So I got my art on this weekend.  And I have to say, I really enjoyed it.  Aside from my little venture into attempting a black and white abstract, this is the closest I’ve come to creating something truly my own with proper acrylics since High School.  And yes, we’re talking a crazy long time ago.

I didn’t want to copy anything outright, but I was inspired by some abstracts I’d seen around blogland and I took from them a couple of things.  The contrast of light/dark areas, the layering (and layering and layering) of various colour and the short brushstrokes to provide depth and interest.

I had 2 large canvases already – a blank one and the black/white abstract  from the living room.  My intention was to just to buy another blank one.  But once I finished one canvas, I was in ‘the zone’ and just decided to paint over the one that was in my living room.  There were certain things I wasn’t happy about with that one and I just figured there was no point in not using what I had to hand.

Because it’s been so cloudy lately, I had to take some shots from the guest bedroom which became my makeshift ‘studio’ (ooh listen to her getting all fancy here) because the light is quite good in there.  So you can see the colours better than in the dining room shots.  We’ll start there!

Here’s Canvas 1…

And here’s Canvas 2…

They are similar but different.  I realised after I was finished the first, it had a definite ‘impressionist’ look to it and so I figured I’d call it ‘Abstract Impressionism’.  Lo and behold, it turns out that this is an actual THING.  So yeah, let’s just pretend that it was all on purpose and not just me pretending to be an artist or something.

Canvas 1
Canvas 2

So, here’s where things got a bit complicated.  Because once I was finished with them, I excitedly hung them side by side on the wall they were meant for.  Except…um, it didn’t work.  Two together were just way way too much for one wall when I had the gallery wall right next to it.  It was as if everything in the room was screaming “LOOK AT ME!! LOOK AT ME!!!”

I call it the Decorating Domino Effect.

You try one thing and like it but then something else feels ‘off’ so you change that thing too and then something else doesn’t work… and this keeps on going until you get something like this… (which isn’t done either but I’ll explain my plans in a second.)

And this…

Now when you look at the whole room, it looks kinda like this (I say ‘kinda’ because it’s difficult to see the whole room at the same time as you could if you were in the room and unfortunately, I don’t have a wide angle lens)…

I really love the way the painting over the barcart picks up the colours in the plates above the mantle.

But speaking of the Decorating Domino effect, I’m thinking the gallery wall doesn’t *quite* work as well.  It needs a couple of shots of more colour to bring the whole thing together better.  So there’s still work to do.

As for the wall that started this whole thing, I am currently waiting to be sent an amazing limited edition print that I won in a giveaway – it’s probably the best thing I’ve ever won in my life.  And as the dimensions are quite long and thin and the over all colour of the print is white and quite neutral, it will be going on the wall with the gold console table to ‘soften’ it a bit.

Plus, I need a different plant there, things need to be added/subtracted and I’m still on the hunt for a different console…  but yeah, all in good time.  Oh and I may actually do another painting for the living room wall which is now sans art above the sofa.

So what do you think of my attempts at abstract painting?  And have you ever experienced the Decorating Domino Effect?

Also, I’m considering selling these at some point, so if you are interested in possibly purchasing a print or an original, please sign up for emails to be the first to be notified when I do so!

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