Please NO!

I really don't understand this. In a country where you can find so much remarkable art and wonderful handcrafted objects you would use ugly advertising posters on a wall in order to prove being chic and trendy? Please no!

When I found this interior design photo of a dining room in Thailand I was exceptionally disappointed because the possibilities to find suitable wall decoration there are galore. So why these ugly posters?

To be honest I don't like these chairs and the table either but at least they go well together with the room itself and the window setting.

If I had a say in this I would immediately exchange the wall art for these:

The wall art on the opposite side is in fact a fine art print of a crop of a silk painting. The original silk painting belongs to the Magic Landscapes series and is shown below:

"The Valley"
(from the Magic Landscapes Series)
silk, 21" x 40"
©Petra Voegtle

 

The other art piece is a wood block print and acrylic painting on heavy paper:

 "Sari 2"

(from the Prints series)

15" x 20", acrylic on paper

©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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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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Saris on the Wall - as Paintings

This is a wonderfully airy hallway - space in abundance, no clutter. There is plenty of room for decoration if you want to do this and I have some suggestions.
My brandnew work would look fabulous on these walls, an eyecatcher in colour and some teasing for the viewer because not everything is as it seems...

If you look at the original setting there is too much blank space in my opinion and a focal object is needed. I don't know why the interior designer placed this chaiselongue in this room as its purpose is not quite clear to me - maybe it is only an extension to the garden/terrace area but even then I miss some additional seats.

The two paintings belong to my brandnew series about Patterns. I painted in various red shades on heavy watercolour paper and finally added block printing with ancient Indian handcarved wooden models from my collection. The graphical elements were highlighted with metallic pigments to evoke a more authentic feeling of those heavily embroidered saris Indian women tend to wear for their weddings.

"Sari I"

(from the Patterns series)

20" x 15", acrylic on paper

©Petra Voegtle

The second sari piece was shadow printed with 2 colours, green and gold, which can be seen in the detail photo.

"Sari II"

(from the Patterns series)

20" x 15", acrylic on paper

©Petra Voegtle

If you would like to know more about this series please check my blog Images and Imagination which is all about art...

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