Art & Decor Trends

Designing by Art

Claude Monet

Artist’s Garden at Giverny; Claude Monet
Who says that the design always comes before the art? Oil Paintings along with other forms of art offer us endless inspiration and new direction for our surroundings. I’ve always believed that the framework of a beautiful design is hiding in that one piece that you view as extra special. We just have to take a look around us and start with the art! Take the Artist’s Garden at Giverny, for instance. Impressionistic works like this one portray harmony through the beauty of nature. The gentle style of the piece promotes free flowing lines and soft colors. In fact, the timing of Impressionism flowed directly into the Art Nouveau movement, which also sought inspiration from organic lines and the balance of the environment. Whiplash curves, asymmetry, and rich mediums such as gold, dark woods, and rustic metal truly compliment this style. The Impressionists were revolutionaries in that they painted only en plein air (in the open air), so as the color schemes are both ambient and authentic to the natural world. What I’ve demonstrated here are only a very few examples of the inspiration I pulled from this Monet
masterpiece! I would suggest choosing an array of paint colors from the artwork first, in this case some soft pastel hues (you can save the deeper tones for your pull pieces later—throw pillows, pottery, etc.). Choose the most versatile color for
your wall and take the others with you to match up fabric swatches for your furniture! In the end, your favorite piece of artwork will be reflected throughout your interior! Now who’s the artist?

About the Author

Amitai Sasson of overstockArt.com is an art world traveler on a mission to seek out the beauty and passion of the art world. As an avid enthusiast of art and oil paintings, he contributes to ArtCorner.com as Chief editor and writer.