Loving the Art of Heather Millar

Good morning, Everyone!

A few years ago, I attended a solo art exhibition at one of our local galleries.  It was a series of large (36" x 36") oil canvases of vintage toys.  As a baby boomer, I was immediately transported back to my own childhood.  Do you remember the bouncing ball baby, the little cowboy or perhaps the raggedy elephant?  The paintings were a reminder of days gone by and the colors, detail, highlights, shadows and whimsy were mesmerizing.  I loved them all.

The exhibition ended and they were gone.

A few years went by and I started noticing similarly familiar paintings at another nearby art gallery, such as Grandma's Pigeons (below).  Yes, a completely different subject and look, but something about the style and technique looked familiar.  Later, a fox canvas, One Last Look, caught my eye. Then, Aries, the ram appeared and Predator, the owl.  Each painting stood out in a sea of paintings......all so very eyecatching.

Finally,  I opened our local newspaper last week and there was a painting of a large brown bunny that was being donated as a fundraiser for our own PEI Humane Society.  And the artist was Heather Millar.  I googled her.  And lo and behold, she was the artist of all of the above-mentioned works and many more.  I knew immediately that I wanted to share a sampling of her work with you.  

To see more of this versatile artist's work, please go to her site here.  If you have any interest in purchasing tickets on the fundraising rabbit, Becoming Real, (below) e-mail Heather here and she will be able to help you and answer any questions you may have regarding her artwork (dimensions, prices, etc.).

Enjoy, and have a great day......and thanks for stopping by!

Bouncing Baby Ball

Listen Closely

Grandma's Pigeons

One Last Look

Aries

Predator

Something to Crow About

 

And last, but certainly not least, Becoming Real, the fundraising rabbit.  It is a 30" x 30" oil on canvas valued at $1,600.00.  There are tickets available through Heather and the Humane Society would be extremely grateful for any and all contributions......

Becoming Real

Southern Charm

Hi there!

Another beautiful sunny day here in Charlottetown.........maybe I'll get three walks in today with our little dog, Ruby.......she's always ready for another adventure around town.

But first, I must share this southern mansion with you.  It was featured on the decorating show "Southern Charm" last year in the U.S., but unfortunately we don't get that show.  I have only heard about it.  Thank heavens Architectural Digest had the good sense to publish the article - how else would we get to see such spectacular homes if not for the plethora of design magazines out there?

You know there are some interior designers whose work is so spectacular it actually makes my heart palpitate.  Mario Buatta does it to me every time.  His designs never fail to get my heart pounding. While I love everything he does, it seems to me it's his bedrooms that are so outstanding.

This Charleston home he designed for Patricia Altschul is perfection throughout.......from the entrance hall to the kitchen.  Not a thing I would change if I were to move in there tomorrow!

However, my personal favorite rooms in this house are the two bedrooms and the master bathroom with the toilet in the chinoiserie cabinet......leave it to Mario to come up with that detail!

Absolute perfection, as always!

Enjoy!

To start with, the exterior of this house is soft pink with green shutters.  My favorite color combination!

Patricia Altschul

Mario had this floor hand painted over the original wood floor.  Notice the silhouettes up the stairwell.

Entrance hall with another hand painted floor.

Double living room with Mario's signature chintz fabrics, beautiful colors and English country coziness.

Wall murals and round table - the best.

I even love that the kitchen floor was left in a rustic state.....

Smoochie and Monty oversee the work in the kitchen.

Sitting/morning room with dog art.

How inviting is this cherry red library?

Masterpiece - what more can I say?

And another masterpiece - Patricia's master bedroom.

And finally, the piece de resistance - the master bathroom complete with large screen tv, soaking tub, easy chairs, painted floor and dressing table - with the toilet concealed in the chinoiserie cabinet.

Architectural Digest

An Early William Diamond Design

As a followup to yesterday's Baratta post, I thought perhaps the true fans of Diamond Baratta might be interested in seeing an early (1980s perhaps) Manhattan apartment designed by William Diamond.

You will recognize his hand in these images, but it was long before they formed a partnership and amassed their unique group of artisans for their personalized details.

This post could just as easily have been about 'Animal Art in Decor', as that seems to be the main theme here......you can never go wrong with animal art and it adds a wonderful touch to the mix of quilts, tartans, chintz, hand hooked rugs, needlepoint and antiques.  Overall, the owners wanted a very relaxed 18th - 19th century look, so they shopped carefully for their choice of antiques.  Diamond went with vintage trunks to act as coffee tables, as coffee tables weren't really available in earlier centuries.

Now that William Diamond has retired, Anthony Baratta continues to forge ahead solo.

Enjoy!

A contemporary hand hooked rug.

Love the pastoral art among the other treasures.

Plube, their black lab.

Dog art, dog books and another pastoral art piece.

Needlepoint dog.

The den with more needlepoint and quilted animal pillows and wall art.

See the reflection in the dining room mirror.

Hooked dog rug and their two pets.

Quilts and chintz.

House and Garden

Loving the Art of Georgia Fiennes

This British artist loves animals and loves whimsy...............by combining both, she has come up with a unique and colorful perspective.

I first saw her work at Brabourne Farm a while back, and had to check out her art......it's irresistible!

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

All images via Georgia Fiennes Art

Anthropomorphic Art Trays

I happened upon these trays in a magazine over the weekend, and fell in love with them.  They were used as wall art in the images I saw, but could be used for serving, as well.

They are manufactured in the south of France by a family-owned company called ibride, meaning hybrid.  The trays are moulded wood with vintage, Victorian era images applied.

They can be found at http://www.madebydesign.co.uk/ and http://www.switchmodern.com/.

Rosita

Ambroise

Berenice

Bernardo

  

Honore

Islid

  

Octavie

Martial and Marius

All images ibride