Going Local

It was great to hang a handful of abstract landscapes at our local cafe, the Village Market in Gardiner, NY, that has this laid back, want-to-eat-there atmosphere, and Carl, the owner in the photo, couldn’t have been more gracious. Gardiner is the tiny town that, despite our New Paltz mailing address, is where we pay our property taxes, and although there are only a handful of shops on Main Street, and it’s been kind of slow to be “discovered,” it’s happening. Inevitable, I suppose, just an hour and a half north of Manhattan.

Since I take most of my coffee breaks in my office, aka, home, and, if Jerry ventures out from his studio during the day it’s mostly likely to teach or hit the gym, it’s been gratifying to hear from people who do go to the cafe. Every painting brings its own vibe to a space and a collection like this can change the feel of a whole room.

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Art @ Gardiner Mkt w Carl.JPG

We're going dancing...

We just had the woodstove refurbished, and although the burning season isn’t over yet, it’s good to know that it’s ready for next year. I’m as joyous as the next to open windows, let in the fresh air and the first signs of spring. But I do also love the season of hunkering down, sitting by the fire, and say I goodbye to it each year just a bit reluctantly.

Winter or spring, it’s good to make art and go dancing.

Fields of March new work in progress…

Fields of March new work in progress…

Why Commission a Painting?

When an artist creates a painting specifically for you and your space, you know it’s truly unique. You know that your input into a particular artist’s approach has brought into being something that otherwise would not exist, a work of art that, at its very essence, is a reflection of you.

That’s the reason. Here’s the rationale.

Where and how a painting is hung really matters.

A well-balanced space harmonizes all of its elements—from the size and shape of the rug on the floor to the placement of the furniture to the art on the walls and other decorative elements. A room where the elements are in harmony with one another lends a feeling of calm and spaciousness, no matter how large or small the space.

But how often do we see the wrong painting hanging in the wrong space? It may be a gem, but if it’s too small in relation to the furniture, too large for a wall, or vertical when it needs to be horizontal, the space will feel off-kilter and the painting will lose some of   its magic.

In contrast, a commissioned painting is exactly the size, orientation and palette that makes the most of your space and, in doing so, is shown in to its best advantage.

Does the palette matter?

Yes and no. From the time we were kids we’ve been asked our favorite color. Although we don’t necessarily our decorate our homes with the blue or yellow that we may still identify with deep down, but just like smell and taste, we each have our preferences.

And those matter.

Certain colors elicit specific, if subtle, emotional responses—both positive and negative. The palette of the paintings we hang on our walls can play a huge role in stimulating the emotions we want to feel, consciously or not, when we walk into a room.

Everyone (almost) gets that throw pillows matter. They are an easy way to incorporate an accent color, to pick up a spot of blue in the rug so it plays beautifully against the gold couch. The colors in a painting can serve the same purpose—to highlight other elements of a room and help create the feeling of a balanced whole.

But, and this is the most important thing:

No matter how well a painting created for a particular space serves that space, it is—above all—a work of art that can stand on its own. It is an object that should bring joy, stimulate interest, add feeling and dimension to a space by awakening the senses of the viewer.

 

Turning Another Small Vertical Painting into a Large Horizontal

The second of four paintings Jerry is creating for the designers from ID810 is from a small vertical painting called In the Mood that is 16 x 12". Painted in oils on wood with lavender, green and layers of cream and gray, it evokes a landscape with a distant horizon. They want the same palette in a large horizontal format, a change that presents the kind of compositional challenges he loves to wrestle with.