Since many of us are spending more time at home, we have the opportunity to paint, make home improvements and certainly analyze our surroundings. This is a great time to look at your decor and consider what the focal point is within each room. Is it the TV, the kids’ toys, or is it something dramatic that draws you into the space? Are you satisfied with each focal point or do some changes need to be made?

A focal point is an element that draws your eye as you walk into a room. Without that anchor your attention may be pulled different ways simultaneously causing an “off” feeling. For instance, have you ever walked into a friend’s living room, loved the elements of their decor, but still felt like something was missing? Or, have you ever carefully planned and decorated a room only to find that the space feels fragmented?

If the answer is “Yes”, the reason may be that these rooms are missing a focal point.

A focal point ties your room together and makes it feel…

• Balanced
• Grounded
• Harmonious

And if a room can elicit feelings in people, these are good feelings to strive for!

Here are a few lovely interiors that use a focal point successfully:

If you have a room with a view, consider making the window your focal point. Even if you do not have a view to show off there are creative ways of using a window as your focal point. 


(Image from LuxeSource.com)

I love how this Luxe-featured room uses pattern over light to draw our eye.


(Image from LuxeSource.com)

The ceiling, an accent wall or the floor can make a beautiful focal point. Try a pattern or texture to ground your space as the wood panels do here.


(Image from LuxeSource.com)

Or as the black and white wallpaper does here...


(Image from LuxeSource.com)

My personal favorite, artwork, can be an extremely effective focal point. This gallery wall impels our attention with politeness.


(Image from LuxeSource.com)

Furniture can emphasize a room’s focal point with its positioning as it does here around one of my abstract photographs.



Under normal circumstances we have few spare moments to evaluate and improve our surroundings. Why not take this mandatory time at home as an opportunity to do just that? Here are a few tips to get you started establishing a focal point in each of your rooms:

• Grab your notepad and take a tour of your home
• As you stand in each room ask yourself these questions:
  • Is there a part of the architecture I’d like to show off? If yes, write it down and take a picture of that item.
  • Is there a part of the architecture I want to draw eyes away from? If yes, do you have an existing piece that can act as your focal point? If yes, write it down and snap a picture.
  • If not, pull ideas from the rooms you’ve pinned to your inspiration board. Could your space use a new sofa? A light fixture? Art? Determine what you want the focal point to be and take a picture of that item on your inspiration board.

Print all pictures and put them with your list into a folder and get ready to go shopping!

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If you’ve been following my blog series, 10 Key Home Decorating Tips, you’ve created a decor inspiration board that includes atmosphere and style goals, inspirational tears, and a color palette and plan. With this solid foundation you are ready for Tip #7, which coincides with our entrance into 2020. The new year often inspires us to make life-changing improvements. “Out with the old, in with the new” becomes our motto whether we plan to upgrade our environment or our attitudes. After all, it’s difficult to make progress without a little house cleaning first!



Whether you are moving into a freshly built home or remodeling the one you currently live in, begin by organizing, decluttering and cleaning. When moving, take time to rid yourself of that which no longer serves or pleases you. The more you sell or give away the less you have to transport and reintegrate into your new digs. If remodeling an existing home or space, assess what you can and can’t live without. It’s important to open up space in the room to allow your mind the freedom to visualize and thus create something new.

If you are unsure where to begin I recommend picking up a copy of Feng Shui Your Life, The Quick Guide to Decluttering Your Home and Renewing Your Life. I’ve been enjoying the practical guidance and inspiration it provides and think you will too!



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Happy New Year! I just finished uploading new artwork to my website and am pleased to share it with you as the new year gets underway. Here is a look behind the scenes for one new piece called Star Bright.

Patterns

Patterns are everywhere in life. We see patterns in geometry, the cosmos, behaviorally and other areas. I’m particularly intrigued with geometric patterns in nature and certain designs that have transcended cultures and time.



This summer I opened a package for my birthday that had this wonderful brown packing paper in it (the gift was nice too). I began photographing the paper and recognized a pattern that resonated from two memories.

Connections

One was this wasp's nest that I had found on the ground recently and the other was from the Basilica of San Francesco in Siena Italy when I was there in 2014.



The inlaid marble floor was fascinating and the craftsmanship and geometric pattern were mesmerizing. I immediately became obsessed to see if I could create an image through photography that would create an illusion of texture and dimension. The result is the image below titled Star Bright. The contrast of white and black and the hexagons, although not perfect in shape, remind me of our uniqueness as individuals, that we have a place in the pattern of life and we are united in the web of humanity.

Result

Star Bright Look Studio 2019 

Star Bright Look Studio 2019  

I hope 2020 is a great year for you. Stop by the studio and enjoy a glass of champagne to celebrate winter, snow and the New Year! 

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November is the month we begin to think of our most special friends and family gathering during the holidays for food, laughter and gifts to celebrate the season. Making these festivities a success requires planning, and sometimes finding memorable gifts can be a challenge.

Consider giving something unexpected

Art is an extraordinary gift both personal and lasting. Many of my clients have gifted abstract art, both large and small, to family and friends. I’ve had recipients come up to me years later and thank me for the art on their wall. That’s always a nice surprise!

There are several ways you can make this unexpected gift a reality:

• Select the artwork yourself

As a Colorado artist living in the Roaring Fork Valley, access to my studio is convenient and it’s open for you to explore. You can also shop online.

• Let them choose

Determine a dollar amount you would like to spend on your special person and let them choose the art. A Gift Certificate can be applied to a piece that costs more or we can create a piece within a dollar parameter. That’s one ideal aspect of art photography - almost any size can be created.

• Plan a mini-party!

Give a Gift Certificate and then come to my studio for a mini-party during the holiday season. It’s fun for friends and family to bounce ideas off one another while browsing and enjoying a glass of champagne. If a custom piece is desired, the enjoyment will be extended into the New Year when I deliver their artwork to them.

Plan a studio visit, purchase a gift certificate or discuss things further by contacting me here:

~ Click to email
~ Call 

Decks the halls with boughs of art and share the creativity within each of us.

Happy Holidays!
Gayle
 

~ Custom artwork will be delivered after the New Year, within approximately four weeks.
~ Studio visits are by appointment only.

 

Inspiration

Inspiration for my photography comes in all shapes and sizes. Take these old pair of boots for example.



The light was shining on them one day and I was intrigued by the deep cracks that seemed to tell their own story of the journey we each take in life and how time and age leave their mark. Chiseled but not worn out, there’s added character in the wrinkles of time. I was curious to see what story could be captured in a photograph.

Art

The result is the image below, Wild Horses.



The lines across the photo remind me of how the manes of wild horses look when they are running free. I enjoy the surprise of another story that can be told through the lens. It’s one of the delights of the work that I do. 

Context

The next dimension that continues to intrigue me is how flexible abstract art is in different interiors. Each client can create his or her story for the artwork in their own setting as seen below.





It’s fun to think of the conversations that might arise when people who don’t know the story behind Wild Horses see it for the first time.

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