My Own Little Art Gallery

I will say this: I know virtually nothing about art. I lived in NYC for six years, and about the only reason I was exposed to fine art is because the illustrious Catherine White invited me to galleries and exhibits, and there was usually a dinner and some booze involved afterwards. So I may not be a connoisseur, but I know what I like and lately I've been lucky enough to find some junk that I find aesthetically pleasing. (By the way, I misspelled "connoisseur" so badly the spellcheck function thought I meant "coniferous." I am definitely not coniferous.)

Here are some common themes that are attractive to me: anything with bright colors, anything with birds, anything brass with a beautiful patina, anything funny or weird, nothing country, nothing with naked people (though I'm not categorically opposed to nakedness) and nothing that even vaguely resembles those creepy Precious Moments figurines. So no big-eyed children paintings or anything like that. Lately I've been especially drawn to anything with an interesting pattern or texture.

I spent a couple of weeks collecting pieces for the gallery wall I knew I wanted in the living room. I'm really happy with the way it's coming along, though of course there is always room for new stuff as I find it. Here's a shot of the whole thing, with my very favorite starburst mirror right in the center:

Yes, I recycled this from my first post. 

It feels pretty balanced to me right now. I was surprised how easily everything came together since I am famous for over-analyzing the fun and creativity right out of a project. It helps to have a husband standing behind you going "yeah, looks great," while holding the drill in his hand, impatiently waiting for you to just make a damn decision.

Side note: hanging stuff on plaster walls is a pain in the REAR. You have to drill pilot holes for everything. This is why everything that's reasonably lightweight gets stuck to the walls with my favorite double-sided tape.

Just for funsies, here are some detail shots of all the pieces, along with stories in which I will tell you exactly when and where I got them and how much I paid. Tackiness at its very finest, I say! But seriously, all the stories are roughly the same: I went thrift shopping alone, with my aunt, or with my sister and got something outrageously cheap.

First up:

I showed you guys this one earlier, but it's just so dang cute I can't help it. I got this for $0.50 at a thrift shop. As my mom is fond of saying (about 10 or 15 times an hour, when she finds a really good deal on a t-shirt), you just can't beat it! Not even if you tried. And boy have I tried.

Getting back to my aforementioned love of birds is this pretty plate I paid a whopping $2 for:

And a close-up of the details:

I love its unusual shape and the little cutout detail near the "stem." My dad really loves this one, which makes me love it even more because I think it's really cute he even cares.

Here's a little tip for hanging stuff when you're cheap and lazy and don't feel like going to the hardware store to buy specialty doo-hickies to hang it: get yourself a hot glue gun and some pop can tabs and glue one or two of those suckers to the back. Bam! Instant, free junk hangers for your wall. I've done this with probably 10 different things in our house and they're awesome.

Next up is a beautiful original watercolor I bought on eBay. I went a little outside my comfort zone and paid $10 for this one. I must have been feeling flush that day:

I got the rustic frame at a thrift store for a dollar. It worked perfectly because I didn't want to use glass in front of the watercolor, even though I probably should. I just love how when you get up close to it you can see the brush strokes and pencil marks and it's very obvious someone did it with their own hands. The artist's name is Evelyn S. Knapp and her pieces pop up on eBay every so often.

Rounding out that little section of the wall is this vintage bird print:

Honestly, this is probably my least favorite piece on the wall, so I would be happy to put something in its place, but it's pretty and I like the colors. The original frame it came in was brown plastic (eek!) so I replaced it with another thrifted frame in silver and gold:

I like how the bands of color mimic the mat that came with the print.

On the other side of the mirror are two little plates I got for $1 each and hung using the pop-can-tab trick:

Aren't they so fun?! They're probably about 5" across so I wanted to keep them paired together so they'd have a little more presence. The colors and details are so pretty:

Just above those hang the botanical prints I got for $2 each:

I got the one on top one Saturday and went back two weeks later and its friend had shown up at the same thrift store! The frames are in really nice shape and they were matted with pretty mats edged in gold. I (along with everyone else on the planet) am having a love affair with botanical prints. They're always so colorful and the lines are really graceful and they lend themselves so nicely to any room or style. They can be traditional, eclectic,  modern... they're the denim jackets of wall art.

On the adjacent wall I've hung up two vintage metal trays with the prettiest engraving:

The pop-can-tab trick worked here too, although I had to use Krazy Glue to secure them; the hot glue wouldn't hold. I love metallics and I think the trays look a little unexpected on the wall. These things are readily available in thrift stores if you're in the market. I've bought several and use them all over the house. Here's a detail shot of the bottom tray:

I just love it. I couldn't for the life of me get a picture of the brass tray without getting horrible reflections, but it has a really nice engraved floral pattern. At $2 each, I think they were definitely worth it.

So that's it! My own little art gallery. It's not perfect, it's not finished, but it is pretty to look at and the pieces make me smile and make our living room a lovely place to be. Certainly no one would mistake any of it for priceless art, but who gives a rip? The great thing about getting everything so cheaply is that when I say "God, I'm bored of that," I can donate it and not feel guilty. I'm just contributing to the circle of thrifting.

That's it, that's my book title: The Circle of Thrifting. You heard it here first.

xoxo,

Leigh