Paint Paint Everywhere

I've been painting and painting, and none of it on canvas. I often wonder why people paint their rooms drab dull colors, and without thought or without any artistic sense. I DO undnerstand painting rooms that make you "feel".  I understand painting a room to enhance moods such as relaxation, warmth, and even designes to help promote energy.

When I tell my friends that I paint with certain themes in mind, they usually roll their eyes. I understand why they do that, but they don't understand what i mean by decorating with themes. For instance, My house as a whole is built on the idea of adventure, world travel, and exploration. As a whole, my house exudes warmth, yet isn't suffocating. I believe in using warm colors, but I balance that by using equal amounts of bold colors and nuetral accents. For instance, I've been trying to go for an Italian feel in my kitchen.  Again, my friends roll their eyes, until they walk in. Then they understand. I have very few "italian" decorations, but instead I suggest the theme by textures of the wall, with paint choices, with plants, and with my choice in flooring.  I have hard wood flooring, though in the kitchen, it is more worn, and had been covered with layers of lenolium. May God have mercy on the poor bastards that put down that flooring. Anyways, I stripped it down, and have yet to refinish the floor, but I can envisionit will look awesome. With the rugs on the floors, it doesn't look all that bad now. Especially with my work on the walls. It took me about a week of painting. I dig the terra cotta look of the pots. You know, the ones with lime build up that have been sitting on your patio. So, I painted my walls an orange color, then went over that with a nice whitewash. The whitewash also helps bring out the texture in my fresco stle walls. Needless to say, my family was worried when i told them that I'd painted with such a bold color. They walked in, and everyone agreed it looked really good.

So goes the progression in the entire house. I bought this house, and after doing so seriously thought I'd gone off the deep end in making that decision. But, I've seen this as a work in progress. And even though it is my home, I use it as a way to express myself. I see it as a work of art. Even though most just see their home as a place to recharge their batteries. Sometimes my visions don't quite work out, hence why it takes me seven coats of paint on a wall before I figure out what works.

You can check out pictures of that progression in the scraps section.


J