Some years ago my very good friend, Karen Stone, showed me some of the wonderful paintings in her house. As I was ooohing and ahhhing, she told me that they came from antique stores and garage sales. They weren't 'Art' with a capital 'A'. They were paintings that had been painted by someone and that ended up owner-less, discarded. The thing is that she loved them (and so did I).
Since then I've bought a variety of discarded art paintings myself. This was my first one:
(FYI – click on any image and it should open up larger.)
I absolutely love this painting. I took it to Kim and Neva at The Frame Team here in Sherman – the best picture framers I have ever met. Both of them are incredibly good at choosing the right frame for any project. What you see on this painting is a liner frame in green with a wider, cherry-colored outer frame. Perfect.
Neva and Kim have, over the years, collected similar works. They have a good eye and they get out more than I do. I was in their shop this week and had a chance to see, and photograph, these…
The sailboat painting on the left is calling me. And then there are these…
Look at the cow up close. Goodness gracious, I LOVE this cow (and I don't like cows all that much). The problem is that I have run out of walls!
FYI: Kim and Neva have an etsy shop (click here) where you can see much of what they have collected and have for sale.
I recently bought one of their finds that we titled Nuclear Sunrise (this was before the cow came in, so to speak). I love it because of the colors in it. It is perfect in the spot above this green cabinet, which lives behind a door in our bedroom. We went with a smaller, less expensive frame for this one. It's a deep violet/raspberry that is really good with the colors in the painting.
It's not a painting I see all the time, but it's an interesting surprise when I happen to be in a spot to see it.
I could show you more of Kim and Neva's collection here but it's probably eaiser for you to go to their etsy pages.
So back to the original question: Art or art? When I go to a museum and look at the art, I sometimes ask myself: If this was in a garage sale, would I buy it? Many expensive and respected works do not, for me, pass this test. Once I took that to heart, I find it much easier to find works that I love in the most unusual places.
I've also found that I have much more of a sense of the artist in these discarded paintings. Someone felt the need to express her or himself and they just did it, most likely without classes or training. I can't exactly put my finger on it, but that feeling of the artist is a large part of what makes these pieces more special to me.
The same thing is true in quilts. I find that I am personally very attracted to quirky quilts – and I am looking forward to working more quirkiness into my own quilts in the future.
NOTE: if you go to Neva and Kim's etsy page, and if you fall in love with something but don't live here and you want it framed… if you do not have a good option where you live I can attest to the fact that they can choose the perfect frame for any of these pieces.
Piece O Cake Blog 
Big “A” Art, little “a” art, you have the right end of the stick, Becky, the *only* important thing is what we like ourselves. I’m not sure why people get so bent out of shape sometimes about categorizing their work (or the work of others!). Art versus craft is another, and so is art quilt versus traditional quilt. And now we have the “modern” quilt box too.
One deep idea is that it may have to do with overcoming restrictions. All art, and craft, has to deal with some restriction, either with the chosen materials or our own ability. Good work finds ways to make the most of or even transcend our restrictions. So it may be that creative people have a tendency to make their own challenges, and create restrictions like these categories, just for the sake of overcoming them!
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“Nuclear Sunrise” looks perfect above the dresser! Thanks for your kind words and the shout out for our etsy store. The cow will be here if you want to come and visit her:)
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One of our daughters put pictures on the ceiling in her guest bedroom. It was very interesting when you were laying in bed and looked up and saw all of these pictures. So when you run out of room, go to the ceiling, you might like it.
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Very good post. I like both art and Art. For my walls, it’s definitely art. One piece I got from a thrift store years ago is a vase of flowers in yellow and green – the colours are so bright it looks like a photo that’s been over exposed, or like you’ve just come in from the sun and your eyes are adjusting. I love it and it cheers me up every time I look at it. I think it cost me $5. But even $5 is too much when you don’t love something.
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Oh dear, I think you are luring me into something……fun!
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While in England a few years back I was watching a TV programe about various artists and when asked what about a seriously messy bedroom “installation” in a gallery made it art, the artist who made it replied: “Its art if I say its art”. That stuck with me and I’ve adopted the same philosophy; as the viewer, I decide if I think its art. So, it comes down to what we like and what speaks to our soul and can live with enjoy.
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I painted this old cupboard white using Porters milk paint but decided it was rather boring all white so I painted the door recesses a rather nice chocolate (yes its Cadburys brown!)
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