Redecorating a home can be challenging and picking out a new color scheme may seem like the most daunting part of the process. Reds, blues and greens are all viable options, but which shade? What about the trim? Then begins the frenzy of online searches, torn out pages from magazines, and stealthily analyzing the homes of friends and family for inspiration. After the headache of choosing colors and painting the walls, another challenge arises: What to decorate the walls with? Let’s start with that question. Choose a work of art to inspire your color scheme and forget the online searches for “wall colors ideas.” When you go to peruse the paint chips in the home depot store, you will be prepared. Here are three examples from the reproduction art galleries of Overstock Art to inspire you as you choose home wall colors. Click on the hyperlink art titles…

Fauvism art had its beginning at the turn of the twentieth century as a break from Impressionism. In 1905, Henri Matisse painted a series of works while staying in the small fishing port of Collioure along the Mediterranean with artist Andre Derain. The colors were vibrant and unmixed. These works showed at the Salon d’Automne in Paris (1905), where art critic Louis Vauxcelles called the works “wild beasts” or fauvs, a term which would later be applied to artists who painted in this style. After having applied the techniques of Post-Impressionism (Think Van Gogh or Gauguin) and Neo-Impressionism (Think Signac or Seurat), Henri Matisse avoided rendering three-dimensional space and focused instead on color planes. This can be seen in his work The Young Sailor I (1906), a portrait of then eighteen-year-old sailor Germain Augustin Barthélémy Montargès. Matisse adds a bit of theatrics and wit to the sailor’s expression. This theatrical…

William Bradford began as a proprietor of a clothing store, and in 1852 he started to paint professionally. “I spent too much time painting to succeed,” proclaimed Bradford. His father had not been supportive of art as a full time career. At the time Bradford invested in painting on a full time basis, he resided in New Bedford, Massachusetts and chose a studio overlooking the harbor. When Bradford peered out into the water, his subject matter claimed him—whaleships. Whether ported, at land, or adrift at sea, the artist captured his subject matter in the influence of the Romantic era, resonating with Hudson Valley River School techniques. By 1855, the artist was procuring commissions of portraits of merchants and whaleships. The Romantic period of fine art was nearing its end in 1860. Much of the art of the time echoed philosophic ideals that rallied against the Enlightenment movement. Bradford wasn’t solely…

There are some people who think that only artists like Andy Warhol are truly integrated within or exemplify pop culture. That’s just not true.  Internet memes are the internet’s way of documenting the ironic humor and strange concerns of the web’s digital citizens. If you Google search “memes,” the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the term as: memes  plural of meme (Noun): 1. An element of a culture or behavior that may be passed from one individual to another by nongenetic means, esp. imitation. 2. An image, video, etc. that is passed electronically from one Internet user to another. Memes are a phenomena. Would you believe it if you were told that memes are being turned into fine art or that fine art and master artists were becoming the subject of memes? Most of us who frequent the worldwide web know who Grumpy Cat is, among other interesting visages; well, these memes are being turned…

Last night on the Grimm, Nick struggled with the kiss of the Musai, a Wesen equivalent of the Muse, and we discovered an interesting connection to two master artists: Van Gogh and Gauguin. Just to warn you, spoilers may be ahead. Read at your own risk. “I don’t force them,” says Chloe, the Musai, as being even closer to her makes Nick hers, but that’s the catch… No one can ever possess her. The manifestation of desire is purely natural around her. The concept of the Muse is seen throughout many cultures. In Celtic myth, the muse becomes almost vampiric in the end, living off the essence of the creativity and addiction of the artistic lover, while he dies. As the plot progresses, Monroe, Rosalee, Hank, and Juliette must band together and save him, as he saved Juliette. Monroe’s research leads to the discovery that the mysterious woman…

The art experts at the popular online art gallery overstockArt.com revealed today its official top 5 must have oil paintings for Mother’s Day 2013. Treat mom to a gift that never stops giving – the gift of fine art. overstockArt.com’s most desired art for Mother’s Day is sure to be a favorite of Moms’ everywhere: 1.“Poppy Field in Argenteuil,” Claude Monet – In this colorful oil painting, originally created in 1873, Claude Monet painted his wife and son strolling together among the poppies. 2. “Le tre eta della donna (Mother and Child),” Gustav Klimt – Mother and Child is part of Klimt’s famous oil painting Three Ages of Woman. The painting depicts an image of a mother cradling her young son. The original was created in 1905, three years after the death of Klimt’s baby son, Otto. 3. “Madame Monet and her Son,” Claude Monet – While Monet…

Did you know there was an Italian Proto-Impressionism? The Macchiaoli movement was active in Florence during the mid-nineteenth century. A few disenchanted, youthful men were fed up with the “Neoclassical” movement and met at Caffe Michelangiolo with other creatives to discuss politics and the rebirth of a type of art to encompass the chiaroscuro of Caravaggio and the whimsical realism of Rembrandt. Macchia translates to “stain,” inspiring the name for the Macchiaoli art movement. Macchiaoli (1855-1862) preceded Impressionism by a difference of about ten years, and the movements have quite a few things in common historically. When paired side by side the similarities are significant enough for any art enthusiast to raise a questioning eyebrow. A few of these strange similarities include: The formation of each movement was in opposition to a “Neoclassical” and and politically-correct school with a very strict definition of art. The Impressionists made their…