Felicity Art

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Wall Colors for Living Rooms, Dining Rooms and Entries

The public rooms in the home offer endless possibilities for color. An entry hall that features windows or skylights may adapt well to rich shades of chocolate, plum or wine. The light from a hanging fixture or wall sconce will enhance these shades and create an immediate warm and inviting ambiance to make guests feel welcome. If the entry flows into other areas such as the living room and dining room, colors from a similar palette should be chosen.

A dining room could feature an accent wall of a different color; for example, a burgundy wall with candle or electric sconces and a china cabinet displaying crystal and silver makes an elegant statement. Other adjacent areas could carry more subtle tones of rich tan shades or cooler gray tones. Choosing wall colors for the dining room offers the chance to highlight cherished heirlooms, set the mood for contemporary artwork or bring out the colors in draperies or window treatments.

Living room and family room areas require coordination of furnishings and accessories along with the choice of wall colors. Dark brown leather sofas blend well with ochre or deep tan tones on the walls. Rooms that contain upholstered furniture with floral or patterned motifs should always highlight a single color from the print as the primary focus. For example, a wall or two painted in hunter green will complement a sofa and chair upholstered in a country style print.

Wall Colors for the Nursery and Kid’s Rooms

Bright colors add a cheerful ambiance to any room and work well for children’s playrooms and nurseries. Dividing the wall into sections with molding strips allows the use of bright color on part of the wall and makes the environment pleasant without being overly exciting. Children need to have a space for both play and rest. As the family grows, walls may be repainted in favorite colors for boys or girls. Pinks are popular for young princesses and make them feel special and cared for. Boys may prefer a touch of red, navy blue or grass green that stimulates their imagination.

Teenagers typically go for darker shades that can be brightened by using neutral combinations, for example, black with white or chocolate brown with cream. If the lighting in a room is sufficient, even the darkest wall colors will be suitable for studying and create a restful environment during the evening hours.

Wall Colors and Textures for Bathrooms

A powder room looks elegant when finished with metallic tone paint in silver or gold highlights. Bronze fixtures stand out against a wall in a deep shade of rust or sienna. A master bathroom that features granite or marble countertops with streaks of gold or silver will sparkle if the same shade is used on the walls. Brighten the room by choosing rich tones for the wall color and adding lighter shades for the towels, rugs and bathroom accessories.

Tips for Decorating with Wall Color

- Mix wall colors by choosing two contrasting shades such as teal blue and sunflower yellow on adjoining walls. Use fabrics for curtains, upholstery, rugs or pillow to tie the colors together. Try to limit the theme by only adding one more color such as cream to avoid having a too busy look.
- Paint wide stripes of color in a vertical pattern on one wall in a bedroom or office. Place decorative molding strips in a horizontal pattern around the remainder of the room.
- Use a chair rail molding at a ¾ height and use two different colors above and below the rail.
- Use leather textured paints for a family room or an office and accessorize with Western furniture, lamps and rugs.
- Pick a bold color for a single wall and hang a large oil print that features that color.

The possibilities for creative home design using a few gallons of paint are endless. This inexpensive method of personalizing the space we live in makes the thought of redoing a room an exciting prospect.

Brighten the Home with Wall Color

The days of painting every room in the house with “Navajo White” or “Swiss Coffee” are long gone. Vibrant color and unique textures now grace the pages of the latest home decorating magazines. Today, everyone seems to want at least a little splash of color in their homes and the trend offers a golden opportunity for creative expression. Even the less daring have wall color options with a variety of deeper neutral tones that are a far cry from basic white. Painted wall color or textured paint treatments add interest and dimension to a room and reflect the personality of the resident.

The key to a successful home redo involves understanding how color changes the interior environment. Certain colors affect our moods and impact how we feel and react when we’re in the room. Choosing the appropriate wall color for an interior space requires some planning to ensure that we’re capturing the feeling of the room and creating an enjoyable environment.

The first step when planning a room update is to evaluate how certain colors work within specific rooms in the home.

Kitchen Color Choices

The kitchen should be a cheerful and inviting space where the family congregates every day. Warm colors such as golden yellows, amber and deep cream shades make everyone feel cozy and content. Bolder shades of pumpkin or tangerine may be used on accent walls, trim or even ceilings to demonstrate personality and make the room an enjoyable place to cook and eat. Shades of red stimulate the appetite and can be used throughout the kitchen on walls, accent tiles, and accessories. A cinnamon red wall adjacent to a light toast shade adds excitement and warmth to the room.

For those who prefer blues tones in the home, deeper shade such as turquoise, cobalt blue or periwinkle create an upbeat feeling in the kitchen. Paint one or two walls in the deeper color and the other walls with a compatible neutral in soft whites, tans or pale yellows. Finish the décor by adding a few accessory pieces such as ceramics or textiles that contain the color scheme. For breakfast nooks and casual eating areas, match fabrics to wall colors. For example, walls painted in mustard or light olive will bring out the rich colors of fabrics from Provence.

Textured paint adds depth and creates a casual look in the kitchen. Try using sponge prints or stenciling a few areas with grape patterns, fruit designs or favorite sayings for a touch of nostalgia or humor.

Wall Colors for Bedrooms

The bedroom should be a restful place where we go to retreat from our hectic daily lives. Cool wall colors such as soft blues and pale greens create an immediate soothing effect and calm the spirit. A room painted in a sky blue shade or soft sage green that features off white trim will immediately cause our pulse to slow and help us relax. A dash of a deeper shade of Wedgewood blue or fern green on wood moldings or used on an accent wall adds interest but maintains the restful ambiance. The same tones can be carried through into accessories, throw pillows or used to accent painted furniture.

For those who prefer warmer colors, soft fawn or taupe wall colors create a peaceful feeling yet project affection and sincerity. Dark wood bedroom furniture stands out against a wall painted in a bronze or desert sand shade.

To be continued.

Best regards,

Felicity Art

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Painting with acrylic paint is very versatile. The paints are either tube or jarred acrylic or craft paint. These paints can be found at craft stores and /or art stores. Acrylic paints dry quickly and are easy to use. Paint brushes generally use synthetic hairs and have an easy clean up with soap and water.

What brand of acrylic paint should used- Purchase either tube, jar or craft bottles from either an art store or craft store such as Michael’s.

What colors should be purchase – Most importantly purchase the following: Cadmium Red Medium, Cadmium Yellow Phthalo Blue. These three colors will make every color on the color wheel. Of course having the colors already made is simpler, but more expensive.

What brushes should be purchase – Good brushes are really important to have. If they are taken care of they will last for a reasonable amount time depending on how much you paint and the type painting. Brush sizes are as follows: flat brushes- # ¼”,1/2″,1″; flat # 1″, liner # 2, and an assortment of round, #1/4″, ½”, and 1″ filbert and large wash brushes for backgrounds.

Painting Tips:

1. Place a small amount of paint (either tube or bottle) onto your palette. A regular plastic palette or a Sta-Wet palette works very well with acrylic paints. Always have a spray bottle of water at hand to spray lightly over the paint to keep the paint moist on your palette. Mist regularly.

2. Fill your container with water. As the water becomes murky, pour out the dirty water and refill the water container with fresh water often. Keep folded, single layers of paper towels to blot your wet brush onto the paper towels. This will keep the brushes in good condition as the metal ferule will be kept dry.

3. Acrylic paint is very versatile. The paint can be used lightly or thicker with brushes and palette knives. Mix the acrylic paints with a touch of white to make them more opaque. If the paint is diluted with either glaze or water the colors will become transparent like watercolors.

4. When painting acrylic washes, the wash is permanent and insoluble as soon as it is dry. Subsequent layering of the washes (drying between layers) adds depth to the sheer washes.

5. Transparent acrylic glazes using a glazing medium must be layered between drying time. The more layers, the deeper the depth of color will develop.

6. Mix a Slo-Dri Blending gel medium with acrylic paint to increase the loss of color strength.

7. Work quickly when you are blending colors. It is important to keep your brush damp with a slow drying gel medium. For more transparency add a gel medium as needed.

8. When developing hard edges use 3M Blue 1″ masking tape. Acrylic paint colors painted against the tape keeps the paint from leaking beneath the tape edge. When dry carefully remove the blue tape.

9. The surfaces that acrylic paint works well with canvas/canvas board, Clayboard and wood panels.

10. Plastic palette or Stay- Wet palette Palette helps keep the paint moist.

11. Acrylics can be mixed with either water (best on a damp brush) or mediums such as retarders, or glazing medium.

12. Because acrylics dry quickly wash your brushes as soon as you have completed the task at hand…otherwise the paint will begin to dry in the ferule (the metal part that holds the bristles together).

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Oil paintings and artwork always seem to make a room come alive with color and feeling, especially when you know how to choose art that compliments a specific room in your home.

Whether you walk through an art gallery, or you look at oil paintings offered at an online store, one thing is certain: you will immediately know if you like a painting. Perhaps the scene creates an emotional sensation within you that is pleasing, and you imagine that you would enjoy that painting hanging in your home for many years, without tiring of looking at it.

Let’s consider if the painting you’ve fallen in love with will fit into a room in your home. Since lines and colors in the artwork can energize or calm you, consider if the lines, such as tall trees or standing people, are vertical, or if the lines are horizontal such as a beach scene or a person who is posed in a sitting or reclining position. If you have your heart set on buying a painting with horizontal elements, then you’d do well to place it in a room that is meant for relaxing, such as a sitting room, parlor, or a formal living room.

If the painting has vertical elements, such as tall trees, buildings, or people standing or dancing, then you’ll want to place that type of artwork in a room that has movement and is energized—a front hall, or an entrance wall into your living room, dining room, or kitchen. Ideally, it’s best to hang oil paintings in an area that reflects what will happen in the room.

Another example that might help you to decide where to place an oil painting is if the artwork has a feeling of action in it, then wherever you hang the painting, it will energize the room. Your mind will awaken when you look at the action in the painting. Likewise, for a bedroom, den, or study, you would want to choose a more calming and somber painting that might cause you to slow down and relax.

Be sure to consider the length and height of the painting. Will it correspond with the furniture in the room where you intend to display it? For example, if you want to hang it above a long and low sectional sofa, the duplicate horizontal lines would make the room quite attractive. In addition, try to choose paintings that have a similar color family as the rooms where you will display them.

A unique strategy for choosing the perfect oil painting for your home is when you already have a motif or a theme that compliments your lifestyle or location where you live. Any type of artwork that is similar to the décor of your home or heritage will make you and your guests instantly feel comfortable.

Below you will find five art themes you might want to consider for your home, when choosing artwork.

Cityscape Artwork—Reflects famous locations and cities, such as the white stone buildings in Greece, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, or the countryside in Israel.

Seashore and Beach Oil Paintings—Reflects a particular city or town with its seashells, palm trees, sand, hammocks, cerulean blue water, or a lone lighthouse.

Flowers and Still Life Paintings—Reflects a natural beauty and charm found everywhere in the world; from creamy white lilies to orange and red poppies.

Landscape Artwork—The horizontal lines in any landscape art painting make a small room feel much larger. It’s as if the landscape art simulates a window; thus, the artwork opens up a room to create a serene setting.

Cuisine Art—Every kitchen is enhanced by the artwork the homeowner selects that depicts food, fun, frivolity, a beverage, or a local farmer’s market. In addition, vivid colors can light up and enhance any kitchen’s décor.

When you follow these guidelines for purchasing artwork, you’ll discover that each subsequent purchase gets easier, and your home will feel more cozy and comfortable when you match the painting with the room.

Author’s Resource Box:

Have you ever felt that a painting was so real you could feel yourself walking into the scene? Maya Green invites you to explore some of her painted treasures at: http://www.yessy.com/maya

Ms. Green is an artist who creates bright and energizing art with intensive colors that express emotional feelings of reality.

“I have been an artist my whole life. Originally, I was born and raised in Ukraine and I first developed my love of art there. Since my childhood, I have been intrigued with the patterning of light and the interaction of color. I studied at the School of Art in Ukraine. On 1978 I graduated from the Facility of Art. In 1996 I moved to Israel and settled in Tiberias, where I continued to pursue my passion as an artist and sculptor.
Lived in Enakievo, Donetsk,Nizhnevartovsk ,Anapa,Tiberias ,New York, Saint Paul.Now, I live and work between Tel Aviv and Los Angeles.
I consider myself as a global citizen .Painting connects me to the world and allows me to express myself and translate what I see and feel onto canvas and paper.The more I think about my art, the more I think is a gift from God and my mission is to share it.”
Maya Green

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/visual-art-articles/art-and-oil-paintings-how-do-i-choose-artwork-that-is-suitable-for-a-room-in-my-home-894958.html

Amongst all other painting genres, landscape painting is the most popular. There might be numerous reasons for the same but one of the main reasons is its beauty and comprehensibility. Unlike modern or abstract painting, landscape paintings project no absurd or symbolical meaning. People do not have to stress their minds to find out any hidden meaning behind the painting. All they need to do is look and soak in the beauty of a marvelous piece of art.

Painting a beautiful landscape can be easy if you keep in mind some simple tips. First you should understand the purpose of creating a landscape painting and how intensely you can move the spectator through your work. A landscape painting should make the onlookers feel as if they belong to the place portrayed. The landscape should effuse such brilliance that viewers are compelled to say, “Wish I was there!”

The first trick to attain such effect is through use of clarity. For instance, portray thick fog over some hills in the distance and let it fade in the front. Another trick is to show a winding path, a creek, a meander, or a trail. This makes people feel as though they are deep within the painting.  The last trick is to play the game of size to your advantage. Painting large trees in the front but gradually diminishing their sizes at the back creates the feel of a vast landscape.

Landscapes are not photographic representations- this is an important lesson to remember. If you think you do not like the color of the flowers, then change it. If you prefer a bird in the sky or a dark gloomy evening with no people in the background, you have every right to give full expression to your imagination. The only purpose of creating landscape paintings is to offer aesthetic pleasure through a visually appealing landscape. Hence, realism does not have great priority in landscape paintings.

Suzanne Macguire is an expert writer and art connoisseur. Her articles have covered a lot of information on fine art and art gallery.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/visual-art-articles/simple-tricks-to-paint-a-beautiful-landscape-847292.html