It’s A Lady!
That’s what Clara said when she woke up and saw our freshly hung real art in the kitchen. It was cute. And we laughed. And then she squealed “She’s swimming! Look, fishies!” which are most definitely not in there, but the girl has quite an imagination. So hooray for imaginary fishies.
I described this gal as “real art” because it’s actually our first big art purchase ever. It’s a large print of an original oil painting by an amazing Etsy artist that we just couldn’t get out of our mind. And at $195 it was definitely a splurge for folks like us who usually frame free art that we make ourselves or hunt thrift stores and garage sales for cheapo options, but we figure that we’ve done a lot of things to save a really significant amount of money on our kitchen (like reusing our cabinets/sink/faucet, getting pendant lights from an outlet and a range hood on craigslist, reselling things like our old granite and over-the-range microwave on craigslist, building our own fridge surround/hood cover/open shelving, getting on-sale tile and clearanced out cork and installing it ourselves, buying inexpensive lab stools from a school supply shop, etc).
So yeah, it took a bit of rationalizing with ourselves and saying “dude, you have saved money in so many other places, and you love this art and don’t have any real art in the entire house yet- just take the plunge already!” So we did. And it feels good. In the words of Katy Perry: No regrets. Just love.
So yes, we’re calling it our V-day gift to each other (and our beloved kitchen). And it was icing on the cake when Clara got excited about it too. Burger has yet to react but we’ll keep you posted.
Doesn’t our lady swimming with imaginary fish look especially cheerful with two pink tulips leftover from book shoots (yup, those are still going on – they wrap this Friday and today we’re actually shooting cover stuff – ahhhhhh). As for framing our lady, I’m sure one day we’ll man up and pay to have her professionally framed (they always seem to have those 50% coupons at Michael’s) but sometimes it’s a better balance for us when we spend in one area and then work a bit harder to save in another. So for now we have framed it really inexpensively ourselves, just by getting a simple black frame for $21 at Target and a $4 sheet of archival-quality mat-board at Michael’s (they sell it in their framing department for anyone else who wants to try DIYing it).
This entire framing job was just $25 (for a 31″ x 25″ finished piece!) thanks to already having some white Rustoleum Universal spray paint (the kind with the built-in primer). Yup, I’m completely predictable. You know I spray painted the heck outta that frame (after removing the pane and the backing and laying it out on a piece of cardboard outside). Then I just cut down the archival mat-board to fit the frame and placed the print centered in front of it.
So unlike a pro framing job, this mat isn’t a cut-out window that you look through to view the print – the print just floats right in front of it in the middle, with an equal amount of mat around it to beef it up and fit the frame. The luckiest accident of the whole thing is that the mat-board has subtle gray undertones while the print and the frame are bright-bright-bright white. It actually makes for a nice balance since the soft gray-ish coloring in the mat relates to other softly-gray things in the room (the penny tile, the appliances, etc) and the bright white of the print and the freshly sprayed frame ties into the glossy white molding/trim, our counters, and the dishware on the open shelves.
We love that our print (on archival paper with an archival mat, no less) can always be upgraded with a proper frame down the line, but for now it slips right into the room. And it’s refreshing. Like a big ol’ glass of lemonade. Or a dip in the pool. This is actually how we frame a ton of stuff (like all of the things in our hallway of frames, for example) so although it’s not the fancy way, it works for us. Art is definitely one of those highly personal things though, so this method might be heresy for some folks out there! Just do whatever works for you and your house and cover your walls with stuff that makes you smile.
We have to admit that real art is definitely addictive. Our little swimmer lady confirms that sometimes a wall splurge can make you pretty dang giddy. So we’re definitely hoping that the occurrence of saving up for art that we love isn’t just a one time thing! What have you guys been framing lately? Do you have a favorite framing method? Do your children see imaginary fish? Let’s talk.
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Sherry! LOVE the new print. It’s perfect in your kitchen, and tell Clara I can totally see the fish. Just a tip to protect your investment, take your mat to a frame shop and have them cut the hole for you. Over time, having the print rest directly against the glass will be damaging…. OH just saw Debra’s comment. She’s on it. Tis true.
Love that tip! That’s definitely the plan!
xo,
s
addictive – not addicting
:-)
Haha, you’re right! Thanks!
xo,
s
I just wanted to ask- does the print touch the glass? If so it can actually stick and become damaged. That’s actually the point to most matting. If it is currently touching the glass I’d look into having someone cut the mat for you ( even if that’s all they do without having custom framing done) so that you don’t run the risk of damaging your art.
Thanks for the tip Jackie! We have learned that (these comments are so full of great tips) and plan to have our mat cut down for cheap by a local framing shop (with a window so it can go in front). Yay!
xo,
s
I have a couple of the smaller versions of those paintings marked in my etsy favorites! I was a swimmer in high school and I was a lifeguard for years and when I came across these beautiful paintings months ago I fell in love! I want to get a couple for a wall in my bedroom.
No way! Me too! I was a high school swimmer (even lucked into going to states on year) and was a lifeguard for years too! High five.
xo,
s
Hey! Don’t forget that you live very very close to one of the best art colleges in the country! VCU’s painting and printmaking department has an annual spring art sale! You can score some wonderful handmade artwork from some up-and-coming artists right here town!
Love it! Can’t wait to check it out!
xo,
s
yea bob. take your art degree and shove it. we dont care! she likes. we like. go write your own blog if youre so concerned about proper terms!
and get a degree in nice-ity while youre at it
After over 100 comments from Bob (usually about our bad art or design decisions, what we have made more complicated than it needed to be, math errors, etc) I have learned that Bob likes to have the last word. Just a warning to anyone jumping in!
xo,
s
Compare Caroline to Erin just above. Erin makes a fantastic point about VCU. It’s one of the top art programs in the country. If you want “real art” you have to go find it. I like Etsy too, I just think we should use proper terms when discussing these things. Sherry has an enormous audience and I think she has a duty to educate her readers on simple matters such as this.
And I do have my own blog. Fortunately my readership already has a good understanding of art basics. Our job isn’t just making art. Unfortunately we have to educate the public too. It is what it is. But I promise one thing, there’s a significant portion of the readership here that agrees with me about this, they just won’t say anything. That’s OK too.
Your new kitchen looks A-MAZING! It’s been awhile since I’ve stopped by your blog and I was so excited to see the finished kitchen. Great job!
Aw, thanks Sarah!
xo,
s
I love the painting, the colors are beautiful and I too thought there were fishes in there! Like the lady was swimming in a goldfish pond, so I’m with Clara! I’m an art addict but am happy enough with prints that I frame myself… And I’ll share my trick for affordable framing: Grab those coupons and head to Michaels and pick up some modular frame pieces. They come in a pack of two and if you have a 27 x 34 print, you’d need a pack of 27″ pieces and a pack of 34″ pieces. With both of you, two coupons could be used in two transactions for extra savings! Have the frame department cut you a piece of foam core the same size as your print and it’s just a couple of bucks. Now, head over to your home store and get a piece of thin plexiglas, the smallest you’ll need for your print. Lowes will give you two cuts for free, so you can get it cut to size. The frame pieces screw together with brackets that are included and the plexiglas slides right in. I use some spray photo adhesive (also purchased with a coupon) to mount the art to the foamcore. Pop the mounted art into the frame, tighten up the brackets and Voila! A lightweight, unbreakable frame job for a big piece of art! You can also add a mat, by having your foamcore cut to the print size + inches on all sides for the mat and then having a mat cut to the same size with the opening cut the same size as the art. (That may have been clear as mud!). Give it a whirl!
Great tips Janet!
xo,
s
Your new painting is beautiful! It looks so perfect in you stunning ‘new’ kitchen..so fresh and lovely!
I am with Clara…I can totally see the fishies :-)
I don’t think we have any original art in the house, well at the moment we have absolutely nothing on the walls as we’re still renovating the house, but I look forward to hunting some down sometime soon. And I can’t wait to get going with some home made ‘art projects’ too :-)
Our first “real” art was an oil painting we received as a wedding gift, hand-painted by my great-aunt just for us. The painting is really well done, but the frame is very…well let’s just say it’s fitting for the age of the painter. So we’ve never hung it up. We just spent $200 to get it re-framed (yay 50% off framing at Michaels!) It’s a lot of money, but well-worth it for a painting with such incredible meaning to us.
Our first purchased “real” art was from Etsy as well. We needed something HUGE because our Great Room is open concept and has 9ft ceilings. We found a painting we loved and the artist re-created it on the size that we needed. Etsy is great because there are so many up-and-coming talented artists and they usually don’t charge nearly what they should for their wares.
I love the way the print pops in the kitchen. so nice and happy! I had one tip on DIY framing. I found a guy on craigslist once who does framing out of his garage, and he was willing to just cut mat to my specs, based on my art and my store-bought frame, and it was very inexpensive all together. The way you have it looks great, but since it’s a pricier piece, I would worry about the glass sticking to the print and damaging it. It’s happened to me but I didn’t care b/c I could easily replace the photo in the frame. But yours is a bit more special I think. If you want to avoid the trouble of the mat entirely, you just have to make sure there is a little slice of air between the print and the glass, and there maybe ways to do that using something you have around the house. Or maybe you’ve already thought of all this. :)
Oh yes we’ve heard about spacers and putting a mat in front to keep it from touching the glass! Thanks for the tip!
xo,
s
Sherry–I posted above about swimming in high school. I made it to states in my 400 freestyle relay all 4 years, haha! I was a great freestyle swimmer! I have a 15 month old son who has a little girlfriend named Clara :) If you ever come to Charlotte we could totally meet up for lunch or something!
Haha- I love it! Here’s hoping our kiddos take up swimming so we can cheer them on like weirdos!
xo,
s
that is THE coolest painting ever!!!!! I adore it!!! :) :) And it looks fantastic in your kitchen. If I could find something like that, that would rock!
http://munchtalk.blogspot.com/
Hi there, this may seem random, but I trust your opinion. Did your tea kettle (I am assuming it is enamel) come with a warning about using it on glass-top stoves? We just ordered a lovely Kitchen Aid kettle but it says it is not recommended for glass top stoves because the two can fuse together. I am thinking it just shouldn’t boil dry and we’ll be okay.
Thanks in advance for thoughts!
Woah, really? Ours didn’t say that! We also had another kettle before this one that didn’t say that either. So strange! Anyone know of this? Maybe that specific material of your new kettle is more fusable? Or maybe they just started adding those warnings? No idea! Wish I could be of more help!
xo,
s
Love the print! Great splurge!! Plus you’re supporting an artist directly, which is always best.
Not that I’m doing a sales pitch or anything, but one of my photographer friends turned me on to AmericanFrame.com. You can order frames in whatever size you want, get mats cut, and all kinds of craziness that let’s you do the putting together and still have a professional look. I’ve done a whole bunch of things that would have cost me tons at a lot lower price. They look great!
Guys seriously! I Love your blog and all the innovation you do. But you JUST CANNOT call a print as “real art”. Its one of those unacceptable things in life. It really hurts people who are real artists i.e., throwing words around like “real art” for what is essentially a poster.. I’m not denying that the print is absolutely gorgeous. But its just that. A print. I wish you wouldnt call a print as a piece of Art. Its not a real painting and not real art. It really saddens me to see that in todays age, something churned out from a printing machine is called as “real art”. My 2 cents on the subject…
I completely respect everyone’s right to define art in their own way – and I truly believe this is one of those it’s-different-for-everyone things. This was an original oil painting done by a real artist that we couldn’t afford. So we purchased the print. It’s gorgeous and we love it, so to us it is real art when compared to all of the DIY stuff and thrift store finds that grace our walls (there are prints that are worth thousands of dollars and generally would be considered to be real art by many collectors and individuals). I generally think the definition of “real art” is one of those extremely personal things. There are galleries with controversial things on the wall (urine and blood or garbage) that 5 people would say are most definitely not art while 5 others would argue that it’s totally art in its own right!
xo,
s
I do understand what you are trying to say and thanks for responding back. I guess the words “art imitates life and vice versa” never rang more true.. btw what is that yellow box like thingie under the frame, it looks so damn cute… I tried looking it up but didn’t find any relevant post on it.
That’s actually a radio by Tivoli (we got it on sale though jossandmain.com). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I mean looks like a radio that you painted
It actually came that way! Bright and happy yellow!
xo,
s
Hi, where is that radio from? So happy and cute and retro!
nevermind!
It’s funny how even though you might expect something like art or home decor to be over the heads of our little kiddos… they notice! My son recently got excited when I hung a painting I did during his nap… it was so fun that he loved it as much as I did.
So cute!
xo
s
I think I found this pic around the same time I found your blog, when I was trying to figure out what on earth to do with our bedroom. Anyway, I kept this and the picture of your old bedroom (with similar bedside closet). But I just noticed the painting behind the bed reminds me of the one in your kitchen.
http://img4.myhomeideas.com/i/legacy/design/ct/04/05/CT0405133c_1_y.jpg
Oh yeah, totally!
-John
So how did your discover your art? I get so overwhelmed on Etsy and can’t seem to find anything I like by using the search engine. I just signed up for 20X200 and I peruse local art shows but I just can’t seem to find a good source for my first “art” purchase.
I just troll etsy and find a lot or artists through Pinterest or recommendations of readers or friends. I wish I had a method, but it’s mostly just clicking around and trying to flag what I like so I don’t forget!
xo,
s
I was wondering what size your print is? I love it and want to order one for my house, but can’t decide what size to get.
Hmm, does it come in more than one size? I think there’s just one so if you follow the link it’s that size. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Where id you get the picture above the stove. Its amazing I have to have one!
Aw thanks Emily! I actually painted that for a pinterest challenge a while back- and John made the frame! Here’s that post for ya: http://www.younghouselove.com/2012/07/summer-pinterest-challenge-paint-party/
xo
s