July01

new art

We have had the same large piece of art hanging on the main wall in our living room since we moved into our house 4 years ago. It’s a large Roy Lichtenstein print (see left). I like it ok – but I didn’t choose it. When we moved in, we were in absolutely no position to spend money on art and it was the only thing we had that was big enough to fit the space. Kicker: it was a gift to Travis from his ex-wife. It’s the main piece of art in our living room. AWKWARD.

We’ve been talking about buying something new for about year, but we’ve been really unsure about what we’d get to replace it.

Enter my friend Paul, who is a cartoonist and illustrator. We have decided to commission him to do something for us but WHAT?!? I would guess I’m not alone in knowing art I like when I see it, but suck royally when I have to come up with ideas. (suck royally? who is writing this blog, a 14 year old boy?)

I called Paul the other day and confessed that I am an idea-less wonder. Luckily, he said I could just send him some examples of art I like and he’d do the rest. “Ideas are not a problem,” he said (cue angels singing).

My sister is a graphic/web designer and suggested I register at Image Spark to see if I could find some inspiration. The idea is that you search through millions of images and pick out ones you like and add them to a gallery.

It’s pretty interesting to look at the images I chose and try to see what kind of pattern/theme shows up. Animals, cityscapes, goofballs? Skyscrapers, bicyclists, gum?

If you’re ever in need of any visual inspiration (or are trying to kill time), I suggest you check it out.