Art

New Artist Spotlight

February 4th, 2012 17 Comments

Thoughts from Sally: I discovered a new artist not long ago – at least she is a new artist to ME. Meet Leslie M.W. Graff - who floored me with her images celebrating the artistry of domestic life.

paintings by Leslie Graff,

Sparkly Clean

I love the colors of Sparkly Clean, above. A black and white floor in the kitchen is one of my favorite choices for a kitchen, and red as an accent color makes it POP! Do you see any similarities between your mother and Leslie’s model? (which might be Leslie herself.)

I love her paintings for their peppy and fun depiction of home life – which reminds me of the 1950-60′s. Can’t you just see Lucille Ball? Who wouldn’t want to be reminded of that seemingly innocent and idyllic time? Leslie, however, explains on her website that she is doing something deeper, she strives to “create striking aesthetic images that explore deeper questions related to family life.”

artist leslie graff and oil paintings
A Full Plate
Look at this one of the wonderful homemade cookies! Does anyone get homemade cookies when they come home from school anymore? (Does anyone come directly home from school anymore?)
On her website page “About the Domestic Series” she refers to exploring “resource allocation”, “domestic traditions”, “longevity of domestic artifacts”, and “female identity.”  I love that part about longevity of domestic artifacts. Could that possibly mean the old coca cola bottle I have in the basement which has a sprinkler top and was used for sprinkling your ironing to make it damp? Or the 1940′s roaster that has gotten me through a pinch or two in my kitchen?

Soft and Clean

These large scale paintings can be fun to place in a kitchen, big mud room, or large back hall. Of course, similarly to the very large Roy Lichtenstein paintings in the 1960′s, these graphic paintings could make an appearance in all the major rooms in your house, too. It would give your house a modern aesthetic, if that is what you like.
paintings by leslie graff

Stirring Things Up

Art is best chosen when you have a great emotional connection to it. I love to find new artists. What do you think of Leslie’s work?

Perspective magazine interviews Sally and she is speaking at the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair

November 7th, 2011 7 Comments

I am so proud of my Sally, getting the recognition and attention she deserves! In Perspective magazine, Sally describes several living rooms she has designed in a  live interview with Jen Driscoll, the magazine’s editor. This link takes you to the introduction to the story. Sally’s interview is on the following page. 

 

 

This coming Saturday, she has been asked to give a presentation on Decorating with Antique Books and Art Prints at the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair.  She’s in the process of pulling together final images, etc. over these next few days. Yesterday, she showed me what she had put together so far. Attendees won’t be disappointed!

Axel Vervoordt, Timeless Interiors

 

September 2011 Veranda, Travel Journal Section

 

April 2011 Architectural Digest, interior design by Jeffrey Bilhuber

 

Here’s to a busy and productive week!

Cheers,

An evening with Flexjet and Rolls Royce and getting ready for a photo shoot

September 23rd, 2011 4 Comments

This past Wednesday, Sally and I attended Flexjet’s introduction of their latest Learjet upgrades to their fleet of planes. Andrew Mearns, Flexjet Sales Director,  couldn’t have done a better job putting together a delightful evening. With informal and very friendly tours of the planes hosted by the plane captains, we were made to feel immediately at home. Over hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, we caught up with Jeff Monahan, web/graphic/ brand designer extrordinaire (Monahan & Rhee), Janice Amour (It’s Your Move, Inc.) and Jerry Acari ( Landri and Arcai), our Oriental rug guru, and his charming wife, Daisy.

Rolls Royce was on hand as well, offering rides in their new Phantom and Ghost. Yes, you got to drive… Did you know that while sitting in the back seat, you can see the Rolls Royce hood ornament, even with front seats occupied? This is a criterion in every Rolls Royce that is designed. That’s attention to detail and to the experience! Sally thoroughly enjoyed her time behind the wheel…

All too soon, we headed home with the ride quality of our Mercedes feeling rather lacking… Thursday was another day and we had to begin getting a small beach cottage Sally did this summer styled for a Friday or Monday photo shoot. (Please pray for sunshine one of these two days for us! We’ve been rained out once already!) The project was done on a tight budget. It’s all about very thouhgtful use of color and texture. Here’s a scouting shot of the dining area taken by our photographer Michael Lee several weeks ago as we walked the cottage.

Michael is terrific. As he took the various scouting shots, he talked us through the  opportunites he saw in each one and why he thought one particular angle would show the project better than another. He had several great suggestions for styling that will help the composition and effect of several of the shots we’ve decided to do.

I’ve put together 4 shadow boxes of salt water fishing plugs that I carve and paint with an airbrush to go on the wall behind the dining table.

We’ve considered using the flies I tie as accents… Not sure about them yet. Friends tell me that I should be designing/making/selling custom hair extensions and ear rings ???

 

And we found some very cool fish for the wall behind the sofa. Here they are laid out on the floor.

Sunshine or no, I will be missing all the excitement. Tomorrow morning I am off to the Moosehead Lake area in northern Maine to fish for native brook trout and landlocked salmon. If I am fortunate enough to bring a native brookie to the net, I will be sure to take and share a picture with you. Usually no more than 6 – 8 inches long, the colors Mother Nature has endowed this little fish with are breathe taking. Worst case, I will come home with a memory card full of fall foliage pictures. I’m told it is at its peak where we are going.

 Sally has had her “Color Engine” running on all cylinders lately. I will see if I can persuade her to post a few color/material schemes she ahs been working on while I am of and about.

Cheers,