Tips for Decorating with Art: Channel a little Luxe to brighten your life

Interview with Interior Decorator Young Huh
by artist Miriam Schulman

Room by Young Huh Interiors, Photo John Hall

MS: Do you choose art for your clients?

YH: We love getting involved with developing a client’s collection and finding ways to display their art.

MS: What are your resources for buying art? 

YH: We try to go to gallery openings as much as possible and go to some of the important shows like the armory show.  We also maintain relationships with gallerists and curators as well as directly with artists such as you, so we get a lot of information about different artists and what they are doing.  We can then introduce our clients to the types of work they would like to collect.

MS: Does the art have to match the sofa?     

YH: Never collect art to match the sofa!!  However, you want to think about showing your art in the best environment.  You are curating your personal collection and you want to make sure your environment and your artwork are interacting in a pleasing way.  I recently saw the Alexander McQueen show and I thought that was such an excellent example of the artwork and the environment enhancing each other.
 
MS: What color palette are you most attracted to at the moment?

YH: I am really loving jewel tones: peacock blues, rich greens and golden yellow against a dark lustrous backdrop- very Yves Saint Lauren.  There has been so much despair in the art and design world, I think everyone will be channeling a little luxe to brighten our lives.

MS: How does your Korean roots influence the way you decorate?

YH: I am very proud of my Korean roots.  So much of Korean culture is about art and glamour since ancient times.   First century Kings and Queens wore the most exquisite jewelry and textiles.  Korean 12^th century celadon is where all of east Asian celadon comes from.  Seeing these things growing up taught me to love the decorative arts.

MS: How do you use art to enhance your classic, eclectic, chic design aesthetic?

YH: Artwork tells a story or expresses an idea.  Art is the soul of a room.  I like to install art and object that elaborate on the homeowner’s life and the feeling of a room.  We bring classicism with a disciplined approach to a room, eclecticism by breaking some rules and chic by instilling fashionable edge.  Art is critical component in creating this environment.

MS: Any other rules you want to share for decorating with artwork?

YH: Don't be afraid of art and weaving it into your life.  Paintings don’t need to all be hung formally and treated that way.  You can have some flea market finds or charming portraits in bookshelves.  You can place a small drawing on an easel on a hallway table.  Put some watercolors of fruit in your kitchen.   My photographer, John Hall, has a still life photograph of a blender and brightly covered fruit in his kitchen.  Brilliant.  

MS: What about hanging art? Do you have a rule of how high to hang it?

YH: This is an issue all the time!  The general rule is that you want to hang artwork at eye level.  Most people want to hang their art too high.  Sometimes the architectural conditions of a room require otherwise, but generally, you want to be able to see the artwork without craning your neck. 

To contact Young for your next design project:

 
Young Huh's Facebook
Young Huh's Website
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Young recommends peacock blues, rich greens and golden yellow for her clients. 
Jewel Tones and Peacock Blues in Art by Miriam Schulman
Click on captions to find out about purchase information.

Peacock Painting on Canvas

Koi art

click HERE for Peacock Painting on Canvas
click HERE for Deep Sea Shadows, 16x20"

Preening Peacock, 32x40" at Tappan Z Art Gallery

click HERE for Preening Peacock, 32x40"
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Huh recommends adding little paintings to bookshelves.
Schulman has some great canvases that sit well in a bookcase with their deep sides and small scale

Taxi Land, 6x8" watercolor on canvas

Flamingo Eighth Notes, Mixed Media Collage 6x8

click HERE for Taxi Land, 6x8" watercolor on canvas
click HERE for Flamingo Eighth Notes, Mixed Media Collage 6x8

Brooklyn Bridge, 6x8" Watercolor on Canvas

click HERE for Brooklyn Bridge, 6x8" Watercolor on Canvas
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Bring rich jewel tones from these great etsy sellers into all aspects of your life

Inside the artist's studio

A virtual Tour of the Artist's Studio Desk

by Miriam Schulman

Here is the desk in my artist studio. The desk is nestled lengthwise in front of a window that overlooks my garden. The chair cushion is from Anthropologie and the desk is from Pottery Barn. Although the desk is long, I still added a tray table to the end for additional supplies I want to keep handy but off of my desk. In between the space of the tray table and the desk I have my waste basket. There is an empty frame hidden behind the desk. At the end of the desk there is a basket which is filled with matted prints and matted watercolors. Last summer I painted my studio ( myself!) with Dove White paint by Benjamin Moore.

Folding chairs on the left are for art students. Marbled composition book is for keeping track of ideas, to do lists and to communicate with my summer intern. My intern is using my laptop this summer but I also have another computer downstairs hooked up to a printer and scanner...hmmm...maybe that should all be upstairs in the studio. Do you like the new insect paintings? One of them is being considered for a television set on NBC. Can't tell you which one until it is finalized. [Note: Mosquito Deity was purchased for a set by the NBC show Parenthood.]

Scale for weighing packages. I used to have an electronic one that I bought cheaply on eBay but when that broke I thought it better to get an indestructible mechanical one. Just below that I have a calendar for to do lists. A friend who knows I am disorganized got the calendar for me as a party favor. It has little sticky notes on the sides.

Tucked away next to the print basket is a magazine holder which keeps recent issues of Professional Artist, Art News, Watercolor Artist and some catalogs for Uline, Daniel Smith and Dick Blick. I also have a wire basket of markers. These are really for my children who sometimes like to keep me company in the studio and color while I paint.

At the end of my desk the tray table has a basket on top. The basket has a water spray bottle for re-wetting my watercolor palette, tissues for blotting watercolors, and pledge for keeping the furniture clean. In the pink basket I have my credit card machine that is great for customers who don't like PayPal and for taking to art fairs. Also, my portrait clients like to charge their commissions by credit card.

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New art for sale by Miriam Schulman

Lady Bug, Ladybug Art, Mod...	Insect Art, Bee Painting, ...
Spider Art, Modern Abstrac...	Butterfly Goddess, lavende...

"Bellini and Botany" at the Frick

Drawing Inspiration from Museums to Create Modern Abstract Art
by Miriam Schulman

Giovanni Bellini's St. Francis in the Desert is the largest work on panel at the Frick Collection, a small museum on fifth avenue in New York. The painting has been hailed by curators as "a masterpiece of spiritual poetry that has enthralled generations of visitors to The Frick Collection."

The Frick has many organized events centered around this painting. Sunday Sketch is a recurring program at the Frick which allows artists ages 10 and up to draw at the museum. Materials and a teaching artist are provided. For the "Belini and Botany" series, the museum has identified flora in the painting and had a horticulturist bring in potted plants to the garden courtyard. Each plant has a small sign with a detail of the painting showing you where in the artwork the plants are painted.

Potted Daisies by Miriam Schulman

Pastel drawing depicts Potted Daisies using bold contour lines with lots of energy and fiercely vibrant pastel colors adding to the contemporary and modern feel. White daisies with lime and mossy green stems look stunning against a vibrant blue background, perfect for injecting a touch of color into your decorating scheme. Daises form close the ground and have distinctive, small flower head, which itself is actually composed of numerous tiny flowers. Some daisies can be seen on the ground at the feet of St. Francis's shelter.

Set of three shown together over a sofa

Grape Vine, Pastel on toned paper by Miriam Schulman

The fig tree is drawn on blue toned pastel paper. A stump of a fig tree can be seem below St. Francis's right hand. Another fig tree on the cliff is studded with small fruits. The fig tree can have many symbolic meanings, including fertility and the Resurrection of Christ, and can represent the Virgin Mary.

The grape vine was drawn on toned paper using a limited color palette. The vine's charcoal stems and blue leaves ascend naturally up the artwork, creating a beautiful composition. According to biblical sources, the grape vine symbolizes the Church of the Virgin Mary. In the Bellini's painting, St. Francis's shelter supports a canopy of grapevines.

Morning Glories, Pastel on Blue Paper by Miriam Schulman

The morning glory's vibrant green and blue leaves pop against the blue/grey background. These flowers are known to adapt to the time of day; they close at warm times and are fully open in the morning, thus their name. This plant was thought to be sacred to Dionysus because of the similarity of its leaves to those of ivy.

Jacob's Staff by Miriam Schulman, pastel on toned paper

The leaves and flowers of the Jacob's Staff are attached to an erect central stem. Mullein tends to have favorable symbolism as it is said to possess healing qualities. Therefore, this flower in the painting surely symbolizes spiritual healing powers of Saint Francis. The art is depicted using warm, terracotta background and shades of lime green and aqua.

English Ivy by Miriam Schulman

The English Ivy is an evergreen vine that can spread and fix itself on almost any surface. For this reason, the plant can symbolize attachment, fidelity, and everlasting affection. In antiquity the ivy was sacred to Dionysus, thus symbolizing sleep caused by wine and by extension, death. In the painting, the ivy can be seen flourishing from a crevice on the cliffside above St. Francis's head in Bellini's painting. The drawing is executed with a vertically hatched background of turquoise and aqua that contrasts beautifully with navy and forest green leaves.

Giovanni Bellini (c. 1430/1435–1516), St. Francis in the Desert, c. 1475-78, oil on poplar panel, 49 x 55 7⁄8 inches, The Frick Collection, New York

Information about Sunday Sketch at the Frick
When:Sunday, 7/10, 7/24, 8/14, 1 – 3 p.m	.
Where:Garden Court, Frick Collection, 1 East 70th Street
What:Sunday Sketch
Free with museum admission; no reservations are necessary.

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Did you know?
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A Bellini is a long drink cocktail mixed with sparkling wine and peach purée that originated in Venice. One of Italy's most popular cocktails, the Bellini was invented by Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy. The cocktail's unique pink color reminded Cipriani of the color of the toga of the saint in the painting by 15th-century Venetian artist Giovanni Bellini, he named the drink the Bellini!

Farewell to Greenacres School

An Artist says good-bye to her children's school
by Miriam Schulman

After nine years of being a part of Greenacres School, I am finally saying farewell. My youngest just had his last day of school there today as a fifth-grader. It seems like just yesterday I was dropping off my oldest daughter at her classroom for the first day of kindergarten; now my son walks out the door on his way to middle school and that little girl moves on to Scarsdale High School. Last fall I was asked by the PTA to paint a picture of the school for the cover of the fifth grade yearbook. I agreed, thinking it could be an interesting experience not just for myself but for the students, their parents and teachers, too. The cover was a big hit! Although I did this for my son's school for free, if you want to commission a painting of your child's school for a yearbook cover, or as a keepsake for your home do not hesitate to contact me at schulmanArt@yahoo.com.
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Framed Prints of Greenacres Available from imagekind

If you want a print of Greenacres School, they are available for sale on schulmanart.imagekind.com I love this website that will also custom frame the print for you. What better way to decorate your child's room than with nostalgic art of their school days. One mom I know purchased a canvas print to give as a going away present for her friend.

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Folded Blank Note Cards of Greenacres School
Buy Greenacres Note Cards

For the teachers' gifts this year I made folded note cards with the school painting on it. If you are in Scarsdale, this may be something you want to have as well and I am selling the note cards at schulmanArt.com


Be sure to use the free shipping coupon on my website, FREESH


If you are considering get a painting of your school, you may want to get the note cards as well. Any commission I do I can get professionally printed blank note cards. ______________________________________________________

Here is the yearbook cover for 2011. Congratulations to all the graduates out there. You make us parents proud!

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Alexander McQueen brings an artist's touch to his designs

Wearable Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

by guest blogger, Lindsay LeBoyer

MET's 82nd street entrance(photo LeBoyer)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute is currently showing an exhibition called Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty. The exhibit shows the designs of Alexander McQueen from his graduate collection at Central St. Martins College of Art to the final collection at his namesake brand. The exhibition runs through August 7th. You can go to the MET's website for all the details on the exhibit and to plan your own visit. There are many special programs associated with this exhibition including a  Teen Program called Alexander McQueen: Celebrate and Create, which took place on Saturday, June 12th and I was fortunate enough to participate in.

A dress from McQueen's Spring/Summer 2001 collection

A big debate in the fashion world is whether fashion is art but when it comes to Alexander McQueen, he's a true artist. He pushes the boundaries of silhouettes and completely re-imagines what the body can look like. McQueen also used materials for his designs which no other designer had used before. For example, in a dress from his Spring/Summer 2001 collection, the bodice is made of glass microscope slides tinted red. This is the first piece one sees upon entering the exhibit. The dress really pulls you in and makes you want to see more of McQueen's gorgeous creations. From a dress embroidered with fresh flowers, to a corset made completely from aluminum coils, you will not be disappointed.

The exhibition is organized by rooms and a highlight of the exhibition is the "Romantic Naturalism" room. Like many artists, McQueen drew inspiration from the natural world around him. Although the pieces were inspired by nature, they have somewhat of an extraterrestrial feel.

The "Romantic Naturalism" room

After a tour of the exhibition, the teen program included a seminar,led by the Costume Institute's Shannon Bell Price and famous teen fashion blogger Tavi Gevinson. The seminar covered everything from McQueen's aesthetic to how he brought creative visions to life. Shannon Bell Price assisted Andrew Bolton in curating the exhibit, and it was really interesting to hear how they collaborated with McQueen's team to get every detail just right. After the seminar, teens were invited to an art room to make their own pieces of "wearable art" inspired by McQueen.

LeBoyer's Hat inspired by the McQueen Collection

For my wearable art piece, I constructed a miniature top hat out of black colored paper. I decorated it with red feathers, ribbon, and shiny gems to resemble some of the pieces I had seen in the exhibit. I had a wonderful time at the MET and hope to return there for many more teen programs in the future!

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Lindsay's Art Picks
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Peacock Art,  20x30in

I absolutely love this peacock painting! The bright blue body and orange-y gold feathers create a beautiful contrast, and bright hues are one of my favorite trends for summer. This painting also uses sheet music as a material. I love when artists use unconventional mediums!~LL

Baby Chicks, 11x14" matted print

This a water color painting of baby chicks. Their feathers look so fluffy, and I love the simple white background.~LL

Summer Swan

This painting, called "Swan Summer," is another watercolor that I love. The reflection in the water is gorgeous. I could imagine seeing this swan floating on a pond as the sun sets.~LL