New house dreaming

I have been doing more "new house dreaming" than one person should. "New house dreaming" is when you decorate the rooms of houses that you do not own but actually have plans to move. I have no idea what our new house will involve at this point, so I just fantasize.

I am a big fan of mixing traditional pieces with modern pieces and I hope to take my decor a bit more to the traditional side this time. 

I chose a Chesterfield sofa with a burled walnut chest and some blue and white pieces from the Pink Pagoda for the traditional part of this living room. I threw in a Dana Gibson pillow, lamp from Wisteria and the White cocktail table from Aerin.com to add some zing.

I also used my painting "Smolder" which is being offered by Gregg Irby Fine Art in Atlanta to make the whole thing a bit edgier.

Do you decorate houses that you don't own just for fun?

Art and interiors with a few GIFA artists

I took a cue from Jennifer at The Pink Pagoda's post last week, highlighting my paintings at Gregg Irby Fine Art with different chairs. I love creating design boards and thought it would be fun to make some for a few of my fellow artists at GIFA.

I started with Erin McIntosh. I am smitten with "Zoe", a 60 x 48 canvas that makes a statement. I paired it with mixed metals and a very long and feminine console table. The black rug and modern accessories give the vignette an edge.

Next I chose one from my friend, Christina Baker.

I chose "Eastern Blues" just because I love it so much. I paired it with classic furniture and Persian rug so that the painting takes center stage.

I went a different direction with the board for Michelle Armas. I chose funky mix to go with her piece "I believe this belongs to you", and dark walls. I do wish I had saved the draft on that one because I found a better chair later. I'll just have to do more of these next week!

Eileen Power has long been a favorite of mine and I thought the piece "51" would be great in a modern, uber-feminine and glam space.

I just chose 4 of the 25 artists at Gregg Irby today, but there is always time for more.

Who's work would you like to see in a styled room?

Dispatches from the studio

The past few months have been, for me, like "Blog? What blog?". I feel as if I have been remiss blogging,  kind of like handing in homework late. New and exciting things were happening and I am here to tell you all about them. So consider this my tardy note.

The snowball started with me deciding I a needed a new website logo for KerrySteele.com and that snowballed into creating something that I could use in Blogger, as a letterhead and a favicon. 

 Terrena at eLance.com was fabulous to work with. That brushstroke is actually mine and she worked with the precise colors I wanted. I always thought something like this would cost a boatload of money but it was surprisingly affordable.

Next on the list was my face. No, not plastic surgery, just a professional photo. My husband kept saying, "Let me take it."  Nope! I wasn't going for that. I know what his photography is like.

I researched a few photographers and hired Michael from LeftHandedPhotography.com.

He had been wanting to photograph an artist in studio and I wanted a professional photo that did not look like a realtor, so it was a lucky match. He arrived on a Friday afternoon and over the next three hours we moved furniture, staged shots and basically laid waste to the first floor of my house, which sounds like a bad thing but I felt like we were squeezing out every ounce of creativity.

These are a few of my favorites.

Michael was awesome to work with. I hate having my picture taken, but I can honestly say that this was really fun. If you are in the Richmond area I highly recommend him.

He even helped me find a new camera and lighting so I can get better images of my art.

This is the temporary setup just inside my front door.

I really love the Nikon I bought and the timing was pretty good too. Being able to get really good images of my work is ever more important.

"Come away with me" 40 x 30 oil on canvas by Kerry Steele available through Gregg Irby fine art

Finding and working with the right gallery is one of the most important things in an artist's career and I am proud to say that I am now being represented by the venerable Gregg Irby Fine Art in Atlanta. GIFA also happens to represent some of my favorite artists, so it is particularly special to be on their roster.

This painting is headed to Atlanta, along with others tomorrow.

 As if it couldn't get any better, somewhere in this whirlwind, the art collection manager of Serena and Lily contacted me about my work. I am thrilled to be included as one of their artists too.

"Cocktails at seven" oil on canvas by Kerry Steele available through Serena and Lily

All of these great things mean lots of time painting. Lucky for me painting is my favorite thing to do.

So, my tardiness in blog writing has come from the pleasure of realizing many of my goals...all at once.

I am ready to get back to talking about chairs and fabric in between all of the painting going on here.