Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Beautiful snapshots of a home in The Hague

Last night I discovered the blog Saar Manche and was blown away by the beautiful pictures. I quickly e-mailed the owner: Saar and asked if it would be OK to share a few of them with you today. This is a small sample of the images she has captured of her home, which she shares with her husband and three children. Her lovely blog also regularly features her illustrations and paintings as well as magical family life in The Hague, Holland.










Saar Manche - with kind permission. Thanks to Toc Toc Vintage for the introduction. 

Although these are angles rather than complete room shots they still paint a picture of the relaxed feel of family life in Saar's Dutch home.

I was interested to see greenery in many of the images she takes, whether in terms of fern fronds pinned to the wall, wild flowers in vases or floral head wreaths on her children. A girl after my own heart (I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to this!).

While looking at today's home tour I was reminded of new sponsor - Kær (a Danish word describing the space we inhabit between nature and home: beautiful, simple and calm. Founder and owner Marianne grew up in Denmark and if she was ever sad as a child her mother would say 'go outside and look at something beautiful'. Marianne took this advice with her to Brooklyn and the pillows, throws and 100 % linen personalizable table cloths she sells in her online shop are designed to bring the outside in.

We're flying back to Sweden today after a lovely break in London. it's always sad to leave, especially when the sun's shining. Do you live a long way from home?

Have a lovely day!

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Easter give-away: win a print of your choice!

Thank you so much for taking the time to enter. I'm thrilled to announce the winner....Debbie, Greece. If you weren't lucky this time don't worry, there'll be another fab give-away soon - watch this space!

To celebrate Easter, I've teamed up with one of my favourite Swedish artists Elina Dahl, to offer you the chance to win a fab print of your choice from her online shop. For inspiration, you can see examples dotted around Elina's lovely former home (one of my most popular home tours of all time no less, you can see why!). It's soooo quick to enter too - find out how below.






All images: Elina Dahl, shared with kind permission.

How to enter:

1. Visit Elina Dahl's shop and take a look around. 
2. Comment below which print you would most like to win and why

And that's it! The competition is open to everyone until Monday, 6th April 2015, Midnight GMT. The winner will be announced on Tuesday 7th April 2015 here on this post so make sure you pop by to see if it's you!

Terms & Conditions
You must be age of majority in your country of residence. We are not responsible for any duties, import taxes that you may incur. Only 1 entry per person. 

Wishing you a very happy Easter!

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

The lovely home and atelier of an artist

This Friday I'm part of the  'Makers Spaces' blog tour, a new book by Emily Quinton. And it got me thinking about the wonderful creative spaces people live and work in. Johanna Bradford  and Kristin Lagerqvist shot this simply beautiful home and atelier in Varberg on Sweden's West coast a while back. With a sea-view on one side and forests on the other, it's the perfect place for Lisa Burenius to paint and enjoy life with her family - Petter and Eddie. The artist describes her interior style as 1930's with a personal twist, and loves to surround herself with personal objects, books and ceramics. Her advice is to 'listen to the house and trust your instinct. A home should be personal and warm, it should tell a story about who you are'. I feel her home is a perfect example of this, don't you?











Stylist: Johanna Bradford (with kind permission). Photographer: Kristin Lagerqvist

It's wonderful to see an entirely unique home where the personality shines through. It's got soul.

Lisa has some great ideas too - I love the way the books have been arranged so that some are facing outwards and piled high. I also like the simplicity of the fern leaves in jam jars and the retro set of garden furniture outside. All in all, a truly inspiring home.

What do you love most about this space?

You can see more pictures here if you'd like. 

It's well worth checking out Lisa's website  too- I love the video showing her at work in the atelier.  Her work is available here.

I often dip into the art studio archive for ideas. And my office Pinterest board has oodles of work space inspiration. Hey, if we've gotta work we might as well make it pretty, don't you think?

Have a lovely day!

PS do you have a wonderful maker's space I can share on the blog this week? If so, drop me a mail!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Emily Carr Pastel Course - Class 3 & 4






Patricia Gray Pastel Painting Vancouver


Patricia Gray Pastel Painting VancouverPatricia Gray Pastel Painting Vancouver


Patricia Gray Pastel Painting Vancouver


Patricia Gray Pastel Painting Vancouver


Patricia Gray Pastel Painting Vancouver





More experimenting with different papers, techniques and colour schemes at my pastel class at Emily Carr.






PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm in Vancouver. Here we write about lifestyle




Emily Carr Live Model Sketching - Class 6


Patricia Gray Pastel Painting Vancouver


Patricia Gray | Emily Carr University Live Model Sketch Class


This is class six of my Pastel course at Emily Carr University of Art & Design. It is the first time I have done a live model class (I won't count the one class in design school many years ago). We had a series of timed sketches. Starting out with 30 seconds which seemed impossible to capture anything. I was only able to put down a few strokes. Progressing to 60 seconds which was a little better. Then 5 minutes, which felt like an eternity. Then onto 10 minutes, when I could start to make sense of the figure and get a bit of shading and contouring. Each time the model assumed a different pose, so it was always starting from scratch. Short bursts of concentration trains the mind to capture the essence of the pose. No time to ponder, no time to correct. Just carry on. A good lesson for life also. These are 6 of the 45 sketches I completed in a three hour class. The total concentration required was exhausting but exhilarating. I will do it again!





PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm in Vancouver. Here we write about lifestyle





Saturday, April 5, 2014

Emily Carr Pastel Course - Class 1


Patricia Gray Pastel Painting Vancouver




This is the first class of my venture into the world of pastel painting at Emily Carr University Vancouver. It is a new medium to me and this is an experiment to see if I like it. So much to learn about pastels. I love the beautiful colours and the immediacy of this medium. We spent the first class getting used to different papers, line strokes, how to apply pressure and shading. Our subject was an apple. Quite basic, but profoundly complex at the same time. I can better appreciate the art of still life painting now-it's all about capturing the essence. We were instructed to concentrate on value, line strokes and composition.


Patricia Gray Pastel Painting Vancouver


Pastel Painting Value Study | Patricia Gray


Patricia Gray Pastel Painting Vancouver


Setting up my colors for the pastel painting value study above.


Patricia Gray Pastel Painting Vancouver


Pastel Painting Complimentary Colours Study | Patricia Gray


Patricia Gray Pastel Painting Vancouver


Pastel Painting Still Life Study | Patricia Gray 



PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm in Vancouver. Here we write about lifestyle
















Sunday, November 17, 2013

Patricia Gray | Fine Art


Patricia Gray | Fine Art | Desolation Sound




Drawing from her thirty years experience as an internationally renowned interior designer, Patricia Gray has achieved mastery in her field that few can compare with. Lately Patricia has been exploring painting with great success. Her transition into being an accomplished artist is a natural progression for her. Painting with a colour palette that is vivid and rich she draws inspiration from nature and from her travels.







Residing in Vancouver Patricia studied painting at Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Vancouver as well as Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris. Her paintings are in numerous private collections. To inquire on available art please email info@patriciagrayart.com





Patricia Gray | Fine Art | Desolation Sound IV



PATRICIA GRAY INC is an award winning interior design firm in Vancouver. Here we write about lifestyle



and WHAT'S HOT in the world of interior design, architecture, art and travel.