Friday, June 17, 2011

Artwork In Our Home


I read somewhere recently that you can tell a lot about a person by the types of artwork displayed in their home. That’s a bit unfortunate for us as we still have several bare walls yet to be filled. However, the artworks we have bought so far are all pieces we love. Today I thought I’d share with you some of my favourite art from around our home.

The canvas in our bedroom was actually a Christmas present one year from Paul. It is by Kanvas, a West Australian company based in Subiaco with a range of great designs and I had been eyeing this particular piece off for some time when I first discovered their website. With some help from one of my best friends, Paul managed to buy (and keep secret) exactly the canvas I had been admiring. It fits in well with the feel of our bedroom.



In our entryway is a signed print by artist Helen Norton. We purchased it from Helen’s old gallery (Cockatoo Gallery) in Fremantle which unfortunately no longer exists, although Helen’s pieces can still be purchased from other sources. We loved her quirky style of art and finally settled on the print above titled ‘Sniffing Dogs’. You can see more of Helen’s artwork here.

In our lounge is a small original oil painting we bought from ‘The Old Butter Factory’ in Denmark on our last visit. It is actually a scene from Albany and for its size wasn’t cheap, but we loved its colours and subject matter. Its title is ‘Come Walk With Me’ and it is by Lois Drygan.



Two small pieces I purchased from Etsy are by print gocco artist Bernadette Sipkes of Sugarloop. When I first discovered Sugarloop, I fell in love with Bernadette’s simple designs with their almost folk-like feel. A gold owl print now sits next to our computer and a green bird print is on the wall directly outside our study.





Finally, our kitchen / living area is home to three of our favourite artworks. Above my tea and coffee station on top of our kitchen bench is a canvas we purchased on our last trip to Sydney. It is a view from the Sydney Harbour Bridge and has an almost fishbowl effect to the way it has been painted. It’s fun trying to pick out famous Sydney locations like Bondi Beach or the SCG while the kettle is boiling.

On the opposite end of our kitchen bench are two prints by Sue Miller which we bought in Salamanca when we visited Hobart. The left piece is called 'Boats On The Derwent' and the other 'Emmalisa Off Battery Point'. The image on the right is particularly meaningful to us as we had a cruise on the exact ‘Emmalisa’ paddle steamer in the scene. We had these professionally framed once we were back home.

So there you have a snapshot into some of our artwork. I’m not sure what these pieces say exactly about Paul and I, but they are all part of our ‘story’ we have built since we moved into our home over six years ago. I’ve spent a lot of time this week researching galleries around Fremantle and Perth that I can drag Paul along to so we can hopefully finally fill our bare walls. We’ll also check out the galleries down south when we go on a little holiday later in the year.

Do you have a favourite piece of art in your home? I’d love to hear about it.

13 comments:

  1. Oh Amanda, I'm the other end of the spectrum with my walls absolutely covered in art! I wonder what that says about me? Hmmmm...no self control perhaps? lol
    I have 3 faves. My first is a gorgeous painting by Kay Keller which is now living in our reading room next to my second fave, a Catherine Campbell print. My third is hanging over the mantel of our kitchen. It's a beautiful teacup and saucer print by Paula at Sweet William.
    I also have a lot of the girls paintings on show because they make me happy. God bless blu-tac!
    Have a lovely weekend sweets xxx

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  2. The sniffing dogs is fabulous!! I need more artwork badly, along with getting myself into gear and printing photos/framing them too. Art gives a home character, and interest. We too have lot's of blank walls. :)

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  3. I love your artwork Amanda. I especially love that each piece has a story and a memory behind it. I really love the piece above the bed from Kanvas - beautiful:). Thanks for being our feature blogger this week on the Decorating Forum. I hope you have had as much fun as we have:)

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  4. Hi Amanda,
    I really like Suse Miller's work, I used to sell it at a place in Salamanca where I used to work. Her colours are beautiful.
    I have a few nice pieces of art but not nearly enough for my liking - I still have lots of wall space. I have some on my wishlist, but it's more of a "dream on" list! One day maybe. I'd love a big colourful abstract but have to convince Lyndon that it is in fact art!

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  5. Sarah - I've been browsing lots of galleries online this week and found an abstract landscape I liked - Paul's comment was 'I feel like I'm looking at it drunk'... I think he needs convincing like Lyndon does :)

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  6. Oh the shame, we have many wonderful art works from all our years in the NT & still bare walls to hang them on. I think we'll do it all properly in our future home, it's hard to love an Army rental, especially when you have massive plans for the future abode, love Posie

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  7. I adore art work on walls. Not only does it add character to your home but it can be a long term financial investment! Love how all your pieces have a story behind them. x

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  8. Hello Amanda,

    I recently discovered your blog and very much enjoy it :)

    I love that painting of Sydney harbour - do you remember at all who painted it or where you bought it? As a Sydney girl who'll be moving overseas in the next year or two, I'd love to get my hands on something like that.

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  9. Hi Sarah, so nice to see a new reader leave a comment, thanks! I had a closer look at that canvas - the only name I can make out where the signature is is 'Stephen' - no initial or anything. We bought it from the Queen Victoria Building, it was at one end of the building on the 2nd or 3rd level and was from a souvenier/tourist type store. This particular canvas was hanging in the window.

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  10. Thank you Amanada! Definitely going to find that store next time I'm in the city. :)

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  11. Hi, Amanda! It might not be exactly art piece, but at the moment, my favorite is the wall decal in our living room. I also love Japanese wood carved prints in our dining room. I enjoyed seeing and learning about the photos of your home and art pieces you display in different areas and the meanings of them!! The painting you have in your bedroom from Kanvas is gorgeous. I think it fits the image I have for your home and your style. I hope you'll have a great weekend!

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  12. Hi amanda! So nice to seeing you again!!
    Have a sweetest of Sundays evenings and a happy happy start to the new week o xx o

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  13. You've got some beautiful pieces of artwork in your home Amanda. I really love the canvas in your first photos and the colours in it. We don't have any artwork on our wall, mostly we have photographs and cross stitch pieces that my mother in law has made for us. We do have one print that I like and it's an old scene with Queenslanders and dirt streets with children playing, we've had it for quite a while, probably time to change I think:) xo

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