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Here is a great article listing reasons why original art in the home is important. I particularly like Reason #8!
13 REASONS WHY ORIGINAL ART IN THE HOME IS AS IMPORTANT AS A BED
Written by Kayla Miller
Having original art in the home is vital to your well being. Art is a key piece of furniture for many reasons and yet it is sometimes put on the back burner in comparison to other home objects. This list is dedicated to the understanding of importance of art from perspectives of interior design, well being, social atmosphere, creating a mood in the home, and more. One quote that stands out about the importance of original art is the following, “You would never put fake books on your bookshelf, so why would you put fake art on your walls?”
1. Creates Mood
Brain scans have revealed that looking at works of art trigger a surge of dopamine into the same area of the brain that registers desire, pleasure, and romantic love (https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-the-wild-things-are/201109/love-desire-and-art). Romantic, sublime landscapes provoke contemplation of nature and purity. Such works then create a mood of peace and are good for relaxation rooms such as the bedroom.
2. Adds Personal Character to the Home
We all love to express ourselves, be it through clothing, accessories, social media - the list goes on! Original art in the home is a perfect way to express your artistic and aesthetic interests in a way different from most, for original artworks are one of a kind.
3. Makes Memories
Buying an original work of art is an experience. For whatever reason, you were drawn to a specific piece (or multiple). You may have seen it at a show opening, had a nice trip to the ice cream shop before hand. Whatever happened leading up to/during/after the purchase of a meaningful original work will be remembered every time you see it. This will not happen with a poster from Ikea.
4. Provides a Color Palette
When rooms have a lot of colors, or many shades of the same color, it can become overwhelming. An original work of art is a beautiful, meaningful way to tie everything together and create a general focal point.
5. Makes a Room Feel Finished
When walls are empty, a room does not necessarily look bad, but by no means does it look finished. Rooms with empty walls are functional rooms in a house. Rooms with original art work are comfortable rooms in a home.
6. Inspires and Fosters Creativity
This one is simple - in rooms with no art, artistic expression is lacking and therefore the need and want for creativity is not very prominent. On the opposite end of the spectrum, original artworks foster creativity, expression, artistic inspiration. This is particularly important in homes with children as being surrounded by artwork will allow creative thinking. This idea is expanded on in reason 11.
7. Conversation Starter
As mentioned in reason 2, hanging original art in your home is a way of expressing oneself. That being said, guests will always be curious about the choice of artwork, the story, have questions about the artist, etc. It is a way to show off your art collection while having passionate conversations with house guests.
8. Supports Artists
One of the most important things about buying original artwork is that you are supporting an artist’s career. Each time you have a look at a work in your home, it provides a feel-good emotion that you are assisting an artist in achieving the success and recognition they deserve.
9. It is an Investment
Building off of reason 8, not only does owning original work in the home allow you to support artists’ careers, but it is also an investment. These artworks can be passed down through family and friends, be shared with loved ones for many years all while increasing in worth. This is never something that will be achieved with a $12 print from Walmart.
10. Creates a Livable Environment
Art can make rooms that are not necessarily “home-y” become comfortable working and living environments. A home office, for example, can transform from a place of work and business to one of relaxation and productivity all the with addition of an original work of art. Attached is an article explaining how artwork in office spaces improves employee productivity (http://www.forbes.com/sites/drewhendricks/2015/01/12/can-office-artwork-influence-employee-productivity/#243c119d2c44).
11. Keeps the Brain Active
Art is very conceptual, artists use it as a medium to express personal thought, political or social issues, and to make us as viewers think. Some people do quizzes or crossword puzzles to keep their brain active, but another way to do so is to own original artwork in the home, to just sit, look, and think.
12. Relaxation
In a busy, fast-paced world that demands speed and productivity, home should be a place of relaxation. Coming home from a busy day at work to sit on your couch and stare at a TV or a blank wall is not as recharging or relaxing as enjoying an artwork purchased with the means to create a positive mood.
13. Curating Your Own Gallery is Fun!
Last but certainly not least, curating a gallery is fun! Attending show openings, going to galleries, chatting with artists even, it is a fun experience! After a while you will start to notice a theme, in subject matter, color, concept, etc. Playing with moods, composition, placement in the home, of all these reasons why to have art in the home, let’s not forget the fact that it is simply something fun to do.
13 REASONS WHY ORIGINAL ART IN THE HOME IS AS IMPORTANT AS A BED
Written by Kayla Miller
Having original art in the home is vital to your well being. Art is a key piece of furniture for many reasons and yet it is sometimes put on the back burner in comparison to other home objects. This list is dedicated to the understanding of importance of art from perspectives of interior design, well being, social atmosphere, creating a mood in the home, and more. One quote that stands out about the importance of original art is the following, “You would never put fake books on your bookshelf, so why would you put fake art on your walls?”
1. Creates Mood
Brain scans have revealed that looking at works of art trigger a surge of dopamine into the same area of the brain that registers desire, pleasure, and romantic love (https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-the-wild-things-are/201109/love-desire-and-art). Romantic, sublime landscapes provoke contemplation of nature and purity. Such works then create a mood of peace and are good for relaxation rooms such as the bedroom.
2. Adds Personal Character to the Home
We all love to express ourselves, be it through clothing, accessories, social media - the list goes on! Original art in the home is a perfect way to express your artistic and aesthetic interests in a way different from most, for original artworks are one of a kind.
3. Makes Memories
Buying an original work of art is an experience. For whatever reason, you were drawn to a specific piece (or multiple). You may have seen it at a show opening, had a nice trip to the ice cream shop before hand. Whatever happened leading up to/during/after the purchase of a meaningful original work will be remembered every time you see it. This will not happen with a poster from Ikea.
4. Provides a Color Palette
When rooms have a lot of colors, or many shades of the same color, it can become overwhelming. An original work of art is a beautiful, meaningful way to tie everything together and create a general focal point.
5. Makes a Room Feel Finished
When walls are empty, a room does not necessarily look bad, but by no means does it look finished. Rooms with empty walls are functional rooms in a house. Rooms with original art work are comfortable rooms in a home.
6. Inspires and Fosters Creativity
This one is simple - in rooms with no art, artistic expression is lacking and therefore the need and want for creativity is not very prominent. On the opposite end of the spectrum, original artworks foster creativity, expression, artistic inspiration. This is particularly important in homes with children as being surrounded by artwork will allow creative thinking. This idea is expanded on in reason 11.
7. Conversation Starter
As mentioned in reason 2, hanging original art in your home is a way of expressing oneself. That being said, guests will always be curious about the choice of artwork, the story, have questions about the artist, etc. It is a way to show off your art collection while having passionate conversations with house guests.
8. Supports Artists
One of the most important things about buying original artwork is that you are supporting an artist’s career. Each time you have a look at a work in your home, it provides a feel-good emotion that you are assisting an artist in achieving the success and recognition they deserve.
9. It is an Investment
Building off of reason 8, not only does owning original work in the home allow you to support artists’ careers, but it is also an investment. These artworks can be passed down through family and friends, be shared with loved ones for many years all while increasing in worth. This is never something that will be achieved with a $12 print from Walmart.
10. Creates a Livable Environment
Art can make rooms that are not necessarily “home-y” become comfortable working and living environments. A home office, for example, can transform from a place of work and business to one of relaxation and productivity all the with addition of an original work of art. Attached is an article explaining how artwork in office spaces improves employee productivity (http://www.forbes.com/sites/drewhendricks/2015/01/12/can-office-artwork-influence-employee-productivity/#243c119d2c44).
11. Keeps the Brain Active
Art is very conceptual, artists use it as a medium to express personal thought, political or social issues, and to make us as viewers think. Some people do quizzes or crossword puzzles to keep their brain active, but another way to do so is to own original artwork in the home, to just sit, look, and think.
12. Relaxation
In a busy, fast-paced world that demands speed and productivity, home should be a place of relaxation. Coming home from a busy day at work to sit on your couch and stare at a TV or a blank wall is not as recharging or relaxing as enjoying an artwork purchased with the means to create a positive mood.
13. Curating Your Own Gallery is Fun!
Last but certainly not least, curating a gallery is fun! Attending show openings, going to galleries, chatting with artists even, it is a fun experience! After a while you will start to notice a theme, in subject matter, color, concept, etc. Playing with moods, composition, placement in the home, of all these reasons why to have art in the home, let’s not forget the fact that it is simply something fun to do.
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I was thrilled to be able to spend 14 hours visiting the Metropolitan Museum in New York last fall (and barely scratched the surface!). This lovely small painting by Camille Corot "The Curious Little Girl" (1860 Oil on Wood) called out to me. At first I thought the attraction was his use of values (darks and lights) but then I discovered it was the feeling the painting gave me - a little innocent, guilty pleasure, caught in the youthful act of doing something not quite right.
Though best known for his landscapes, Corot's figure paintings were appreciated for their unaffected grace and serenity. He is quoted as saying, "...While I strive for conscientious imitation, I yet never for an instant lose the emotion that has taken hold of me...Reality is one part of art; feeling completes it... Before any site and any object, abandon yourself to your first impression. If you have really been touched, you will convey to others the sincerity of your emotion." (Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot)
Though best known for his landscapes, Corot's figure paintings were appreciated for their unaffected grace and serenity. He is quoted as saying, "...While I strive for conscientious imitation, I yet never for an instant lose the emotion that has taken hold of me...Reality is one part of art; feeling completes it... Before any site and any object, abandon yourself to your first impression. If you have really been touched, you will convey to others the sincerity of your emotion." (Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot)
With this painting ("Mirror" original pastel 24"x36") I hope to convey the feeling I had when I saw this scene - stillness, a place magical in its serenity.
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I send an image of each of my paintings as soon as I finish to a dear friend as a structure to help keep me creating in my studio. She fell in love with "Winter Solstice" and "had to have it", purchasing it before I could get it on the website. How fun!
It's ironic. All my life I dreamed of "someday I will have time to have fun/play/do what I really want" though I never could put my finger on what that would look like. Now that I have discovered creating art and interpreting beauty is what I was looking for, I sometimes have trouble getting myself into my studio. Hard to believe that balancing my checkbook or doing the dishes will get done before my art. Checking in with my friend when I finish a painting - and now checking in with you! - is a gentle nudge to get me in my studio.
Do you ever struggle to make a priority those activities that make your heart sing? How do you make sure they stay at the top of your list?
It's ironic. All my life I dreamed of "someday I will have time to have fun/play/do what I really want" though I never could put my finger on what that would look like. Now that I have discovered creating art and interpreting beauty is what I was looking for, I sometimes have trouble getting myself into my studio. Hard to believe that balancing my checkbook or doing the dishes will get done before my art. Checking in with my friend when I finish a painting - and now checking in with you! - is a gentle nudge to get me in my studio.
Do you ever struggle to make a priority those activities that make your heart sing? How do you make sure they stay at the top of your list?
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During the holidays, I read this beautiful book built around a 350 year old painting, The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius. Malcolm Jones writes a thoughtful article about the book and seeing the original painting in "Face to Face With ‘The Goldfinch".
Having been so business/production/goal oriented all my life, I struggle with my wee small (mean) voice that says, "Producing art is, at best, a selfish act and, at worse, a frivolous waste of time." A very wise friend asked me if, during the many days I spent this June in art museums in Paris and Vienna, whether at any point I thought "What a waste of space" or "That guy should have gotten a real job"? I answered a horrified "Of course not!". Added to my admiration of the talent, heart, passion and courage evidenced in the art I was lucky to see in person, was the awe I felt that these fragile works of art had survived for hundreds of years.
As the author says, "For if disaster and oblivion have followed this painting down through time -- so too has love... It exists; and it keeps on existing. And I add my own love to the history of people who have loved beautiful things, and looked out for them, and pulled them from the fire, and sought them when they were lost, and tried to preserve them and save them while passing them along literally from hand to hand, singing out brilliantly from the wreck of time to the next generation of lovers, and the next."
Having been so business/production/goal oriented all my life, I struggle with my wee small (mean) voice that says, "Producing art is, at best, a selfish act and, at worse, a frivolous waste of time." A very wise friend asked me if, during the many days I spent this June in art museums in Paris and Vienna, whether at any point I thought "What a waste of space" or "That guy should have gotten a real job"? I answered a horrified "Of course not!". Added to my admiration of the talent, heart, passion and courage evidenced in the art I was lucky to see in person, was the awe I felt that these fragile works of art had survived for hundreds of years.
As the author says, "For if disaster and oblivion have followed this painting down through time -- so too has love... It exists; and it keeps on existing. And I add my own love to the history of people who have loved beautiful things, and looked out for them, and pulled them from the fire, and sought them when they were lost, and tried to preserve them and save them while passing them along literally from hand to hand, singing out brilliantly from the wreck of time to the next generation of lovers, and the next."
