a patterned pillow. 

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Mix it up in lovely patterned bedding. 

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Or on a ceiling or headboard.  Notice the leather ottoman from a previous shot.

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Now we are getting daring with drapes, a bold geometric pattern and peonies.  The dark furniture provides a rich backdrop for this scheme.

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Or have the full meal deal with walls, bedding, drapes, pillows and art.  Thankfully the white offers the perfect foil for the vibrancy.

Did you notice any trends in how it is used? 

And good- bye with one of my paintings that works with this lovely colour

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Margaret Ryall ( In Between) mixed media on canvas, 12 x 36 inches , private collection

8 Ways to fill empty corners

8 Ways to fill empty corners

Accessories Art design solutions filling corners Furniture

The four corners of a room are often a no man's land when it comes to design.  I am not saying that you have to fill up every corner with something, but I am advocating thinking about your space to determine if  it might need to look more "fulfilled". Here are some of my favourite solutions:

Art 

Using Art to fill an empty corner

Margaret Ryall

 Usually you can't walk right up to art you place in a corner,  so choose something that can be read from a distance. This lovely matted and framed wood sculpture is stunning for corner purposes.  It brightens up the space, fills it nicely, provides a backdrop for the dark table and lamp base and is a bit of a conversation piece. I was so excited when it was hung on my clients' wall.  

 

 Kristen Rivoli Interior Design

This colourful mid century modern space needs art work to match.   It creates another layer for the space that invites the eye to roam and then return to the equally colourful lamp and chair. 

 Round table and two chairs

Houzz

Round tables are great for corners because they allow you to fill the awkward space and at the same time move your eye around so you don't get stuck there visually. The addition of the lamp provides the third height thus creating a more interesting design.

Tall  floral arrangement

 Jeffers Design Group

 When you have the height why not go for it and use something tall to fill the space.  Again a round table is the mainstay for  this foyer area. 

 Built in bookcase 

Vicente Burin Architects

This beautiful set of bookcases  tucks effortlessly into a corner.  The colour adds to the whole space and the minimal arrangement of objects and books ensures it isn't too busy. 

Chair and floor lamp 

 

 Cravotta Interiors

A round floor lamp behind a chair is a perfect and quite functional solution for a corner. 

 Houzz

In larger spaces the addition of a round table helps to fill the corner and provide variety in heights. 

 A  workspace 

Siemasko + Verbridge

Tidy and interesting  art too.



  Leslie Goodwin Photography

Or perhaps a larger space to make use of a corner under a stairs.  


 
SchappacherWhite Architecture D.P.C.

Large scale vases/urns

InHouse Design Studio

Sometimes you need a certain something to complete a design and these two large scale floor vases do just that.  Imagine the space without them.  

Flüff Designs & Decor

 This arrangement is not in a corner, but it very well could be.  Rather than bamboo you could use birch sticks if you wanted a more rustic look.

 Corner mirror and two chairs

Tydings Design Inc

Love this solution because it expands the space making it seem like it goes on forever. The glitz and sparkle doesn't hurt either . 

Then there's tall plants, built in benches, screens .... The list is as long as your imagination.  Do you have any bright ideas for filling corners?

Swan Prints

Swan Prints

Art Bedroom

Our bedroom is starting to come together. I guess really all I have left is to figure out a headboard (that's why we have an extra row of pillows stacked on our bed - something soft to rest our backs on for the time being!) and maybe a little art project for the long wall to the right here. There's also a chair on the other side of the room that could probably use new upholstery. But for now we're enjoying our recently purchased bedside chests, lamps and rug (on super-sale!). The DIY roman shades are working beautifully (still enamored with the tumbling block tape trim!) and the art has been hung. I'm happy with both the vintage oil painting on the window side of the bed and the swan print on the right side:    Remember this post? I ended up buying the swan print thinking it was going to make it up in the gallery wall in our living room, but somehow it fit our bedroom vibe better. It's a little funny how much I love swan photography because I'm actually not the hugest fan of birds in real life (I swear the pigeons can sense my distain and they seek me out). But swans! Aren't they just hauntingly beautiful? And I think they photograph so well, sort of in the same way horses do.
I layered the swan print with a small abstract pastel (that looks so blah here in these photos - promise it's a great little piece in person). I bought it at the flea market a couple years ago and completely forgot about it. When I was looking in the basement for a frame for the swan, it resurfaced, and I think the two pieces were meant to be paired. I like how they work together in the space since I wanted a contained amount of color in here (this green Brunschwig wallpaper and bright blue door are in the hall just outside our room).

Here are a few other swan prints that I'm loving, in case you're in the market yourself:

Patrick Cline used to sell these polaroid prints in an etsy shop, but the shop was taken down recently. (Might be worth reaching out to him to see if he has any of the limited edition prints left?)

If Patrick doesn't, this print is sort of cool, too (and is super affordable).

So beautiful.

This $10 print is simple and juvenile in the best way possible.

How was your weekend? It felt a little like spring yesterday here in New York. Everyone was out walking their dogs and playing with their kids, and smiling and brunching and buying flowers. The general enthusiasm on the street was pretty contagious and it made me suddenly remember how much we really do like living here. (side eye over to you, Winter.)

Moth Prints

Moth Prints

Art Bedroom

Pssst - Thank you again for your support with the Homies! We made it to the final round in two categories (hooray!) and the voting has started over again. If you have a minute to pop over and vote for LGN as best home design blog and/or best DIY blog, it would mean the world to me. Thank you so, so much! xo

Years ago, Anna Spiro wrote about the Australian artist Allyson Reynolds and her beautiful paintings of colorful moths. Pretty much everyone went bonkers for them and the large paintings were completely unattainable. I've since heard one of the galleries there in Australia occasionally has one or two up for sale (in case you're in the market).

Recently I happened to stumble across her book called Moth Song that the artist sells through Blurb.

It's pricey at almost $100 with shipping and taxes, etc, but there are pages and pages of beautiful images that I think are completely frame-worthy.

About half the book is moths and half is this series of black and white images. I love these too and hope to use them somewhere. The patterns are all different and would look so pretty in a series in a hallway or maybe a powder bath?

There are probably a dozen or more moths prints in the book and I knew I wanted to use four in Heather's room. I just used a utility knife and a ruler to carefully cut out the pages I wanted. 

This way, the book is still (mostly) in tact and the other pages can still be enjoyed without it being obvious that a few were torn out.

I picked up my trusty two-pack of frames at Michaels for about $7 and a couple of simple white mats to frame the four "prints".

They're not fancy frames obviously, but I really love how simple the white on white look is with all the crazy colors and the movement in the prints.

Heather loves the prints as much as I do. Aren't all those bright colors pretty on the dark green walls?

And I also like how they pair with the new (super affordable) wall-mount sconces I bought at Urban Outfitters. I decided to paint out the white cords with the wall color paint, just so everything not meant to be noticed sort of fades into the background of the wall (along with the corbel nightstands and the light switch plate).

Now I just need to pick a fabric for her shams so I can photograph the rest of the room.  I am dying to show you the giant art just to the right of this shot above! (eeps! so excited!)