At the end of June, my work was featured in the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association (GVHBA) Parade of Homes event. The newly built home is located in West Point Grey, Vancouver.
I’ve known the homeowners Scott and Tracey for a few years, and having seen the footer in my emails, they had visited my website and viewed my work on social media. Scott and Tracey had the idea that The Parade of Homes was the perfect opportunity for them to see my work in their home! After walking through their space, we keyed in on the important site lines and talked about the scale, including size and orientation of the paintings that we thought would work for each room/area. We decided that there were seven potential spaces for art. Back in my studio, I chose a combination of my more representational work along with my abstract work to mix up the visual interest, keeping it fresh in each room while bringing a coherency and flow to the space.
When choosing art for a space, many factors come into play. The first priority is to ensure that the piece speaks to the homeowners. If there is no connection between the piece of art and the ones experiencing it every day, then there really is no point. It is essential to ensure the scale of the work is right for each wall and for each space. There has to be an overall balance in terms of size and weight of each piece. Scale is key to ensuring that there is a positive flow to the space. The color and subject of each painting has to work for each room/area of the home. Each piece of art has to complement the finishes, while also taking into account what the room is used for. For example, I recommended paintings that were less saturated in color and ‘dreamy’ or ‘calming’ for the bedroom, and paintings that have a more saturated palette, and were painted allowing texture and movement to dominate, for the great room area, complimenting the high energy space where all the everyday activities take place.
My challenge for Scott and Tracey’s home was to ensure that each room could stand on its own while also allowing my art to offer a sense of continuity to the entire space. The homeowners, homebuilder and I were very pleased with the overall result, and we had a lot of positive feedback at the GVHBA Parade of Homes on the weekend of the open house. After the event, the homeowners asked if they could keep my work for a few weeks, as they had a family gathering planned and wanted to keep the art up. It was wonderful to know that my paintings were really adding to their space and that they seemed to be making a connection with them. The few extra weeks turned into a decision by Scott and Tracey to purchase the collection of paintings! I am so very grateful to Tracey and Scott for their love and support of my work.