Artist Spotlight: Jennifer Levine

Since I had a couple of you ask about the artist of my art I featured yesterday, I thought I would do a post dedicated to her!

Her name is Jennifer Levine and she's located here in Charlotte, NC. I've been a HUGE fan of Jennifer for a while and have used her for a handful of client projects. She uses a lot of different mediums and they are all so different and unique!

She did these screen prints hanging above the sofa for a client of mine:

She also did this large abstract landscape for another client:

(wasn't hung yet in this pic)

And she also did these two block prints (in the frames) in the recent HGTV Mag space:

She has a website you can check out HERE. And here are some pictures of some of her amazing work:

(We had these at Isabella and they sold SO fast! They were gorgeous!)

She sells some of her work at Slate Interiors here in Charlotte.

I really love her work and will be a collector for many years :) If you are interested in her art, you can contact her here!

Pamela Munger Original Paintings

I have another talented artist to share with you today! Her name is Pamela Munger and she creates the most beautiful oil and acrylic landscapes. And here is the coolest thing about her and her art - she lives on a rural farm in Colorado where they grow hops for microbreweries, and her inspiration for her paintings is taken from the open land all around her. What a beautiful, simple life!

She does both classic landscape paintings and abstract paintings, and I honestly love both. I've selected 6 of her original paintings for you (and they are really, really affordable! Great pieces to start off an art collection):

1 - Here Comes April, 8x10, $38

2 - Oil Painting on Recycled Wood, 8x10, $38

3 - Cloud Play, 10x20, $96

4 - Sky Beauty, 10x20, $100

LEFT -  Off Shore, 24x36, $285

RIGHT - Resort, 10x20, $90

Interesting Art Source

I was sourcing art the other day and my client said "What about Gallery Direct?" I had never heard of this site before, but it's actually really cool. (Sooo many online art website can be so cheesy and bad!)

Here is what I saw that peaked my interest...

So, this website has the option to print directly onto acrylic. I've never ordered from them, so I really cannot attest to the quality or what it would look like in person. But there is a little video on this page that explains the process.

Here are some prints that I think would be great on acrylic (click on the image to be directed to the site):

(my personal favorite.. I love swans. Where could I put it.. hmmm)

Another cool option they provide is printing on birchwood. Here is a print that would be really pretty printed on a piece of wood:

 

I've never ordered from this site so like I said above, I have no idea what their quality is like! But their prices are good (everything always is on sale) so you don't have to invest too much. 

Have any of you guys ordered from this site (specifically on acrylic)?

ps - this post isn't in anyway an advertisement.. the company has no idea I'm writing about them. I was just intrigued by the acrylic printing so I decided to share it with you!

Etsy Art

I've been sourcing some art for a client and one of the sources I searched recently was Etsy (no new news there, I love Etsy art!) But this time, I was looking at oil paintings.

There are some really great oil paintings available on Etsy.. and it's a great place to start an art collection (the prices are really great!)

This first artist is my favorite Etsy artist right now.. and she does a lot of custom pieces. Her paintings are so peaceful, I hope to own one of her pieces someday.

J Shears

This artist paints whimsical pieces and also beautiful landscapes. I'm not normally a cow person, but I love this white cow.

Roz Art

This next artist has a broad mix of work. Some of her pieces are a bit too much for my taste, but if you go through her Etsy shop there are some more simple, beautiful pieces.

Marina Petro

Children's Art in Acrylic Frames

Yesterday I hung a gallery wall of a client's son's art. I love how it turned out! I posted this picture on Instagram and had some requests for more information:

We purchased the frames Muji.. an AWESOME Japanese home store (sort of like IKEA).

We used the size SMALL (11.7 x 16.5) and MINI (8.3 x 11.7)

Jess LC Wells Collection!!

I am so excited to share this with you!! Jess from Jess LC and Makeunder My Life has partnered with Ampersand Design Studio to create four amazing prints with intention. AND she was so sweet to ask me to be a part of the new look book! I am so honored and I can honestly say I LOVE the new prints!

Jess offered us bloggers a print to feature in our own home. When I saw the prints, I knew they would be PERFECT for my office. So I purchased another to hang on either side of my TV in my office!





The two phrases in the prints are really SO perfect for me. I am definitely a dreamer and planner and I sometimes concentrate a little too much on the future. Case in point... my husband and I are not ready nor trying to expand our family yet, but I still find myself designing both boy and girl nurseries (and may or may not have done design boards for them.) Did I just admit that?!?! Yup, big time dreamer over here! So the "Be Present" poster really spoke to me because it reminds me to be present in my life TODAY. To enjoy and appreciate what I have now and not concentrate on the future.

But I think it's also just as important to dream bigger, just like the print says. Because I'm a living testament that dreams CAN and DO come true! I'm busier than ever with my business right now and some days I can't help but just smile ear to ear knowing that I'm living my dream.

The words on these prints really hit home for me, but the design could not have been more perfect for my new office, too! Awesome!

There are a total of four prints and they are all so great. Here they are:





They are $40 each and can be purchased HERE. I was included in the look book with 7 other great bloggers, check out how they used the prints in their spaces!!





I put my prints in inexpensive IKEA RIBBA frames. I spray painted the frames gold and painted the mats pink (just a tad darker pink than my walls).

Here's a little office update: WE GOT THE SOFA! But........ my husband was so sweet to go get it for me from IKEA one day while I was working, but he picked up the loveseat cover for it instead of the sofa cover. So I just need to exchange the cover and then I'll share pics! Yay!

Abstract Art

There are quite a few wonderful women abstract artists here in the South and I know you know them.

Sally King Benedict - Charleston (the QUEEN in my opinion)

Michelle Armas - Atlanta












Caroline Wright - Austin

I hope one day I can own a piece from one of these amazing women!

I've been thinking about these pieces lately because there is a spot in my office that is perfect for a small abstract painting.

Now I'm going to go off on a tangent here for a second. I didn't major in interior design, but I did major in advertising/graphic design. The most important thing we were taught in school was white space... white space can make or break design. So I guess because of this I'm a big believer in the use of white space in interior spaces... just because there is a large blank wall doesn't mean you have to fill it! It's okay to have some white space aka blank walls. I think a lot of people are afraid of walls and feel like they have to put something on it. I'd rather have a large blank wall than a wall with an out-of-scale faux painting from Home Goods. Just my opinion.

Anyway, back to this little wall space in my office. Everything I just wrote above does not apply to this space, because right now it feels a bit off balance to me. Normally I wouldn't care that there wasn't anything there.. but because the window isn't centered I want to put something there. Am I confusing you??



I would love to create my own little abstract piece for this little bit of empty wall. I know that it takes a lot of talent to make real abstract art like the ladies above do. I am definitely not saying I can do what they do - not at all! Mine will be more like a craft project haha. But it will definitely be fun to make a little piece for that empty space.

And speaking of art, here are two pieces my grandmother did that sit inside my bookcase:





My desk sits facing the bookcases and window and I love seeing these pieces all day every day.

I'll definitely let you know how my abstract turns out and I will have my office reveal very soon!