Dark blue Walls and Roses in the Bedroom

I absolutely love this colour concept: dark blue walls, white furniture and a white floor or carpets. A classical composition that makes a room light and floating. Of course I also love the chair that is shown here with its delicate but simple stripe pattern. I even love the pillow with the embroidered flower design, the small side table etc. Everything very harmoniously decorated. Only the art on the wall is an issue I would personally change. The reason - there is just too much sweetness in this room.

Why would it be better to find an alternative for the wall? Because in my opinion too much repetition leads to boredom and disinterest. The images on the wall too show flower motives. Now look at this image and you will find lots of flower motives in the same style. To try something different would be nice - wouldn't it?

Admittedly the alternative painting shows some flower-like motif too but it is modern style and adds more interest to this room.

  "WhiteWall"
(from the Reminiscences series)
acrylic, 26" x 18"
©Petra Voegtle

The painting belongs to the Reminiscenses series, a painting series that was created from my photo documentary about the Olympic Student Village in Munich, torn down a few years ago in order to be re-constructed.

In order to create a kind of memorial for the beautiful and often funnily painted walls which are now all lost I took hundreds of photos from the village. But this was not enough for me - I also decided to create a painting series from the most impressive and beautiful parts i.e. walls, doors and windows. The peeling paints and especially the marks all the vines left on the plaster created wonderful patterns and structures. There is an extra photo series only about these wall motifs which you will find here.

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OFF-TOPIC: Sick Pigeons again...

I am way behind posting again but I have 3 sick pigeons again who require a lot of extra care. But I love these birds so much - therefore everything else has to stay behind.

As you may remember - when you are reading the Pigeon Tales - we had several cases of PMV infections among our balcony pigeons. All of them recovered completely. But these days our beloved Pina was showing severe symptoms again such as stargazing and she refused to fly out with her mate Rudi for several weeks. She felt insecure and as she is a very clever girl she preferred to stay in the saftety of our appartment.

Then Micky started to show severe symptoms also, flying like a Kamikaze but she somehow managed to land safely every time. Curently she is often inside together with her mate Gino and I am glad about this. Because this way she can relax better and therefore stargazes less.

Finally Jimi came late in the afternoon 2 weeks ago and did not want to leave again. So I put him into one of my hospital boxes and there he is since then, sitting on the edge most of the time, protected behind a mosquito net so that neither Rudi nor Gino can molest him. I have to tube feed him 3 times a day as he refuses to eat by himself. His intestines are affected by the virus therefore his digestion is pretty poor. But baby cereal with applesauce and joghurt help. Additionally he gets some pro-biotics. Jimi is also a very clever pigeon. He came back home to his mommy when he felt bad. Isn't this sweet?

Yesterday was a good day though for everbody. They all had a bath and afterwards they relaxed on the sofa, on our bed etc....

Pina and Rudi

Micky and Gino

Jimi relaxing on his box

Jimi soaking in the bathtub

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A lovely Room with an additional Touch

There is nothing to complain about this room. I simply love it. I love the window and how it has been adjusted to the door so that you have different shapes. I love the colours which are serene and very soothing but not dull. A very relaxing room but for all that the stencil on the wall looks to me a bit lonely...

 original image source www.homesolute.com

...therefore I would add a small unintrusive acrylic painting on the wall that perfectly fits into the colour scheme and design - if this was my room:

The painting belongs to the Reminiscenses series, a painting series that was created from my photo documentary about the Olympic Student Village in Munich, torn down a few years ago in order to be re-constructed.

In order to create a kind of memorial for the beautiful and often funnily painted walls which are now all lost I took hundreds of photos from the village. But this was not enough for me - I also decided to create a painting series from the most impressive and beautiful parts i.e. walls, doors and windows. The peeling paints and especially the marks all the vines left on the plaster created wonderful patterns and structures. There is an extra photo series only about these wall motifs which you will find here.

"White Wall"
(from the Reminiscences series)

acrylic, 26" x 18"

©Petra Voegtle

 

 

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 mmm

Fossils in the Bedroom

No - it's not what YOU are thinking - I am talking about a painting that depicts the theme of ancient fossils i.e. ferns. It was one of those crazy ideas - hanging a painting horizontally although it was painted vertically but I thought it just made sense when you placed it above the headboard of the bed.

The image that sparked this idea was the photo of a bedroom that I felt missed a little bit of drama (I love to play the drama queen regarding interior and art). The colours in this room are very appealing though, warm and inviting.

What I also did not like was the little window just above the headboard. From the Feng Shui oriented point of view it is never a good idea to have an opening - the window - behind your back and I personally would have covered it and hung a painting instead. Whether you believe in Feng Shui or not - a window behind your back weakens your position and causes an insecure feeling:

"Why is a bed under a window considered bad feng shui?
At nighttime your body needs strong support, as well as protection, in order to do its best with the work of regenerating itself. This is the reason a good solid headboard is highly recommended in feng shui. In addition to a good headboard, you always want to have a solid wall behind your bed. When you sleep under the window, your personal energy tends to get weaker in time, as it has neither proper support, not protection.(read more)"

The original painting was painted in acrylics on rayon. I am collecting minerals, crystals and fossils. But not only that - I am also digging them up, when I find the time and the right place. It is so much fun. Currently though I am rather painting them and so it came that a couple of paintings became a series about Minerals and Fossils such as this one, called Triassic Prints II. The name comes from the imprints of fossils you can often find in rocks. Ferns are the oldest plants on our earth - I love them.

This painting was created with a special technique that is normally used with silk painting: dye resist painting. This means, that certain parts or patterns are covered/created by using a substance which is removed after painting the rest. This process has been repeated several times on this painting although this is not silk but textile paints and acrylics on cotton. The result was a kind of "printed" pattern of the ferns with many additional "ghost prints".

"Triassic Prints II"
(from the "Fossils" series)
40" x 13", acrylic on cotton

©Petra Voegtle

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Addendum:

I am extremely suspicious towards statements of people that claim to be Feng Shui EXPERTISES but of course there is a lot of truth in this 1000 years of knowlege - actually "the history of feng shui covers 3,500+ years before the invention of the magnetic compass. It originated in Chinese astronomy dating back to 3500 BC." Briefly said "The goal of feng shui as practiced today is to situate the human built environment on spots with good qi. The "perfect spot" is a location and an axis in time."(Wikipedia) Therefore I have added a few interesting links about Feng Shui:

How Interior Designers Can Work with Feng Shui Specialists
Feng Shui Diaries - Esoteric Feng Shui 
Qimancy - The Art and Science of Feng Shui

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Hanging Art in an unorthodox Way continued...

Well I promised to show some more examples how you could change the original idea of hanging a certain painting. Normally you could not do this with a realistic or representational painting but in this case it works beautifully again. The colour composition looks as if this was made for this room from the beginning:

(after)

The original image (see below) of this wonderfully airy bedroom looks a bit blank so my virtual and visual addition would be this silk painting if it were my room.

(before)

Check out how the painting normally would be hung here.

Here are more ideas of hanging art in an unorthodox manner:

(after)

The wall art in the original image of the room is repeating too many of the room's colours:

 (before)

Don't misunderstand me - I like the original art but it does not really spark great interest because the colour compositions "disappear" in the room itself. My suggestion would have been something that glows a bit more, that adds some additional colour such as the crystal paintings from my minerals series:

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

©Petra Voegtle

And here is another one of my paintings that could be hung horizontally instead of vertically with the result of looking completely different than hung in the original manner:

(after)

Again - I like the original painting on the wall in this bedroom but it is very dominant so that any additional art would be overkill. As I would like to hang something above the bed - and one of the paintings from the fossils series would be perfect for that - I would have to replace the original painting with another one, less prominent. What do you think about this alternative?

(before)

I really love to play around with these images and create new ideas:

"Triassic Prints I + II"
(from the "Fossils" series)
40" x 13", acrylic on cotton

©Petra Voegtle

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Simple Compositions to spark Ideas

When I present paintings I always try to show them in a context. This does not have to be a complete room but often just one piece of furniture, a vase on a table etc. is enough. This way the viewer gets a better understanding how these paintings could look like in a room. Here are only a few options....

all images ©Petra Voegtle

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A rustic Hallway with a Pigeon Painting

These days I read so much about pigeon haters again and about people who save songbirds and raptors, have a heart for all kind of wildlife but when it comes to pigeons, especial the ferals, their hearts turn into a stone and they would rather extinct them from this planet. Why is this so? I don't understand this. People are the cause for their misery and people condemn them, pursue them and shoot them just for fun.

A whole industry has grown who gain their profits through destroying the vermin of this planet and as vermin they declare the feral pigeon, even blackbirds and other birds which impend to reclaim a piece of nature which was taken away from them by the human species. The birds are considered to be a danger for human valuables such as cars, roofs, gardens. Loudly arguing that pigeons spread diseases which are dangerous for human health, offering even studies which are meant to prove their arguments but which are poorly executed and paid by the very same industry. Fact is that mammal pets can be far more dangerous for human health than any bird at all simply because of the specifications of bacteria, viruses and parasites which are limited to pigeons and other birds only.

The ferals are the offspring of carrier pigeons which are bred for sport, fame and income and when they don't deliver their expected accomplishments they are set free - when they are lucky - and euthanized when they are not so lucky. Not to talk about those who get lost on their "missions". And sometimes they are "used" as pets and share the common fate of other pets who get sick or are abandoned when the "owners" realize that there is a lot of work involved and time and occasionally money.

Is this the way we have been empowered to treat the fellow creatures on our earth?

Any creature on this world has a right to live - who are we to determine which species is the noble one and which is doomed to die? This is nothing else than what all nazis on the whole world do!!! So why is this bigotry still cultured?

But thank heaven there are also loving hearts who deeply feel compassion for the tortured souls and do whatever they can to save the lost, the injured, the sick only to realize what incredible gifts they have got on their hands. Anyone - I am sure there is no exception - who has ever taken care of a pigeon and realized what amazing birds they are, widely underestimated and misunderstood, will never again be able to escape the mystery of their knowing eyes, their affectionate love for their savior. These birds are highly intelligent with capabilities science only just begins to notice.

For this reason I decided to "hang" one of my pigeon paintings again in a room that I like very much: a beautiful rustic hallway in blue and white - noble colours indeed and just right for the painting The Gathering. Without the painting I feel there is something missing, a little eyecatcher, not too bold to destroy the serenity of this room:

 (original image source www.housebeautiful.com)

This is the original acrylic painting. If you would like to know more about this series please check this link. The original is currently not for sale but I have fine art prints on heavy cotton in various sizes in my Etsy shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/vyalaarts . Other sizes can be made available if needed.

"The Gathering"
(from the Pigeons series) 

26" x 18" acrylic

©Petra Voegtle

And if you would like to read more about pigeons in general and what they do go here to the Pigeon Tales, a diary about their lives and more...

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Another Pigeon Painting has been finished

Finally The Philosopher has been finished and I even started with the next of the pigeon series. As all the others from this series it is painted in acrylics on cotton canvas. I have made it available as Fine Art Print on heavy cotton canvas mounted on a wooden stretcher frame in 2 sizes currently in my Etsy Shop. A direct link to the art print is here.

"The Philosopher"

(from the Pigeons series)

 18" x 26" ,acrylic on cotton canvas

©Petra Voegtle

And maybe you want to know about his story:
This is a portrait of Jimi, the philosopher, a very special pigeon. He was born in 2008, a son of Pete and Emma. December 2009 he became very sick with PMV and we had to hospitalize him for several months. With his last energy he found his way home. He could not eat by himself any more, he could not fly - he was completely depressed. But Jimi recovered completely and found his old self again. From time to time he is suffering from body tumors, receives special care and treatment then but in general he is strong and a healthy pigeon.

He comes home every day to get his meals and favourite sunflower hearts which he eats from my hand only, sitting on my knee. His stance has something royal and he loves to be alone. As a youngster he was often sitting on the easel behind my chair, watching me while I was working on the computer. He always came in when it was too much chaos outside - a very special pigeon. That's why he was called "the philosopher".

Here is the story of his parents:

One day, on a sunny morning in March 2008, a pigeon appeared on the balustrade of our balcony on the higher levels of the appartment building. There was something about this pigeon that made me wonder who he was. Normally I would have chased him off - as I usually did - because of my ignorance, because I did not like them pooping everywhere, because they made so much noise  in the early morning that you could not sleep any more and overall I did not like pigeons very much... But this one - it was different.

He somehow reminded me of another pigeon who regularly visited our balcony for a few minutes. We called him Mr. Whitecap, because he was light grey, with white wing feathers and a white cap. And he had one badly crippled foot that made him limp. But nevertheless he appeared again and again for about 5 years and then disappeared. I respected and admired this bird for coping with this injury and apparently having a strong will to survive. How little did I know then...

And now this new pigeon appeared on our balcony, looking very similar to our Mr. Whitecap whom I somehow missed and I was suddenly sure that he, the new one, was an offspring of Mr. Whitecap. He did not have this white cap but he was the same light grey blue barred pigeon, his wing feathers were white and he had at least a few white spots on his head and a really beautiful face and very intense eyes. I just had this feeling...

He - the new pigeon - let me observe him while I was inside but as soon as I opened the balcony door he was gone. So he was really a shy one. I was eager to know what would happen next.To be honest - nothing really happened for a while besides that he appeared one day and then was gone again for several days.

But one day he appeared again and with him came a tiny little pigeon lady, a dark grey one, with no special markings besides a sweet face and with somehow slanted eyes which were reminiscent of Asian eyes. You realize that I  started to observe these birds closer, noticing more details about them and somehow they suddenly became more and more interesting for me. I really cannot say any more when this change of mind happened to me but there was clearly a change.

Pete, as I called him in the meanwhile, and Emma, his mate, still appeared only sporadically. Obviously they were a couple and both very shy. At the very moment I opened the balcony door they were gone. One day I observed them how they kissed each other and started the courtship mode. It was so interesting to watch this and I found it very sweet.  So touching. I knew I could not chase them away any more if this should become an option.

In the meanwhile I put my plants out on the balcony again while the weather had become warmer. Also our pigeon couple seemed to get more accustomed to our presence and did not take off immediately any more when I openend the door. But they still flew away as soon as I came nearer than about 3 meters. And then one day, when I was watering my plants, I realized that Emma had silently built a "nest" behind a large planting pot with chlorophytum, that I had placed on another very large planting pot, that was filled with earth, just beneath the long leaves that were hanging from the pot. And she had laid 2 eggs. So what to do now?

As I did not know how long she was already sitting on these eggs I decided to leave her where she was and try to do everything a bit more comfortable for her i.e. I placed some more planting pots around her in order to protect her from further disturbance and view. And I had still no idea what would come next. Oh my - if I had known before...

Things took on and then one day - on the 9th of April in 2008 - the first egg hatched and out came something tiny, with golden-yellow "hair", a big head, huge feet, some strange huge eyes which still could not see, a wonderful living creature that changed our lives completely. This was Willy, our "first born". And then, two days later, little Joey climbed out of his egg shell.

This was also the birth of my diary, the Pigeon Tales, a documentary about everything that happened from now on...

And this was also the launching day of my pigeons series of paintings...

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Purple Elegance in the Bedroom should not be sinister

You know I love the colour purple and I absolutely love rooms where this colour is used in abundance. But when you decorate a room in a relatively dark colour such as this one you need something that adds an equipoise in form of something light. Bedrooms need not be sinister and dark! I really don't understand why a very dark room should help to find sleep easier than a light, friendly and serene room?

Everything in this room adds to a sinister feeling. The colours are a perfect match but everything is equally dark. So if this were my room I would lighten it up with some paintings which bring some airiness into these 4 walls such as these ones from the Pigeons series:

The paintings are painted in acrylic on cotton. The first is called Contemplation on a Feather, the second one The Rain Dancer. For both the same beautiful pigeon was the model.

 "Contemplation on a Feather"

(from the Pigeons series) 

18" x 26" acrylic

©Petra Voegtle

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"The Rain Dancer"

(from the Pigeons series) 

18" x 26" acrylic

©Petra Voegtle

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

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A Dining Room in minimalist Style but so cold...

While I hate overstuffed and crowded rooms - the complete opposite is equally not to my liking.
Honestly folks - how would YOU feel in such a place? This may be hipp but who would feel comfort and really could enjoy a good meal here? The floor is cold, table and chairs do not really look inviting although the four of them would suggest that you expect some company? The wall is blank besides some fixtures and the lamp might be trendy but may add some warmth only when lit in the dark.
So what to do here?

(original image source www.housebeautiful.com)

Solution: at least adding some art on the wall. Such as this one, few colours only to stick to the design style but at least something for the eye to rest on:

The acrylic painting is from the Fossils series: Triassic Prints III. Like a faux marble painting it depicts the patterns of black marble but with the inclusion of ferns - which have been added btw with a special dye resist technique to embed them into the "stone surface".

"Triassic Prints III"

(from the "Fossils" series)

40" x 13", acrylic on cotton

©Petra Voegtle

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Too boring to sleep here?

Imagine you cannot find sleep because you are in a room that is so "calm" that your mind finds nothing to concentrate on? This sounds paradox to you? But exactly this would happen to me if had to sleep in this room. The night is dark and you cannot see anything anyway - you might reply - but there is something else to keep in mind. You look at a room normally with daylight or artificial light. So you SEE how a room looks like and this is in your memory already. A boring room is not a room where we find peace and calmness - boring things can even annoy - and gone is the sleep...

The room below is probably "only" a guest room and not the master bedroom but in any way it looks boring I'm afraid to say. Maybe the owner is going to decorate this room a bit further - just a guess.

There is nothing in this room that interests the eye. That's a shame. You don't need much to add a bit of a focus, an object of interest. Without this the room just looks very unkind.

I would have chosen a piece of art painted in bright colours that build some contrast to the wall. In this case it is "Sari 2", a painting and handprint with an interesting pattern, framed in a decent gilded wood frame.

"Sari 2" is an acrylic painting on heavy water colour paper that has been additionally hand printed with some ancient Indian wood blocks from my collection in order to add some beautiful patterns which normally are used on Saris and other textiles.

"Sari 2"

(from the Prints series)

15" x 20", acrylic on paper

©Petra Voegtle

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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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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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