Still at home update

I'm still at home much like you probably are unless you are an essential worker. It's pretty boring most of the time. Can we talk about the dishes? Holy crap! I must have forgotten about the dishes I did when my kids were little and at home.

The good news is that I have been painting and actually sold three paintings in the past two weeks. They are all 50% off too. If you want one you can go to shop.kerrysteele.com and get one on sale with the code SALE 50.

SOLD

I cannot believe how my artwork sells when the economy is bad. You'd think it would be the opposite.
So tell me your good noise during this pandemic.

Choosing art to add to a collection

The simplest rule for choosing art is to find pieces that speak to you and that you love but they can also make sense with your decor and other art.
Paying attention to a theme, color palette and /or mood can help you pin down something that you will love for many years.

In my son's room I wanted to create a gallery wall with a theme. I had inherited block prints and a portrait by my grandmother and another antique portrait. It did not quite fill the wall so I created a few abstract portraits and commissioned another of my son, from a favorite baby picture.

I purchased several paintings through Etsy shortly after buying my current house.
One of my favorites is this abstract by Linda Montfort.

It was the start of my art collection by choice. The colors and exuberance spoke to me and made sense with some of the still life paintings that are by my grandmother.

I think it can be helpful to allow your thinking to go beyond theme and color. For instance, abstracts don't have to be hung alongside abstracts and warm tones need not be in the company of only more warm.
I purposefully choose items that are decidedly feminine in mood for my formal living room. The blush walls and ladylike ivory fabrics were the base decor and art (as well as accessories) must fit within the same feel but without necessarily conforming to a set of colors.
I also bought this little painting on Etsy.

Conversely, my adjacent dining room is very masculine and I combined family silhouettes with my collections of antique fox hunt prints and gentlemen.

The choices for my daughter's room were definitely color and mood driven.

Ellen Levine Dodd

Sally Kelly landscape

It tells an interesting story of the owner, when inherited or vintage pieces are combined with the new, as layer of decor with meaning.

High Point Highlights

I spent two days in High Point NC last weekend for the bi-annual market. I was so fortunate to partner with CR Laine, a high-end furniture manufacturer, whose huge showroom was host to some of my artwork. CR Laine has a line of upholstered furniture designed by Tobi Fairley as well as other offerings and partners with Woodbridge furniture, Fromental and Currey and Co. lighting to name a few.

I spent several hours in the CR Laine space on Saturday and then attempted to navigate the the shuttle and Market Square showroom across town. I met with artist Alexis Walter and Linda Donohue as well as the girls behind the brand the Blush Label. It all took far longer than I estimated so it was a scramble to get back across town to the book signing for Jullianne Ellerbe Taylor's book DesignHer at the Wesley Hall showroom.

Vignette at the Wesley Hall showroom

Selfie with me and Julianne Taylor

It was great fun having some of the people in the book there to chat with and sign my copy.

Me and Lance Jackson

Lance Jackson and David Ecton of Parker Kennedy Living wrote the foreword.

I chatted with Dana Gibson (no photo) and Kelli Ellis, both featured.

Kelli Ellis and me

I had a "moment" with Meg Braff and Amal Kapen.

Amal Kapen, me, Meg Braff

It was so much fun! 

With Leslie Moore

Me, Traci Zeller, Lisa Mende

Sunday afternoon CR Laine hosted there party and it was non-stop chatting with old friends and new contacts in the design industry.

One thing I learned is that the lighting in showrooms is meant to flatter the products not especially people. There were many photos that did not make the selfie cut and some that should not have.

It was a very long, lovely day that ended with me driving home and arriving after midnight.

Monday morning was a slow start and I decided to get a better look at the DesignHer book.

Imagine my delight upon seeing my artwork in the feature about the founder of Cotton and Quill, Mary Catherine Folmar whose fabric and trim was used by Lisa Mende in her Shophouse kitchen and breakfast room last April.

Oh hey, it's a SALE on KerrySteele.com

Still life with pears 48 x 36

Tell your friends! I am having a 30% off sale.

I don't do this often but I hope to be moving soon and I just need to lighten the load. 

Coquette 48 x 38 oil on canvas

Here is everything you need to know

just go to Shop.KerrySteele.com  ( or click available work on my homepage) and use code OCT30 to receive the discount.

It is not just small stuff. There is one 48 x 60 and several 36 x 48 sized paintings.

I will be adding more in the next few days too.

Questions? Email me at art@kerrysteele.com and ask away.

Don't forget to tell your friends!

Summer into Fall with art

I don't exactly change my decor with the seasons. Maybe my choice of tablecloth varies by season but nothing specific. The seasons do inspire my artwork though.

I have been using my vacation pictures, both old and new, to inspire a series of casual, almost primitive set of watercolor paintings.

The beach scene above sold in the blink of an eye via social media but I am working on more.

These sailboat paintings are a tiny 4 x 5 mounted on 5 x 6 rag board.

It is pretty tough to think about warm, cozy Fall when the temps are still in the mid-90s but I was asked to contribute to an October show at the Corner Gallery in Norfolk, Va.

The theme is color and form so I have three figures just waiting for hanging day.

Incorporating colors I rarely use is a good way to stretch artistically.

This abstract has the summery title, "Tigerlily" but I think the colors bridge the gap between the seasons.

How do you decorate for Fall?

An art-filled little girl's room

You may have seen this lovely watercolor by Ellen Levine Dodd on Instagram. It is the newest piece of art in our collection and was a birthday gift from Mr. Designdumonde to our daughter for her 6th birthday. Seems like a strange gift for a 6 year-old but we have worked to fill her room with art and she has requested some of it.

Quite a few pieces are my own but I do my best to add variety.

On the console to the left is one of my many pieces by Sally Kelly. These were the start of the collection in her room.

A flower painted by her older sister and one of her own also add to the vignette.

Above the console table is a newer abstract of mine. I originally had a painting by Jenny Andrews there but the scale was wrong and it looks far better just outside the door on our newly painted gray walls, hinting at the art to come.

Above my daughter's bed is a painting I did years ago but just could not part with.

Curtains - Serena and Lily

Beds - Antique

Side chair - vintage

Wall color- Benjamin Moore Key Pearl

Bedding - Martha Stewart and custom

Console -Target

These tiny watercolor paintings are just gorgeous. You can get your own at Anne Neilson fine art, Serena and Lily or by contacting Ellen.

House stuff

I recently finished this neutral 48 x 60 painting and plopped it on my mantel. My husband has not been liking grayish abstracts on our newly painted SW-Repose Gray wall but he is loving this one.

It is just a few feet from the sconce that was finally put up.

The whopping $50 expenditure seems like it was a good deal. I had my concerns but the 25 watt bulb glows nicely and the shade, now stabilized, does not wobble. We like the light that gently glows from the sides and casts both an up and down light all without being able to see the bulb while descending the staircase.

Bit by bit, we are getting closer to that "For Sale" sign being out front.

I will be tackling that orange wood banister next week.

Serena and Lily in May

Marina

Have you seen the May Art Collection on Serena and Lily? I think it is one of the best ever.

I have 9 pieces on the site this month. There are so many fabulous pieces by other artists and you really should take a peek.

Palmetto

Last month I decided to try something different and pull my colors from the Serena and Lily catalog. Now, I know that art does not need to match but many people want a pulled together look and will shop based on their colors.

Along Mount Vernon Trail

Behind the falls