You need an office makeover! August 25, 2008

Many of us spend the majority of our week days at work. Keeping your office space inspiring will keep things interesting, spark creativity and ensure that you don’t get stuck in a rut! Switch out the art in your office on a regular basis, which also presents a handy solution if, like me, you find your art collection growing and your wall space at home limited!

The average American works about 40 hours a week in full-time employment. Whether you commute or work from home, it’s worth your while (and fun!) to transform your workspace into your home away from home – your own little creative oasis that reflects with your personality and style.

If your workspace is on the dreary side, now is the time for an office makeover – get motivated and decorate for success! Browse the ArtRev.com collection and choose imagery, subjects, colors and themes make you feel happy and motivated.

De-stress, increase your productivity and get your creative juices flowing with art! From landscapes and figurative art to quirky abstracts and pop art, ArtRev.com has just the right thing for you! Try it, it works!

Memorial Day Art!!! May 20, 2008

Jane Wooster-Scott stands alone as the finest painter of Americana on the planet, capturing the heritage, tradition and cultural diversity that so many have bravely fought to protect.

Wooster-Scott has become legendary for her exceptional scenes of America’s celebrations and holidays, providing a trove of visual lore unlike any other. Her paintings trace the cavalcade of the American experience. From her studio in Sun Valley, Idaho, Scott continues to discover new venues, celebrated traditions and everyday pleasures and beauty in this land of boundless joys and effervescent cultural diversity. Wooster Scott has an unfailing eye for the charm and magnificence of her native land and paints it in her own breathtaking style for the ages.

Nutcracker Fantasy by Jane Wooster Scott

Her collectors include Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Marlon Brando, Charles Bronson, Steve Wynn, Merv Griffin and many, many other prominent art-lovers. Her enormously successful shows have been hosted by Sylvester Stallone, Dyan Cannon, Kirk Douglas, Carol Burnett and the late actors Henry Fonda and Gene Kelly. Her works hang in museums, in public buildings and private homes in Europe, Asia and South America as well as in the United States. Wooster-Scott is also listed in the Guinness World Book of Records!

"… I intend to continue to seek out the remaining treasures of our heritage and paint them for my own joy and for people who share my love of country."

Gary Benfield – The Artist of Romance – Presented by ArtRev.com May 20, 2008

Mona Lisa Mystery SOLVED! April 26, 2008

German academics at the Heidelberg University library believe that they have finally confirmed the identity of the “Mona Lisa“, the subject in Leonardo da Vinci’s famous portrait painting. Art historians have often wondered whether the smiling woman may have been Da Vinci’s lover, his mother or even the artist himself.

One of the most popular theories has been that the Mona Lisa was Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a wealthy Florentine merchant, Francesco del Giocondo. Experts recently discovered dated notes scribbled in the margins of a book, penned in October 1503 by Florentine city official Agostino Vespucci, an acquaintance of Da Vinci’s. The notes confirm once and for all that Lisa del Giocondo was indeed the model for one of the most famous portraits in the world.

Prior to the discovery, only limited evidence from sixteenth-century documents had been available, which left lots of room for interpretation. The comments in the book state that Da Vinci was working on three paintings at the time, one of them a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo. Art experts, who have already dated the painting to this time period, say the Heidelberg discovery is a breakthrough and the earliest mention linking the merchant’s wife to the portrait.

The painting, which hangs in the Louvre in Paris, is also known as “La Gioconda” (which translates to the happy or joyful woman in Italian), a title which also suggests the woman’s married name.

Mona Lisa

Optical Illusion April 23, 2008

Peripheral drift illusion refers to an anomalous motion illusion that can be observed in peripheral vision. The artwork below is completely static, it is not animated in any way. It utilizes an advanced method of physiological illusions. The illusion is easily seen when moving your eyes from on side of the artwork to another. An amazing phenomenon that needs a solid scientific explanation! Hint: Illusions can be based on an individual’s ability to see in three dimensions even through the image hitting the retina is only two dimensional.

Akiyoshi Kitaoka, 2004 Rotating Snakes Digital Artwork, Patterns Optical Illusion Department of Psychology, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan

Ready, get set, decorate! April 23, 2008

Ready, get set, decorate!

A wonderful way to create interest in your interior décor is to design with art sets. What exactly does that mean? Pair two or more works of art that compliment each other to create interest on a wall.

That could mean pairing works with similar subject matter, colors and framing for an organized and synergized feel, as with this set by Gary Benfield below…

… And this set of four, a selection from Dali’s Divine Comedy…

Or, if you’re décor is more daring and eclectic, you can even match works of art with different content, colors and dimensions. In this scenario, ensure that there is a common theme that draws the art together into a synergized collection.

The example below utilizes the common thread of etchings, that is, all of the works in the collection are hand colored etchings by Impressionist Masters. Sometimes, the seemingly haphazard arrangement of the works lends to the final overall interest of the display.

View the artworks by Renoir and Cezanne featured in this collection…

Fundamentally, an art set is a group of two or more pieces of art that work together as a team. Large art sets can be used to fill up the space in large rooms and create a focal point. Smaller sets work beautifully in smaller rooms or to compliment the focal point in larger rooms.

You can place a smaller art set on either side of a large work of art or mirror, you can hang sets diagonally in stairwells or living rooms to add interest, as in the example with Miro’s works below…

…With your imagination and the diverse ArtRev.com art collection, the possibilities are endless!