The Beauty of Glass and Crystal

Did I tell you that I love anything which is clear, transparent and especially in aqua colours?
I am collecting glass as well as crystals and dream of having a place one day where I could use my treasures for decoration. At the moment they all live a sad life, cramped together on a shelf in my bedroom waiting for the moment to be released...

That's one of the reasons why I loved this delicate and simple dining room - the decoration is beautifully natural and fragile - nothing that disturbs the impression of living with much light. The only thing I would change here - if it were my dining room - I would add some more art to the facing wall - it looks a bit too bare to my eyes.

(original image source www.housebeautiful.com)

I have the perfect painting for this place - don't you think? It is from the Minerals series, painted in acrylic on cotton and depicts the image of a huge Aquamarine - this is also the title of this painting. It repeats exactly the colour of the wonderful glass decoration.

The painting tries to depict the wonderful colours and transparency of aquamarines which could not be better representatives for clear water - the most precious treasure we have on this planet...

"Aquamarine"
(from the "Minerals" series)
40" x 13", acrylic on cotton

©Petra Voegtle

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A bit more Drama please...

This is probably only a showroom scenario and not a real room yet but if this is going to be part of your living room ensemble you would definitely need more drama in that place. The painting that has been placed on the wall originally does meet the colour composition as a whole but looks a bit dull.

(original image source www.homesolute.com)

As an alternativeI would choose this triptych painting that turns this wall into a dramatic landscape and adds a lot of movement.

The painting is a triptych, painted on silk. The 3 panels could be hung individually as well as closely together as they are painted to form one unit.

 "Canyon"
(from the Magic Landscapes series) 
40" x 63", Triptych, silk
©Petra Voegtle

For more room examples where this painting has been used check this link.

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FINDS: Frédérique Morrel

Some time ago I stumbled over an artist you might know already but if not you might find her as interesting as I did. Actually it is a couple who combine their creative juices and make something new from old in a unique way. The couple I am talking about is Frédérique Morrel and Aaron Levin.

Frédérique says about herself that she "was troubled by the fact that her grandmother's needlework was discarded when she passed." She became obsessed with the idea to bring these kinds of artefacts back to life in a completely new way. Aaron is more the guardian of the Morrel brand and on the lookout for unique tapestries which are then worked into new pieces of art such as the following.

What I found to be extremely charming are the life-sized deer sculptures (called "MY DEAR" by Morrell) in all kinds of colourful patterns but which carry antlers which ARE realistic.

These sculptures start with a fiberglass taxidermy mold, injected with expanding foam. Pieces that are molded separately are assembled and reinforced with steel rods. Realistic details such as hoofs, ears, muzzle, teeth and tongue are finished with resin or latex and airbrushed. Real antlers are fixed to the head. The mold is then completely covered with vintage tapestries (from their website).

Smaller sculptures are these "trophy heads" which of course are really charming in contrast to those abominable real hunting trophies which I could never tolerate:



But there is more that this creative couple creates, "artifacts are their personal answer to re-enchant the world, using their special ingredients: materials that tell stories of simple, ideal happiness".

If you want to see more of these works and learn more about this creative couple from France you should check out the website of Frédérique Morell.

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...and the WINNER is

Kelly James

from

Congratulations Kelly and have much fun with your shopping!!!!

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Only 2 more days to win the 60$ Give-Away from CSN Stores!

Dear Readers,
the count down is running: there are only 2 more days where you have the chance to win the 60$ gift certificate from the CSN Stores. End is on Tuesday, Mar 22, midnight. On Mar 23 the winner will be announced and receive an email with the appropriate prom code. You can use this code on all products from the CSN Stores - just check this blog post and see what you have to do!

Good Luck!!!

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The Painting is too small...

There is not much to say about the complete room but you can get a pretty good feeling from this vignette. There is simplicity, no ornamental schnickschnack and it seems to be a room full of serenity. And no doubt this fireplace defines the atmosphere of this room.

The only "problem" I have with this vignette is that the original art piece above the mantle nearly disappears.

 (original image source: www.housebeautiful.com)

As an alternative I would hang a larger painting such as the one below. It also adds a bit more drama and effect to the room, repeating nicely the colour of the fire mantle.

The acrylic painting is called The Rain Dancer and depicts one of my favourite models, Pete, the pigeon patron from our feral pigeon family, while he takes a shower in the rain. If you look closely (click on the image to enlarge) you will see all the droplets in his plumage and the content look in his face. Pigeons love to bathe or to take a shower in the rain.

"The Rain Dancer"
(from the Pigeons series) 
18" x 26" acrylic on cotton
©Petra Voegtle

If you would like to learn more about pigeons, how intelligent and funny these birds are, simply amazing creatures - then please check out my blog/diary Pigeon Tales. I can tell you that you will not be disappointed. There are lots of funny and sweet photos, little videos and stories about their adventures.Additionally you will find a lot of interesting links about birds and pigeons especially.

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Even in the tiniest Room there is a Place for a Piece of Art!

Yes - that's my credo! And even the tiniest room will look more sophisticated and well taken care of if you place a piece of art that adds some focus. It should not disappear - it should be a bit more prominent.

That's why I would choose something more colourful and prominent than the original images here. Although it contradicts somehow the natural response that you should use something small in a small room it does not always function. You would be surprised what a difference it can make to ignore the rules sometimes...

(original image source getdecorating.com)

"Sari II"

(from the Patterns series)

20" x 15", acrylic on paper

©Petra Voegtle

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GIVEAWAY: a 60$ Giveaway from CSN Stores

I have two news - a wonderful one and a bad one. The wonderful one is that I am very happy to announce that I am ready for my first giveaway! The bad news is that this is unfortunately only applicable for people living in the US and Canada. I am really sorry for this. But at least I can make someone happy.

I was contacted this week by CSN Stores who kindly offered a 60$ gift certificate that can be used on ANY product from their stores. This is truly a very generous gift I find. I am really disappointed that I cannot use it myself and if I could and if I had a house with a garden I would certainly look for some fancy "outdoor lighting". Check these out and you will see what I am talking about. The sheer amount of outdoor lamps they are offering blew me away and also the range from very simple lamps to very sophisticated outdoor lighting. In the end YOU will have the pain of the choice. I am sure you would find whatever you are looking for. Here are only 3 examples from more than 2000 outdoor lamps!!

Imagine you could sit in warm summer nights in your rocking chair on your terrace, with the garden immersed in a wonderful warm light between the trees, listening to the sound of the cicadas and dreaming off into the night. What could be more relaxing?

Remember that you need not spend your gift certificate necessarily on outdoor lighting. You can use it for any product from the CSN Stores assortment.And here is how you can win this giveaway:

1. follow publicly this blog and enter a short comment on this post that you did (mandatory)
2. don't forget to enter a valid email address (will not be published)
3. spread the word about this giveaway via facebook and twitter with reference to this post (if you do this you get 2 voices!)

The winner will be announced on Mar 23!

Good luck to everybody!
Btw - I have no advantage from this and I am not getting paid for this...

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BLOGGING: Missing Thumbnail Images

About 2 weeks ago I realized that the thumbnail images in my blogrolls did not appear any more - only a few were showing up but most had disappeared.I realized in the comments of other blogger that I was not the only one with this problem.

It took some time to find the answer in the help forums i.e. there is a work around until this problem has been fixed - therefore I am posting this here in case you are desperately looking for a solution as well:

Go into the "edit" mode of your post, look for the first image that will normally appear as thumbnail and replace the following:

"The solution lies in replacing https with http and googleusercontent with ggpht

So for example:

   https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

becomes
   http://lh3.ggpht.com/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If you do these substitutions in your first image, the thumbnail will be generated without problem."

Be sure to do this twice in the code of your first image - otherwise it will not work!

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A Gathering above the Fireplace

I had this photo for quite a while in my files and never found an idea what to hang instead of that dark something above the fireplace. Although this room is much too dark for my personal taste - I love light light light - I like it somehow but not that black strange thing - a wreath? - above the fireplace. This makes the room even gloomier.

Instead I would love to hang a painting such as this one, called The Gathering, from my pigeons series. This might be a strange choice but if you look closely at the painting it adds a lot of wit and a smile will appear on your face - I am sure of this.

(original image source getdecorating.com)

The painting depicts a mother pigeon and two of her sons, Willy and Joey, all members of our balcony pigeon family and about whose adventures you could read in my diary the Pigeon Tales with many amusing and also sad stories, diligently collected and written down since several years now.

"The Gathering"
(from the Pigeons series) 

26" x 18" acrylic

©Petra Voegtle

If you would like to know more about this painting and series please check this link.

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