Handle the Mantel

Francois & Company mantel

This week, a very nice gentleman came in to the gallery on a mission. He said he needed a painting to go over his mantel but that he and his wife couldn’t agree on what it should be (stay tuned for another blog on that topic!). He had measured the space carefully and asked to see everything we had in a 30 x 40 horizontal. He had clearly been looking for a long time and was tired of having a big, blank space over his mantel.

We asked him a couple of questions about what he liked and didn’t like, and then suggested he take a quick spin around the gallery to see if anything reached out and grabbed him. He did see quite a few things he liked, but they didn’t fit the size requirement, and so he was a little frustrated. We’ve been down this path so many times with so many different clients that we decided to address the issue head on.

Does the space over the mantel really have to dictate the size of the painting?

We don’t think so. In fact sometimes it’s much more interesting if it doesn’t. We don’t believe any space should dictate the size of the painting. Only your heart.

There are lots of creative ways to handle the mantel, even if you don’t have to have the “perfect” painting – or even if you do. We’ve pulled together some fun examples from designers around the country, many of whom were recently featured in House Beautiful. You’ll see examples of making the painting look bigger, by adding sconces or three dimensional elements, or making it look smaller, by dwarfing it with other objects. Sometimes you’ll see groupings of several paintings instead of just one, or paintings layered behind each other, to give a sculptural effect. And you’ll see lots of examples with other solutions for the mantel, such as sculpture, mirrors, driftwood, and other objects. And sometimes you’ll see that a blank wall is actually the most powerful. The key is to take the pressure of the mantel in terms of “trophy” art work, and always buy the art that speaks to your heart.

If you have a small painting, add other elements to fill in the space. If you do this, keep form and scale in mind, as Mona Hajj has done here. The pitcher on the right here balances nicely with the vase on the left and they’re both big enough to sustain the length of the mantel. And their forms are attractive.

In this living room from Cristine Gillespie, the scale of the painting may seem large and a little too vertical for the mantel, but it is nicely balanced with sculptural elements, such as the Eiffel towers, that bring it down. We love the drama created by this painting, and the fact that it clearly was not bought for the space.

Isn’t this fun? This image, of a design by photographer Victoria Pearson in the pages of House Beautiful, shows that you can totally break with conventional wisdom and create something dramatic and impactful next to the mantel. Painting by Katie Van Horne.

Who needs to be a slave to the mantel? Here the designer, Eldon Wong, obviously had some fun with his three dimensional “Bulls-Eye” art work over the mantel that creates a great focal point and complements that beautiful 19^th century marine painting in the formal gold frame.

In the same vein, we love this room by Cheryl Womack for the 2008 Atlanta Symphony Show House. Notice how she used the round mirror over the mantel to break up the lines, and then put the gorgeous painting (by our artist, Pascal Bouterin) on the side behind the chair, where it could be viewed just as well, but in a less predictable and more interesting way than over the mantel. Who says that the prize needs to go over the mantel?

And then sometimes it will happen that your prized possession, like this gorgeous luminous landscape, will fit perfectly over the mantel, as it does in this lovely Tuscan inspired home decorated by Fern Santini. Was the mantel designed for the painting? We wonder. That’s the kind of cart we love putting before the horse.

Here we love to see Tom Scheerer, in House Beautiful, breaking all the rules. Didn’t we all think, for a second, “But why didn’t you put the larger boat paintings over the mantel?” And yet look how much more interesting his vignettes are, and how this collection on the mantel enhances every element.

In this tiny space designed by Chantal Dussouchaud, there wasn’t enough room for a mantel. We think she chose a graphic element instead of a painting to keep the space from protruding too much in to the room. It works.

We love this dramatic room from the Atlanta Symphony Show House and featured in Traditional Home magazine, with its bold use of sculpture over the mantel. Sometimes less is definitely more.

Look at this nice break from tradition in a room by Annie Selke. We love the grouping on the left as well as the fun grouping over the mantel. And did you see what the coffee table is made out of? Surfer cool!

We often tell people who are stymied by the mantel predicament to find a beautiful old mirror, or a frame that can be mirrored, and prop it just as it is in this lovely interior by Christina Rottman.

We love the juxtaposition here of the Victorian style mantel, the Louis chairs and settee, and the marvelous abstract painting over the mantel in this interior designed by Dana Lyon in the May 2009 issue of HB.

Here’s another way to make a smaller painting fit the space, by layering it against another painting or a mirror, and giving the whole effect a sculptural quality. With everything else so symmetrical in this lovely interior by Mary McDonald, it’s nice to see the artwork on the mantel shake it up a little.

Finally, we end on a formal note with a gorgeous 18^th or 19^th century painting beautifully framed and wonderfully centered over a French limestone mantel in this home by Ginger Barber. Sometimes, the prized possession over the perfect mantel just plain works.

And as for our nice gentleman who came in looking for the painting over the mantel? Well, he loved a lot of paintings but thought his wife might need a little convincing that the mantel shouldn’t dictate the size of the painting. So we told him we’d help him out by writing a blog about it. Now, let’s hope that his wife will read it!

Ta ta,

HH

Hats off to ... A Heart for the Arts

This falls in the category of: Why didn’t we think of that?

A grouping of fabulous paintings, a touch of mystery, a surge of excitement, a rush to buy, and all of it benefiting a good cause. Why didn’t we think of that? You can be sure, next time we will ...

As art gallery owners and appreciators of fine art, we attend our fair share of art shows and benefits. Such was the case last week with the opening of A Heart for the Arts, the Atlanta based Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School Fine Arts Alliance annual fundraiser. There was the usual display of fine art paintings, sculpture and jewelry, mostly done by local professional artists, and all representing a broad range of styles and genre. And then there was something that really caught our eye and kept us mesmerized and guessing: It was a grouping of 70 or so small paintings, all 5” x 7”, painted on linen board, each one colorful and fun and completely different from each other, and not one of them signed.

Snapshot of what the “Mystery” boards looked like

As you can imagine, it was practically pandemonium, with everyone rushing to buy one of these precious, small jewels for $50. Was it a Picasso? Or was it a third grade artist? A celebrity baseball player? Or an established artist? You didn’t know until you bought it and that’s what made it so fun.

Ann’s loot from the show, “Rocky My Dog” by PGA golfer Anthony Kim

The “Mystery Artist” board was organized by Leah Henry, who, in addition to being President of the Fine Arts Alliance and a very talented and respected artist in her own right, is a true visionary with lots of marvelous ideas for promoting fellow artists and helping them give back to the community. She, and a group of volunteers, got over 70 people across many industries, to paint (or draw, or do a collage, or write …) on the linen side of the board, and to leave it anonymous so that people viewing it wouldn’t know who had created it.

Leah showing “Rocky My Dog” his new home at HH

We were involved in this idea peripherally when a few months ago, Meridy King, an haute priestess of interior design in Atlanta and a Huffington favorite who happened to be coordinating the volunteer project, asked us if some of our artists would be willing to participate. We love working with Meridy because in addition to her exquisite taste and gorgeous use of materials and color, she has a tendency towards the unexpected and a keen appreciation for art. So we knew that whatever she wanted, we'd happily help out.

Meridy King and the “Mystery” board

We approached several of our artists and they were delighted with the challenge, the fun and the opportunity to do some good. So among the artists, the celebrity interior designers, the pro golfer, the TV newscaster and scores of other interesting folks, were several Huffingtons, holding their own. In fact, we liked Melissa Payne Baker’s painting so much, we suggested she try to do some similar ones in the same palette, but larger.

Melissa Payne Baker’s “Mystery” creation

Look what she came up with? How great is that? Great enough for another blog, another time!

Another Huffington artist, Elizabeth Stockton, was also featured in the show as was Bonnie Beauchamp Cooke. We were delighted to see a drawing by famed Atlanta interior designer Suzanne Kasler displayed below Elizabeth’s painting. Kasler depicted one of her famous quatrefoil chairs that we’re all dying to have in our home.

Stockton & Kasler stacked

Image from Hickory Chair Furniture

Bonnie Beauchamp Cooke

Other notable contributions…

MOCA’s Tijana Graham

Georgia’s First Lady, Mary Perdue

Artist Jan Eubanks

Artist Ruth Barrett

Artist & President of the HIES Fine Art Alliance, Leah Hopkins Henry

Real estate maven, Glennis Beacham

Lynn Rainey

Interior designer Dan Carithers

PGA golfer, Anthony Kim

And as for the idea of the Mystery Artist? it was such a great idea, and so much fun for all, we may have to borrow the idea ourselves some day, and we’ll know whom to credit: Thank you Leah, and thank you Meridy ...

Ta ta

HH

A Horse is a Horse…

Purposeful Pony, Georges Nasri, watercolor, 16 x 20"

There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man. ~Winston Churchill

At least one of us here at the gallery (me) never recovered from the common strain of equine crush, most commonly experienced between the years of 7 and 12. Although years have passed (and I did discover boys…), I’ve never lost my passion, love and curiosity for these beautiful and graceful animals. I’ve been thrown, bitten, stepped on (that one really hurt) kicked and bucked off, but something about a horse’s meltingly brown eyes and the velvety texture of their noses brings me back again and again.

Although I always love to, I can't always find the time to head over to Atlanta’s Chastain Horse Park to get my fix. Luckily, my yearnings are quietened with the wonderful procession of equine paintings and watercolors that canter into the gallery and gallop right back out again, usually in the hands of another horse lover.

One of our favorite equine painters is the gorgeous, tall and exquisitely talented Bonnie Beauchamp Cooke, who jokingly calls herself a real cowgirl (although when she comes to the gallery in cool jeans and heels, she seems like a bonafide city girl to us!). She owns a farm in Middle Georgia and delights us with paintings of her own horses, with decidedly family-picked names: Lucy, Zipper Doodle, Leonard the IV (who was actually the son of Shelley) and Cappie. We love these paintings because they are full of texture, lots of different media (including sand and dirt that Bonnie likes to apply with her fingers) and soft, natural colors. I am especially taken with the way Bonnie captures a horse’s eye: it’s the window to their sweet souls and Bonnie paints them big, full of life and light and deep, dark brown. (By the way, Bonnie was recently the subject of a lively and gorgeously photographed blog by journalist/designer/tastemaker, Bryan Flynn, so click here to feast your eyes on it.)

Green, Bonnie Beauchamp Cooke, mixed media on panel, 40 x 30"

One of our French artists, Georges Nasri, paints a pretty fabulous horse, too. His are elongated and elegant equines – the way you’d want to look if you were a French horse. He uses a subtle inky brown watercolor and uses long, uninterrupted brush strokes. Sometimes, he adds a rider – and sometimes I dream that I’m a French girl riding a French horse and we’re both chic and elegant in that 1930s way. Georges’ horses look marvelous when they’re grouped together in a grid or a collection.

Trotting Forward, Georges Nasri, watercolor on paper, 16 x 8"

And, speaking of that, we just sold a number of these watercolors to a client who was adding an “elegant horse theme” to a study. We haven't snagged the photos yet, but we're pretty sure the collection packs a stylish punch.

We have a third artist whose work really sends me to the moon. His name is Jeffrey Terreson and he creates large (really large) horses in the most unhorsey hues. I’m particularly taken with his Quiet Series – these are noble steeds, who look like they come from prestigious bloodlines, but they gleam and glow in the palest celery green, azure blue and even crimson. Jeffrey incorporates all sorts of nameless objects into his media (like tiny plastic beads that get covered in his oil paint and add impossible texture). The newest one that recently arrived at our stable/gallery, was Quiet Mist. I was already in love before the crate arrived and sad for me, Quiet Mist quickly found a new home on someone’s lucky wall. Sigh.

Quiet Mist, Jeffrey Terreson, mixed media on canvas, 38 x 58"

Although we're all patiently waiting for another horsey creation from Mr. Terreson, I'm always looking for the next four-legged steed who will capture my heart...

Mares and Foals in a River Landscape, by George Stubbs, circa 1763-8

And here's one of Leonardo's sketches...

And finally, from Ashley Collins (a most inspired and talented California artist who performs wonders with the equine form), Grace. How beautiful is this?

That’s it, from the horse’s mouth….

Ta ta,

M.

A Huffington in House Beautiful

Yesterday morning as I was jogging on the treadmill trying to shed those uninvited Christmas pounds, I listened to one of my favorite podcasts, The Skirted Roundtable, in a discussion between three designers who all have fabulous blogs and insights into the world of design. In this segment, they interviewed Stephen Drucker, the Editor in Chief of House Beautiful magazine. I hadn’t realized that HB has been around for over 100 years, but I had noticed that in the last few years, it seems to be getting better and better. While other magazines are shedding pages or suffering even worse demises, HB seems to be getting stronger, thicker, with great big pictures, wonderfully varied design features, fabulous “how to’s” and a focus that is both aspirational and approachable.

I always look forward to getting my issue of HB in the mail, but unfortunately my subscription didn’t follow our recent move, and I have missed the last two issues. This became evident when the three ladies went on and on about how fabulous the recent Dec/Jan issue was and particularly praised the cover and story of Jill Brinson’s house in Atlanta. Hmmm, I thought, I don’t remember seeing this. So I sent out a quick S-O-S to a few friends, and was delighted when one responded immediately and brought that issue in to the gallery.

Sure enough, it was a great cover with the pale mauve House Beautiful logo underscored by a gorgeous, chunky rustic beam across the center. But what really caught my eye and jumped right off the page was the painting of a horse by Georges Nasri, smack in the middle of the cover! You have to understand that our paintings are a little bit like our children, and we are enormously proud and excited when we see pictures of little Huffingtons in magazines. Admittedly, not everyone would have noticed this painting at all. But to me, it was glaringly obvious and terribly exciting, kind of like having your child's artwork picked for the cover of the school poetry magazine (never happened to me).

See the Nasri horse hiding to the right of the couch?

I admit that we work hard to get our artist's work published, which is one of the reasons we’re delighted to contribute to show houses and work with designers. But this was the freebie that we’d never dreamed of -- the cover of House Beautiful magazine! We immediately poured over every detail of the article and were thrilled to read about this talented designer and her creative and quirky house in Atlanta. And we were enormously proud that a painting by our very own Monsieur Nasri graced the walls of her amazing sitting room – and upon further inspection, the living room as well!

Spot the Nasri over the mantle?

Monsieur Nasri’s work has universal appeal, but he is especially appreciated among the designer community. His work was also recently featured in Charlotte Moss’s room at the 2008 Kips Bay Show House. So it was no surprise to see him pop up in a beautifully decorated house by a talented Atlanta based designer. Bravo to Georges, and hats off to Jill for her exquisite taste.

By the way, since we became aware of the article, we've now seen lots of coverage of Jill Brinson's gorgeous house, most recently in yesterday's Cote de Texas blog. What a funny coincidence! But the attention on Jill's house is no surprise: It is deservedly delicious. If you haven't feasted your eyes on it yet, this is a treat for you to savor!

Enjoy,

Ta ta,

A.

Jill Brinson's Rustic and Luxurious Design

Understated elegance in the foyer

A place to compose your thoughts in the library

Bright and airy kitchen

Wall of windows in the kitchen

Tranquil dining room

Functional simplicity in the master bathroom

Master bedroom

Interior designer Jill Brinson, owner of Jill Sharp Style and also Creative Director of Ballard Designs, mixes rough, salvaged beams with Moroccan tapestries and industrial steel shelves in her renovated cottage home in Atlanta.

Visit Cote de Texas and House Beautiful for additional information.

By Lisa Cregan

Photo Credit: Simon Upton

Humble Beginnings

Welcome to our blog, aptly named The Artful Lifestyle. We join legions of blogs out there and hope our simple and short musings will strike a chord with you. We’ll comment on art (of course), lifestyle, food, design, travel and all the other little things in life that strike our fancy.

Sometimes you’ll hear from Ann, sometimes you’ll hear from Meg and sometimes you’ll be hanging on Sam Jones’ every word as well as pearls of lifely wisdom from Linda Mohan and Sarah Sullivan. And because there's always room for more, we hope to have guest contributors from time to time, so that maybe you'll join the family, as well.

What better way to start off a new year than with a new blog - and, as we struggle with a little "writer’s blog," we hear once you get going you can’t stop!

Ta Ta …

Meg and Ann