I’m still working on getting my dining room chairs sanded, primed, and painted. But when I stopped working last night and came inside, I sat down at my desk and started going through all of the artwork ideas that I’ve saved on Instagram over the years. I have a folder with so many ideas and so much inspiration, so narrowing it down to the one idea I actually want to use (not only for the main art piece, but also for the two pieces that will flank the pantry doorway) is a challenge. I want to make/paint/create all of them!
Obviously, the piece above the buffet will be a big focal point in the room, so I want to get it right on the first try. Until now, I’ve been working with the idea of a really colorful abstract painting, but I can’t decide if I want to stick with that idea of an abstract or if I want to go with a landscape.
I love the idea of both, but the reason I’m thinking a landscape might be the better way to go is because I know for sure that the artwork that I’ll make to flank the pantry doorway will be abstract and textural. So I like the idea of having a mix of artwork in the room — a colorful landscape above the buffet and two textural abstract pieces flanking the pantry doorway.
But the biggest determining factor will be which one I can actually pull off myself. A landscape is more intimidating to me because I’m not exactly an artist and when you set out to paint a landscape, it actually has to look like something. 😀 There’s a lot more flexibility with an abstract painting.
So here’s the abstract I’ve been working with over the last couple of weeks. This one is the one a reader sent me, so I believe this painting is an AI creation. (I’ve had lots of people ask me where they can purchase it, but I don’t think it’s an actual painting that can be purchased.)
I had ChatGPT lighten the wall color to more closely match my actual wall color, but it’s still not light enough. I also had it enlarge the painting. It obviously made it too big, but we’ll go with it for now since we’re just trying out general ideas. The actual artwork will be a bit smaller and won’t be that close to the draperies.
The second one I uploaded was the landscape by Mya that I ordered from Minted (affiliate link) and used in our bedroom.
Side note: If you like colorful landscapes, you should follow Mya on Instagram. She sells little original art pieces that are actually quite reasonable in price if you don’t have the budget for one of her larger original pieces. She also sells prints of her original artwork, like the print I used in our bedroom.
So after uploading both of those, I gave it the instructions to create a landscape inspired by those — colorful, large, somewhat abstract but still obviously a landscape, and using colors that coordinate with the room. This is what it gave me…
It’s probably not quite what I would actually do. I think it’s a little on the nose as far as matching the colors of the room. I want it to complement the room, but I don’t think it needs to be quite so matchy-matchy. But overall, I do love the general idea of a large, colorful landscape. And I really love seeing the inspiration of how to incorporate the colors I want into a landscape.
So right now, I’m really leaning towards a landscape instead of the abstract. But as usual, feel free to share your thoughts. And again, keep in mind that the artwork flanking the pantry door will be textural and abstract. I’m still narrowing down exactly what I want on those walls, but I have my mind set on textural and abstract.
Again, I’m not quite sure if I can pull this off myself. I’m pretty artistic, and I can pull off the abstract stuff myself. But for an actual landscape, I might have to draft the help of my resident artist (my mom, obviously) to coach me along. But I really want to paint this myself, so she’ll have to be a hands-off teacher and coach. 😀
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Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
