Behind the Scenes with Susan Abell

All  art should inspire and evoke emotion. Art should be something you can actually feel. 

                                                                    -Chris DeRubeis

Art preferences can run the gambit. Many times, choosing artwork for the home is driven by the things we are personally drawn to or prefer.  I am a big believer in the premise that art really needs to speak to you. The type of art that evokes a particular feeling depends upon your point of view and life experiences. 

You no doubt know what you like but may be unsure as to how to pull off a certain look  in your home and incorporate your individual tastes. It might seem easy to select art merely based on a predominant color scheme to match a room for instance. Color choice is one way to go as a beginning point to enhance and personalize your home decor, but you can definitely expand on it. 

Art is a personal design and decor preference and should reflect your own life experiences and sensibilities. 

With that guiding principle in mind, I have composed a list of tips I utilized for decorating with art in my own home-specifically freshening up a bookcase. Perhaps these tips may be helpful to you.  The same ideas could apply to a mantle or the top of a dresser, for example. 

1. Start small...this isn’t about redoing an entire space! Take an visual inventory in your own home. Do you collect anything? If so, those items might work well to help create vignettes. In my case, I decided to freshen up this bookcase to create a coastal theme with my small coastal artwork and mementos of coastal trips. These items are connected to favorite beach memories. 

2. Look at the objects together. Can they be grouped by a common color or use, for example? You can see a number of coastal elements-seashells, old books, and pieces of my daughter’s pottery from the images below. To connect to the colors in the paintings, I chose pottery and books that repeated a blue, green, and white coastal vibe. 

3. Decide the pieces to be the focal points on the shelves. Try different arrangements- odd numbers of objects work well when displayed. You can see I used a small coastal painting on every other shelf. Edit the pieces that don’t blend well with the others. Also, less is better more when displaying. The art and objects you want to emphasize on the shelf need ‘room to breathe.’

4. Balance on shelf. I included various books, thick and thin, to balance out other items on the shelves, chosen by color primarily. 

5. Lastly, step back and admire your art display. The second image includes two framed coastal paintings of mine based on experiences on the Georgia Coast that tie well with the shelf display. 

I hope you enjoy restyling with art in your home. Thanks for reading! 

Where is your favorite escape place? Is there one place that just thinking about it brings a smile to your face?

If  you are like many people, relaxing on a beach may be your favorite place. Whether watching the incoming the surf or padding along the sand, beaches offer the kind of retreat we often need. 

The particular day on Florida's Gulf Coast that inspired this work was no different as my husband and I settled in for a quiet, beach morning. Or so we thought. The sun was shining brightly on this mostly cloudless day as the waves gently lapped at the shore. Among my favorite beach activities on days like this is bird watching. Little did I know, a real show was about to transpire before us.

Suddenly, I noticed a pair of shore birds right in front of me engaged in some kind of dispute. Apparently, one of the birds had found a tasty morsel and was not eager to share with his pals. A third bird decided to get in on the action as well and quickly headed to join the beach debate. The squabble somehow seemed very familiar as I snapped a few pictures. To this former elementary teacher, a playground conflict may not be much different. Fortunately, these birds resolved the issue, or at least the fellow with the treat escaped his buddies' clutches. Sometimes you just don't want to share!

Capturing the amusing scene first required painting the light blue sky and the beautiful blue-green waters of the Emerald Coast as a backdrop. I knew I wanted the two birds as the main focal point as the surf rolled in. Including the third bird added to the playground dispute scenario. Layering in the beach sand and waves completed the scene.

For me, observing  birds in a coastal environment is a fun way to relax at the beach. I'm also left with a little painting inspiration. All in a day's work. :)