Tag Archives: contemporary

How to Decorate With a Touch of Black

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There is an old saying which is that every room can use a “touch of black.” This is true if the room is primarily white. The color black can add a focal point that grounds and adds a sophisticated look to a room. The best places to add a touch of black to aroma are in the trims of rugs or linens or curtains, in pillows, rugs or in a single black piece such as a black vase or black ottoman.

A bit of a black can give drama and sophistication to any color of décor but to get a really great effect make sure it is contrasted with a white room? This can lead to a very contemporary look if you are companioning black and white with a lot of metallic fixtures and furniture but originally this type of style was called Country French.

If you do not like the Tuxedo or Zebra effect that can come from using a lot of black and white décor then you can also accent areas that are yellow, cream, red or purple with swaths of black to create a striking looking interior. The darker the colors, such as navy or royal purple, the more elegant the effect will be. The lighter the colors are to contrast against the white, such as an aqua and black, the more whimsical it will be. Kitchens and bathrooms look best in the whimsical style as do fifties retro rooms. The darker colors contrasted with black are more associated with the eighties especially emerald green or crimson red combined with black. Deep purple and black is more of a Goth look from the mind nineties and pink and black is associate with the early part of the first decade of this century as well as the 1930s.

One way to gently incorporate touches of black into your décor is to install a black and white tiled floor. You do not have to go for the checkered look; an occasional strategically placed black tile is usually enough to do the trick. You can also add black to a kitchen or bathroom by installing black tiles on a backsplash or in the shower. Sometimes all you need to liven up a bathroom is black towels or a black shower curtain.

When adding black to a bedroom stick to pillows, curtains and maybe the bed spread or sham. The best black and white prints to use for a contemporary stylish effect are florals and plaids.

How to Create Symmetry and Balance in Paintings and Wall Murals

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There are no real rules when it comes to creating symmetry and balance in paintings. A lot of it is “your eye and gut instincts.” However there are some things that just look awkward. For instance the subject of the painting should never be dead center in the work. The subject also looks out of balance if it is squeezed into a little corner. However there are some mannerist forms of painting, such as naive art, where this type of awkward looking composition is actually desired.

There is one rule that is very important. It is called the Rule of Threes. This means that things in a painting look better grouped in threes rather than twos. This is a standard rule of Japanese painting composition but it is a well known contemporary oil painting technique as well. Basically all you have to remember is that an odd number of subjects or objects in painting look better than an even number.

There is a similar rule in contemporary painting composition known as the Rule of Thirds. This rule dictates that one third of the painting should be devoted to dark space, one third to light space and another third to grey space. However there are some experts that would disagree with and would think that you would do things like vary the negative space in a painting. Another rule is “two thirds, one third, and a little bit.” For example, two thirds dark in tone, one third light in tone, and a small area or object that’s mid-tone would be typical of the type of experimentation that would comprise a modern painting.

If you want the painting to look in proportion you should also prevent objects from barely touching. Composition wise this is known as “kissing. This creates a weak looking shape that is unattractive to the eye.

Yet another rule of composition has to do with color. Do not mix warm and cool tones in the same painting. It is jarring to the eye and looks amateurish.

An important part of getting the composition right in a painting is to do some thumbnail sketches first. Make a map of your composition so you can’t go wrong. This is a plan that helps you get what you want to do in the painting absolutely right.