ArtCorner

Ever since the new millennium began, the idea of bringing the highest and newest styles of fashion and art to every aspect of material life – even at the most basic of levels – has been an important part of modern existence.

From Ralph Lauren custom car interiors and dog houses to Prada cat collars and cell phone jackets, it seems no product or domicile is too small to be trendy, or hip these days.

Lately, the move toward a “cooler” lifestyle has even found its way into the workplace. In fact, having the trendiest minimalist furniture or the most “sheik” glass coffee table (with all the best and latest hipster publications on it, of course) often makes a difference in whether a prospective client will agree to a contract with a company, or firm.

But good visuals have always been known to attract attention – as the classic sayings go, “dress for success” and “first impressions are everything,” and, of course, “a picture paints a thousand words.”

So it comes as no surprise that even pictures are starting to become an important part of office culture development. As businesses around the world begin to revamp their spaces to stay up-to-speed with the culturally trained modern eye, even the walls are getting some major attention – better art means better business, better business means more money. Read more »

‘Tis the Season friends! While the world around us seems to go into a deep sleep, our homes remain jubilant and warm with celebrations of many kinds. As the streets become less occupied in these chilly months, our dwellings do the opposite. Keep your loved ones and guests entertained with a fabulous winter décor. Read more »

Many Peopla have been asking me about Gallery Wrap and if it’s right for their decor or style.

A gallery-wrap is a technique of stretching and mounting a canvas over thick wooden bars creating a sense of depth in the painting. The Gallery Wrap doesn’t have any visible staples or nails holding the canvas to the wooden stretcher.

There are two options with Gallery Wrap:

1. Continuous Wrap – The painting is literally wrapped over the edges of the thick wooden bars creating a sense of depth to the painting, even though many dislike this technique because the painting looses about two inches off the side so a 20×24 inches painting will become 16×20, I recommend wrapping larger artworks to enjoy the full affect of the wrap.
2. Border Color – The edges can be painted with another color, either a color that continues the edges of the painting itself, or a standard color to give the painting a sense of border.

In any case, the painting is hung unframed. So, bring a little bit of gallery flair into your home with a Gallery Wrap, the latest contemporary presentation trend. With Gallery Wrap, the oil painting extends around the sides of the canvas, which is precision-folded and attached to the back—not the sides—of the stretcher frame. And your Gallery Wrap canvas painting will look equally amazing as a stand-alone work of art without an exuberantt frame.
Gallery Wrap is my personal favorite, try it out today with a handmade oil painting from OverstockArt.com

Considered the greatest Mexican artist of the twentieth century, Diego Rivera was a Cubist Painter and Muralist. His radical political views and tempestuous romance with the painter Frieda Kahlo were then, and remain today, a source of public intrigue. In a series of visits to America, from 1930 to 1940, Rivera brought his unique vision to public spaces and galleries, enlightening and inspiring fellow artists and the community.

Diego Rivera was born in Mexico in 1886. He studied painting from an early age and in 1907 moved to Paris. When in Paris, Rivera encountered the works of great masters such as Cézanne, Gauguin and Matisse. Rivera was intrigued by Cubism and Picasso’s works, but he was looking for a new form of painting, one that could express the intricacies of his time and still reach a wide audience.

It was not until he began to study the frescoes of the Renaissance that he found his inspiration. With this influence and ability of expression in public art that Rivera returned to the Americas.

Using frescoes, which are Murals done on plaster, Rivera was able to insert his work and political views into everyday lives of the people. Rivera concerned himself primarily with the progress of human development. For Rivera, the size and public display of the murals, was the perfect canvas on which to address the fundamental social revolutions that were going on in the twenties and thirties. A devoted Marxist, Rivera saw in this medium the perfect complement to the elitist galleries and collections.

Throughout the twenties his fame grew with a number of large murals depicting scenes from Mexican history. His work appealed to the people’s interest in the name of progress and political beliefs.

Rivera is perhaps best known for painting a vast mural in 1933 featuring the early communist leaders with the Founding Fathers of the United States in the lobby of the Rockefeller Building in New York. That work was destroyed before it could be completed on location.

Rivera remained a central force in the development of national art in Mexico throughout his life. In 1957, at the age of seventy, Rivera died in Mexico City.

Perhaps one of his greatest legacies, however, was his impact on America’s conception of public art. Both his original painting style and the force of his ideas remain major influences on American painting.

Paul Cézanne is a painter mostly associated with serene landscapes, but what is the reason? What is the underlying story of this amazing turn of the 20^th century artist?

Guardian art critic Jonathan Jones, wrote an amazing article on the painting of Lake Annecy as an analogy to true face of Paul Cezanne.

This peacful landscape, done in the French Alps, “tells us everything we need to know about the artist” according to, Guardian art critic, Jonathan Jones. “You see it not just in a work like Le Lac d’Annecy, but every time he paints an apple. He loves the geometry of the apple – the sphere found in nature – but instead of coldly drawing it with a compass, his eye lovingly follows its contours, and his imagination passionately reconstructs the roundness and fullness of the fruit’s form.”

There are anecdotal remarks in this story, which paint a very interesting picture to that period in time. Cézanne was adopting a style quite at odds with his personality. As if Cezanne, by trying to become constructive, created Modernist Art. He almost seems incidental to his greatness. Read Jones’s article “Murder, Lust, and Landscapes”…

If you’re in London between 4 October 2006 and 7 January 2007, drop by the National Gallery to see the painting in the exhibition Cézanne in Britain (admission is free).

Many people wonder about the process of framing a handmade oil painting on canvas, so I decided to give a couple of pointers to help explain the process and may be you can use this information to frame an oil painting on your own.

1. The painting that is done on canvas needs to be stretched over stretcher bars. The canvas is mounted on the bars by stapling the edges of the art to the back side of the stretcher bars. First, staple one side and then, while giving it good tug, staple the other side. This process might sound difficult but all you need is a staple gun and a clamp to get really nice results. The tricky parts are the edges where you have to create a fold. This will become easier for you with experience. If the canvas stretching is done right, you should get a firm canvas that has no waves or flab.
2. If you have a ready-made frame which is the right size for your stretched painting, all is left now is to slip the painting from the back. Then use clips to secure the stretched painting into the frame. There are the L-frames which allow for the painting to be mounted in front of the frame and then screw the painting into the frame.
3. Add all the necessary hanging hardware which includes two wide screws and a nice wire that is wrapped around them.

Judging a good framing job is first and foremost to see how the canvas is stretched. You can immediately notice a stretched painting that has not been stretched properly. Flabby canvas, not strong enough wooden stretcher bars, corners folded crooked, these are all signs of bad framing.

A lot of people ask me about gallery wrap. That’s a good question, because gallery wrap is very popular these days. A gallery wrap is basically stretching the oil painting over very thick stretcher bars, without adding a frame. This makes the painting jump out at you. With a gallery wrap, you do loose about two inches off the actual painting, so if you have an oil painting that is 30×40 inches, after it has been gallery wrapped, you are left with a 28×38 inch oil painting. Another possibility is for the framing company to paint the edges of the canvas that was not painted on in the sides, that way you will loose less of the painting and the sides will look very appealing. Both will create a very unique peace of wall décor.

OverstockArt.com has an online frame shop where you can buy a handmade oil painting and try it out with many different frames. What’s nice about there tool is that you can place the framed painting on your own wall color and that way get a better idea of what would look best in your home. They also have the gallery wrap option. It is a very convenient way to see the painting framed and on your wall without having to buy it first!

Hope this helps anyone thinking of framing an oil painting, if you frame by yourself share your experiences.

Marc Chagall, the Russian-born French artist, is recognized as one of the most noteworthy artists of the twentieth century. His work treats life with a streak of absurdity and fantasy that goes deep beyond the unconsciousness.

Born July 7, 1887, in Belarus, Chagall studied art in Saint Petersburg. From 1910 to 1914 Chagall moved to Paris to continue his studies. After the Russian Revolution, Chagall was appointed Director of the Moscow Jewish State Theater. Chagall painted several murals and created the scenery for numerous productions. In 1923, Chagall moved to France, where he spent the rest of his life, except for a period of exile in New York from 1941 to 1948. He died in France in 1985.

Chagall was heavily influenced by French Cubism, and his distinctive use of color and form is derived partly from Russian expressionism. Perfecting his work early, as in Lovers with Half Moon, he later developed subtle nuances. Many of Chagall’s famous paintings represent memories of Characteristic Russian-Jewish village scenes, as in The Wedding Candles, and occurrences from his private life, as in the The Cow with The Parasol, in addition to Russian-Jewish symbolism, his works combine childhood memories with Russian-Jewish folklore and fantasy.

Although his works abound with reflection, he neglected to portray the turmoil which he experienced. He communicates to those who view his works with happiness and optimism by means of vivid colors and peculiar scenes. After all, “happiness isn’t happiness without a violin-playing goat,” said Anna Scott played by Julia Roberts in reference to a Chagall oil painting (taken from the movie “Noting Hill”…).

Biblical themes characterize a series of etchings done between 1925 and 1939, illustrations from the Old Testament. In 1973 National Museum of the Marc Chagall Biblical Message was opened in Nice, France, to house hundreds of his biblical masterpieces.

Chagall involved himself in large-scale projects involving public spaces and important civic and religious buildings. One of the more famous murals can be found in New York at the United Nations Headquarters. The UN commemorated this work of art with a postage stamp.
Chagall’s works fit into several modern art categories. He took part in the movements of the Paris art world which preceded World War I. However, his work always found itself on the margins of these movements and emerging trends, including Cubism and Fauvism.

Fall is considered the best season to go out and immerse yourself in nature and paint. Here are some helpful tips for you to capture the essence of autumn:

1. Color contrast is important in Fall scenes. The Contrast will make the autumn colors intense and alive. When using color perception, the distant parts of a landscape assume a less vibrant color than the objects in the foreground. Distant objects appear hazy or take on a grayish-white tone.
2. The use of cooler colors – blues, purples, grays and violets will provide the strong contrast that the warmer Maple leaf color need to pop out from the canvas.
3. Balance your palette with the warm colors – reds, oranges and yellows and their complements – greens, blues and purples. These complements are used in your color mixing to warm or cool your colors. Start with pure, more vibrant colors in the foreground and slowly add softer, more muted colors as the objects recede into the distance.
4. The sun at this time of year is not as strong and emits less light, resulting in an overall coolness in the landscape scene. Clouds and darker days will add somber to the landscape achieved with violets and browns.
5. Because of the lack of light there is less of a contrast between lights and shadows. It is harder now to find those elusive lights and shadows. It’s the most challenging aspect of the landscape especially if you are trying to paint black and white scenes.
6. As weather changes clouds can range from clear to even brown as a storm is approaching, it all depends on the scene that you are trying to portray.
7. Although the trees and leaves become more intense in autumn, the ground looses its vibrant colors. Grass dries up and takes on yellow and brown colors. Leaves that have fallen quickly loose their color as they hit the ground.
   Important elements of autumn are the textures, the dried up grass, branches and the roughness of the bark with shining berries. You need to adapt your strokes to be loose and bold in order to create the right feel.
8. Take part in seasonal events and get your autumn spirit in gear. Most importantly, take advantage of these beautiful autumn days and paint.

Checkout the OverstockArt.com Fall Gallery Scenes for inspiration.

OverstockArt.com is among the winners of the prestigious Décor Top 100 Art & Framing Retailers Award.

The winners were officially announced on Friday September 8th at Décor’s International Art Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, and will be featured in the October 2006 issue of Décor Magazine. David Sasson, owner of the online oil painting and framing gallery, was on hand at the Decor Expo in Atlanta when the results were announced. “This is OverstockArt.com’s first entry to the Décor 100 award and we are excited to be here,” said Sasson.

OverstockArt.com’s entry was aimed at the category “Technology Implementation Award”. Gabe Kiley of Décor said, “This year’s contestants revealed great passion with an increase in efficiency and technology advancements. Obviously the internet has had an impact on how consumers shop for wall décor in the US.” Mr. Kiley went on to say, “The retailer in the Top 100 list impressed our panel of judges, whether it was for design, technology, or marketing. In each of these retailers a certain area of their business stood out for us to single them out among their peers.”

David Sasson believed his online gallery and frame shop available at http://www.overstockart.com was exceptional, but the Top 100 award confirms it. The expanding online store of handmade oil paintings and frames is a well designed online art gallery displaying handmade oil paintings at half the price of local art galleries. The online business model has a lot of advantages that Mr. Sasson hopes will revolutionize the way people shop for art. “Our store is providing an interesting shopping experience for art lovers. Utilizing our online software helps home and office decorators match the oil painting that they want with the perfect frame for a very unique wall décor piece. They can then match the framed painting to their wall color and see if it fits the color scheme.” Sasson said, “I think that our unique system coupled with our high quality handmade oil paintings and unparallel customer service makes our company appealing to our growing list of clients and what sets us apart from the other contestants.”

While the gallery is located in Wichita, Kansas, OverstockArt.com’s clientele are from all over the US. The gallery is setup so visitors can browse by artist, subject, style and size. The ease of navigation helps consumers explore the gallery and find the art that fits their taste.

OverstockArt.com is becoming increasingly known for its large selection, distinctive handmade oil paintings and superior service. “Many of our customers are coming back to shop again with us,” said Sasson. “That is a testament for our great relationship with our clients and their appreciation for our art.”

Mr. Sasson hopes that the now confirmed best art and frame shop online will keep growing and offer more selection and resources to its art-loving customers.

OverstockArt is located on the web at http://www.overstockart.com.

Cool breezes, warm colors, hearty aromas! A time for the harvest and for surrounding yourself with the beauty of the changing season. Autumn is my favorite time of the year! Out doors is where I like to be in these months, so when it’s time to come back in, I like for my interior to reflect the wholesome harvest season. Check out these ten home decorating tips for bringing your seasonal senses alive this Autumn!

1. In cooler months, you need warmer colors! Look all around you to discover the harvest colors—pumpkin, cinnamon, amber, wine reds, harvest golds, nutty browns, deep salmon, etc.

2. Time to switch out that summer décor! Bring back the ornate picture frames, deeper colored throw pillows, and warmer fabrics. These items can warm up an interior when the temperature outside is dropping!

3. For my entire life, my Mother has always burned special candles in the Fall. Candles are a must! Cinnamon Bun, Hazelnut, Pumpkin Spice, Biscotti, Maple…Talk about awakening your senses!

4. Baskets symbolize giving, and Autumn is the beginning of the giving season. Ancient beliefs say that the Harvest is a time to give offerings to nature. Fill beautiful wicker baskets with leaves, twigs, or fruits! They will be a great addition to your décor.

5. Bittersweet, yarrow, berry vines, pumpkins, gourds, golden pears, dark red apples, nuts of all sorts, artificial leaves and flowers are some other great filling ideas for baskets, shelves, bowls, and vases around the house.

6. Pull out the nature inspired rugs, table top, and linens. Berries, fruits, cornucopias, stripes and patterns in any of the previously mentioned colors!

7. Switch your drapes or blinds. Prepare to keep the cold out, and do it in style! Vintage laces and crochets are a great addition to your seasonal window treatments.

8. The trees seem to age in this season. Follow that theme by switching some of your metallic furnishing (frames, lamps, chimes, hardware) from silver to brass and rust.

9. PATTERNS ARE BACK!!!! Put away your summer solids and geometrics and bring out the inviting patterns. Check out freespiritfabric.com!

10. Not many people I know can afford to repaint their walls with the changing seasons! If not, reinvent by changing out your artwork. Check out www.overstockart.com for affordable and abundant choices for you Autumn décor. Van Gogh’s Rest From Work, or Wheat field, Klimts Beech Forest, and O’Keefe’s Two Pears and Single Calla Lily are just a few ideas! Happy Harvest and Happy Decorating!!