Art Principles & Home Decor
Approach your home interior as you would your painting.
A home redecoration project is a wonderful opportunity to deepen your understanding of the fundamentals of art and design.
I'm in the midst of a major home renovation project and can't use my art studio until all the workers are out of the house - eeeek!
While mulling over fabric swatches in various patterns and textures for upholstery, choosing bathroom tiles and pondering which shade of paint to use in each room, I discovered that my understanding of the principles of art increased considerably.
Your creative practice does not only entail spending hours in your studio painting away all day although - don’t get me wrong - that is wonderful to do. There are times however when other things pop up in your life and vie for your full attention, leaving very little time to make art. When this happens as it invariably will, it really helps to discover that you can expand your creative practice beyond the confines of your studio space.
You can create a certain atmosphere in a room with a little bit of thought. Design, value contrast, colour and texture are key elements when considering how you want to feel in your living space.
I'm also thrilled to introduce you to guest artist Alexis Bonavitacola, who shares her passion for abstract art and alcohol inks. Scroll down for more!
Serenity - a mixed media painting on panel
Design
Design is what makes or breaks an artwork or an interior decoration project for that matter. It is without a doubt the most important principle that artists, designers and interior decorators utilize to best effect. Without good design your paintings will simply fail to inspire your audience. The same goes for your home decor.
There are many elements to consider when wondering how to decorate a room. Apart from thoughts about where to place the furniture, what fabrics to use for your upholstery, and what colour scheme would work best to pull the whole project off, you need to ask yourself how do you to want to feel in your home?
Essentially, understanding how you want to live will help you find out what atmosphere you would like to create in your bedroom, living room or kitchen along with all the other rooms in your house. Are you someone who likes loud colour and a dynamic vibe or would you prefer a more subdued aesthetic with soft lighting and a space that exudes calm? Once you understand that, you will better appreciate how best to arrange your furniture and decorative accents to create a flow that resonates for you.
Sometimes asking yourself what do you no longer need and what can you take away is just as important as wondering what to add to your home. This of course also applies when you are in your studio painting.
Reality - a mixed media artwork in black & white
Value
Value is the lightness or darkness of colour. It is a vital principle in art and no less important when decorating your home. The fact is, your eyes are naturally drawn to areas of highest contrast. You can use this principle to your advantage when thinking about how to arrange your decorative items, where to place your furniture and what fabrics to choose.
New Beginnings - calligraphy mixed media painting
Colour
Adding a pop of vibrant saturated colour to a more neutral, muted background is visually stimulating, inviting the viewer to notice a corner in a room.
And remember, if colour is your thing and you want to be surrounded by lots of it, it is wise to use colours that are similar in value otherwise the effect may become a little bit too overwhelming.
Arabesque I - art for your children’s bedroom
Texture
The choices we make when choosing how to decorate our homes speak volumes about us.
Choosing fabrics for your living room or bedroom can be a little daunting at first. How will the fabric that you are looking at in a swatch book look on your sofa or on your curtains you wonder?
I found the best way to approach this dilemma is to first choose a colour palette that resonates for you. Look around you, what is hanging on your walls? Why did you choose to buy that painting that makes your heart sing? What about the rug on the floor? What colours predominate in your wardrobe? Are there any specific colours that speak to you?
Abundance - a luscious peony acrylic painting on canvas
Once you establish a colour scheme that inspires you, think about the textures that you love.
Layering textures in hues close in value instils a sense of calm. If you want to jazz things up a little more, think of adding small bursts of vibrant colour in your cushions for example. Notice how your eyes will appreciate the stimulation because most of the room exudes a Zen-like neutral quiet atmosphere.
As humans we are visually stimulated by differences. A living room with a subdued limited palette but rich in textured fabrics will catch your attention. You will begin to notice the patterns and shapes and sense the feel of the soft furnishings in the room.
Adding an accent centrepiece, which contrasts radically with the more muted background will also make you look again, particularly when added sparingly in a room. l love how this abstract mixed media artwork in yellow hues is complemented by the yellow ottoman and flowers to give this contemporary corner of the room an overall feeling of harmony.
Revealed - abstract art on panel
So my friend, when other commitments take you away from your creative practice, welcome this time as a chance to view your art making from a totally fresh and different perspective.
Home renovations invite us to reinvent how we want to live, entertain, and be in our homes. After all, just like our paintings, our homes are essentially a reflection of who we are on the inside.
How do you want your family and friends to feel when they step into your abode? What creative choices will you make to invite a certain response? Let me know your thoughts. I would love to hear from you!
Sara xo
"Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge."
(Eckhart Tolle)
New Painting in Shop
Primordial Waters - mixed media on panel 30 x 30 cm
If you'd like to try something new and inspiring, head over to my unique CREATIVE ONLINE COURSES to help you navigate your inner terrain through the healing lens of homeopathy and the world of colour, paint and mixed media art.
Alexis is an artist, teacher, mentor, entrepreneur, and passionate human being dedicated to leading a purposeful life.
She specializes in abstract art, especially the energy, motion, and flow of alcohol inks. In addition, Alexis works with encaustic wax and adores the fluidity of the molten wax to create unique floral images. She has 23 years experience as an educator and holds a PhD in education, loves teaching students of all levels, and taking her art to new levels.
She believes in the value of sharing our talents and giving back to inspire others to grow.
What inspires your creativity?
I am often surprised at what inspires my creativity. I believe the mind needs to be open and relaxed to allow the creative muse to come forth. And, looking at life through a lens of wonder is equally invaluable.
As a life-long educator, I know that our brains are constantly storing ideas, nuggets of information, visuals, and details to remember. There comes a time when the ideas begin to percolate and the what-ifs, the whispers, all start to get louder until we simply can’t ignore them. We have a choice of paying attention or not.
For instance, the other day I came across a painting I created in mixed media and collage in 2012. I was immediately brought back to the joy this painting evoked as well and the risks and experimentation that I felt at that time. I learned that to lean into creativity one can experience both fear and excitement at the same time. Trying this new technique was new, risky, I had no idea of the outcomes, but above all, I wanted to learn. I answered the call to the new idea, the what if.
Over the last several weeks, ideas of floral collage have been swirling around in my head. Discovering this painting felt like a lightning bolt inside my body. And, I just knew me and my creative muse were going on another adventure together.
How did you enter the world of art?
I like to say that I am a late bloomer. While studying for my PhD in education in my late 50’s, I felt that my mind was working in a very linear non-creative fashion. Research and writing on the doctoral level was forcing me to constantly employ my left-brain, the analytical and methodical part of my brain, and I needed creativity!
In April of 2012, I discovered alcohol inks through a friend, Tommy McDonnell, and she introduced me to Karen Walker, one of the pioneers of alcohol ink. I absolutely fell in love with alcohol inks. I joined a small Facebook Group at the time - only 50 alcohol inks artists - and also became one of the early adopters of alcohol ink as a fine art medium.
Nothing gave me more joy than the day my art was selected to be part of a three and a half month exhibit at The Morris Museum, in Morristown, NJ. I knew then that the inks had entered the world of fine art.
I notice you paint a lot of flowers. What is it about them that sparks your art process?
Flowers are absolutely beautiful to me and I can get lost in their shapes and luscious colors. I am always trying to paint blooms in ink, encaustic wax, oil, acrylics and mixed media.
I love to create florals in a more expressive and abstract way, leaving the fine details out of the paintings. Rather than work in fine detail, I instead like to intuitively discover the dance inside the flower, the essence that creates a deeper interest for the viewer.
Tell us a bit about the medium you use - why alcohol inks?
My creations capture energy, movement, and flow, celebrate my natural curiosity, and create a sense of wonder. There is a magic to the inks. Combining blending solution to alcohol inks and allowing the inks to glide across the surface creates a Zen experience for me. Lifting the paper and moving it side to side, watching the inks dance beautifully across the page, is something I will never tire of. There is also a gorgeous stained-glass feeling to alcohol ink with vibrant colors as well as a transparent feel that creates a very unique look.
How does your background in education inform your creative business?
My educational background is the foundation of my creative business. I’ve spent 23 years either teaching and leading in brick and mortar schools and for the last five years I’ve designed art and business e-courses. I understand learning and while I spent much of my time working with children, adolescents, and most recently at the university level, part of my doctorate was built on understanding adult learners. I am skilled in understanding how to teach, how we learn, how to write content, and also that none of us arrive at an art class as a blank canvas. We bring a lifetime of either excellent experiences of teachers and learning or negative ones. It is my responsibility to help learners move toward greater satisfaction with the learning process and to uncover their beautiful gifts as artists. For me, the goal of every class is about personal transformation and my years in education have been invaluable as important teaching tools.
What words of encouragement can you offer our readers for those who believe they are not creative by nature?
We are all creative and this is a fallacy that we are not creative. I do think that we tend to look at creativity through a narrow lens, though, and when using the word, “creative”, one immediately thinks of artists, musicians, writers - those who live in a certain creative world.
If someone tends to a garden and derives extreme pleasure and purpose from this activity, is this not a creative endeavor? If someone puts together a delicious dinner for their family, isn’t this creative as well? If we broaden our viewpoint of creativity, it helps not put us into categories of either I am creative or I am not creative. Innovation can take many forms and as I said in the beginning of this article, we just need to be open to receiving those messages.
Now, more than ever, with time on our hands, we can think about what we enjoyed in our younger days - a creative hobby that brought us satisfaction back before life became way too busy.
It is a great opportunity to try the what ifs and heed the whispers. There are enormous opportunities for us to try something new and creative now. Take a class. We never, ever know what doors will be open to us until we walk through them. Creativity takes action. Don’t miss that one creative opportunity that is waiting on the other side of that door.
Anything else you'd like to add?
I count myself among the women who are reaching their later years, their “third act”, as Jane Fonda recently called it, and looking to continue a vibrant and fulfilling life. I created my first e-course at 60 years old! For many of us in our 50’s and above, we’ve put their own creative aspirations on hold, remaining silent, invisible, holding back, and pleasing others rather than heeding the creative stirrings inside of us. We are now at a point in our lives when we are ready to pursue our creative dreams. We are resilient, secure, wiser, braver, and feeling a sense of freedom to reimagine our later years as the most fruitful and remarkable times of our lives.
Nothing makes me happier than to know that a woman in her 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and even 80’s, is now able to proudly call herself an artist, to have her art shown in galleries and exhibits, to own her unique talents, and to live extraordinary and transformed lives. My students inspire me every single day!
Find out more about Alexis.
