Show me your original art pieces

[davi_el_mejor]

What are your 4 favorite original pieces in your house? Whether you did them, your kids/family did them or you bought them...

I'll start off.

 

[MonkeyPie]

Your first two (and personally created) pieces are beautiful! I love those sort of abstract paintings. Very pretty.

 

[dragonfly411]

Give me a bit and I'll post a couple I've done, most of my things I keep on the wall are packed though, so I won't be able to share them.

 

[ChloeTheGreat]

I spent some time as an art major in college (ultimately ended up using art as a minor and majored in finance...)
I don't display my art, but I have tons of it in large boxes. Some of my pieces, done in cut paper, are fragile and I feel better about them being safe out of reach. Also, my art is usually very bright colors, but my living space is decorated in neutrals.

 

[Cehrabehra]

aw, I love this thread! I have some really wonderful pieces - paintings and sculptures mainly - but they're in storage back in the states. Here I have some chinese paintings but they border on crafty in my opinion. The only piece of art I have here is a wood carving out of zebra wood my father did and gave to us as a wedding gift. Well, and one of those sandstone carvings that are done by hand but mass produced and imported from africa... and a hand painted mask from venice... but again, bordering crafty. My paintings back home are unique originals. My favorite piece is a copper piece my father made as part of his master's thesis when he got his art degree... it is about 2'x1' or so and heavy! It is reminiscent of a klein bottle but not exactly. His bachelors was in physics so it combines his two degrees and is striking and utterly unique. I still remember him making it when I was little...

 

[davi_el_mejor]

Thanks Monkey I can't do realism, so I go for pretty (hahaha it's deeper than that, but in it's most rudimentary form it all ends up as pretty)
Dragonfly can't wait to see some of your stuff!
Chloe I don't see why crazy fun colors can't go in a neutral space, especially if it's your own work!
Cehra what a great story! I had to google a klein bottle... very interesting! I bet it is an amazing piece.

 

[ChloeTheGreat]

Oh I agree, sometimes pops of color are great.
Growing up, I always had very bright colors in my bedroom. In high school, I had a bedroom with red walls. My tastes have changed. And my art was not created with the idea that it would hang in my living room, so while I like looking at it, some of the pieces would not be pleasing to see every day.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

Oh I agree, sometimes pops of color are great.
Growing up, I always had very bright colors in my bedroom. In high school, I had a bedroom with red walls. My tastes have changed. And my art was not created with the idea that it would hang in my living room, so while I like looking at it, some of the pieces would not be pleasing to see every day.

Now that is interesting! My mind went wild conjuring up what that could mean...

 

[ChloeTheGreat]

Well, I'm a perfectionist. And while I liked the end result on many projects, I would pick and prod at every imperfection if I saw them all the time. Also, since I did these pieces while I was in school to meet requirements of assignments, they were not done with media I was comfortable with and the subject matter leaves much to be desired.
There are two framed paintings of mine: one in my mother's house and one in my father's house. Those were fairly independent projects and I was happy with the results.

 

[reader]

I am recently divorced. My best friend of ten years, asked me if we could begin a romantic relationship. All of our friends responded with a collective "finally". Apparently, everyone around us saw something we just failed to take notice of. One friend was bored at work and decided to draw this. The Vancouver Island marmot is Canada's most critically endangered species, and my favorite animal. My boyfriend is an environmentalist, and his greatest concern is ocean conservation, hence the orca.

I do have other, more pricey art. But I loved not only the sentiment behind it, but her adorable style.

 

[Loves Vintage]

reader!!!!!!!!! Wow, that is so sweet. Not looking again because I'm about to cry!!

 

[dragonfly411]

Sorry I'm taking so long. Studying caught up with me.

 

[kenny]

I took 3 art classes, beginning drawing and two watercolor classes.
All these are from those classes.
I'll post a few.

This is a charcoal drawing.
I was drawn from a picture in National Geographic.
16" x 23"

 

[kenny]

Watercolor
13" x 20.
Painted from a picture in National Geographic.

 

[kenny]

Watercolor 14" x 20 ".

This assignment was to paint a copy of a watercolor from a famous watercolor painter.
I chose John Singer Sargent's "In Medici Villa" from 1907.
It is one of his many stunning watercolors of the fountains in Italy.



Below is a photo of the original Sargent I copied.
Note how by getting the color temperatures just right he conveys a sense of realism even thought his style is deliciously loose.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Those are beautiful, Kenny!!!!

 

[kenny]

This is a full-sheet watercolor of the glass doorknob to the kitchen of our 1920s house.
22" x 30"

 

[kenny]

One morning I awoke to drops of dew on a spider web on the old iron gate in front of our house.

 

[kenny]

Details from the doorknob watercolor.
The glass was actually the easiest part.
It was just a zillion little tiny paintings with, say, a little brown on the left and some yellow on the upper right corner blending into blue in the lower right corner.
The hardest part was the large wood area, because one screw up and all the work on the glass would have been wasted.
I should have painted it first, but painted it last after working 6 months on the glass.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Kenny, you may have missed my comment above, but I LOVE your work!

I'm going to try to post a couple of pieces done by my daughter at age 12.

 

[missydebby]

DAYUM!!!!! Just fabulous Kenny!!!!!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Another by my daughter at age 12 (these were just cheaply framed for an art show...I need to reframe them):

 

[kenny]

Very nice DS.
You must be one proud mama!

 

[kelpie]

Wow Wow Wow, Kenny! You are far too modest, that's amazing!

My home is filled with original art mostly by my mom. I did just buy a little water color of a boat framed and matted on display at a diner this evening for just $35. It must have been a labor of love.

Works from my mom:

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

Holy crap, Kenny. Your watercolors are beautiful!

Please, for the love of diamonds, paint your Octavia!!!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Very nice DS.
You must be one proud mama!

Thanks, Kenny! I am very proud of her! She actually draws better than she can paint at this point, but I don't have any pictures of her sketches.

But back to you...you need to be doing art as a career or at least part-time!!!! I think there are many who would gladly buy your work! That doorknob is a masterpiece and I adore the spiderweb as well!

 

[kenny]

Thanks guys.
I think I posted some of these years ago here.
I haven't touched a brush in 5 years but am about to.
My SO has held a gun against my head and insisted I paint a watercolor of some flowers for his dear friend who is moving away.

I hope I remember how.
Watercolor has a mind of its own.
Also there is no white paint; anywhere you see white is where the white of the paper was carefully saved.

There actually IS white watercolor paint but it is opaque and I'm a watercolor purist who never uses it.
The magic of watercolor is its luminous transparency.
The light goes through the paint, hits the white paper and bounces back (reminds me of a diamond).
In fact, one technique is to stack up separate layers of color like stained glass.

Yes I'll eventually paint the Octavia; my SO asked for a painting of this pic.

 

[packrat]

Davi, I love that top one of yours a lot!

Kenny, forgive me but I'm a little stunned right now so I don't know what to say.

DS, your daughters work is beautiful!

Kelpie, I love your mom's paintings!

I don't have much. I used to draw a lot, in high school. I had to turn a bunch of drawings in to my Art teacher my Senior year so I could graduate early and when I went to pick them up she said she didn't think I wanted them back and threw them away. I thought I was going to be sick. And I think she lied. I have one that I did after I graduated but it's in a photo album and my scanner doesn't work for some reason. If I can figure it out I'll post it. It's not on a level w/the stuff posted here by any means. Plus, I've got some things London did too that I want to share-I think you guys will get a kick out of them.

ETA, I did a painting my Freshman year of HS that won a ribbon in an art show. It was a weather balloon in storm clouds w/lightening. Gone to who knows where now. That year we also used these waxy type crayons I forget what they're called, and we each chose a picture to copy. Mine was black, yellow and green (or blue) and white..it was like shadows of people and a doorway/window and light coming in. Angular and funky looking. I was SO proud of it b/c it looked exactly like the picture. No clue where it is.

 

[that_someone_special]

Would love to have a hallway of paintings by kenny..

Watercolor was one of the mediums that I could never do with grace..

 

[Irishgrrrl]

All of the artwork is beautiful! Thanks for sharing, everyone!

Kenny, I just have to say . . . you are SO talented! The doorknob is just . . . WOW!!!