The Effects of Color

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Breanna

Color is powerful. It can cause reactions, sway opinions, raise blood pressure, curb your appetite, and relax your mind, all in a split second. Our response to color is subliminal, but very real. That’s why the colors you choose for your home are so important. Do you want your home to be calm and soothing, or bright and energetic? Or, do you want to combine several hues to create a more balanced feel? You might be thinking that a major color overhaul to your home is too expensive or too much of a commitment, but it doesn’t have to be. Changing out the art on your walls is an easy and affordable way to experiment with the color and mood of your home.

There has been a lot of research on the psychology of color, and the following has been found to be true.

Black
Black is elegant and timeless. When combined with other colors, it adds contrast and helps ground the space.

Artwork: Floret Purple III by Sia Aryai

White
White symbolizes cleanliness and purity, and goes well with just about any color. It reflects light, so it can make a small room appear big and bright.

Artwork: City Bird by Judy Paul

Red
Red is a bold and powerful color that demands attention. It’s a passionate color that represents love as well as anger. People often experience elevated heart rate and increased enthusiasm in red rooms. Used as an accent, red will immediately draw the eye to that particular element.

Artwork: Grid Formation I by Christine Wilkinson

Blue
Blue is one of the most popular colors, and appeals equally to both men and women. It’s often used in bedrooms because of its peaceful and calming properties. It is also said to increase productivity and creativity, making it an excellent color for an office environment. Blue is also known to suppress the appetite, since there are very few blue foods found in nature.

Artwork: Equis I by St. John

Green
Green is the color of renewal, balance, and nature. Like blue, it’s a calming color and makes time seem to go by faster. Television studios have “green rooms” to help guests relax before going on the air.

Artwork: Zen Garden I by Sia Aryai

Yellow
Yellow is bright, perky, and cheerful, but it can also evoke anger. Used in abundance, yellow can be overpowering, as it is the most difficult color for the eye to process. Still, it’s considered a happy color of optimism and hope. The addition of yellow in a room can add the feeling of sunshine, even if there isn’t any.

Artwork: Harmonia IV by Sia Aryai

Purple
Purple is the color of royalty and mystery. It possesses the energy of red and the calming effects of blue. Used in a room, it can stimulate creativity. Darker versions of the color evoke moodiness and wealth.

Artwork: Natural Expression I by Sara Abbott

Brown
Brown is typically a favorite of men as it is associated with earth, wood, and natural materials. Shades of brown, including tans, make an excellent backdrop to allow other colors to pop. In a room brown can evoke warmth, dependability, honesty, and friendliness.

Artwork: Hidden Meanings XIV by Caroline Ashton

Bring Your Memories to Life with Aluminum

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Ellen Peppercorn

If you have a special photo that you want to really bring to life then I have the perfect idea for you, have your photo printed on aluminum. If you have never seen a photo on aluminum I am sure you have no idea what I am talking about but aluminum has the ability to bring your photo to life. The way the light hits the aluminum gives it an alive and sparkling look. A photograph of an aluminum print can never do it justice but take my wedding photo as a great example. The chandeliers in the photo seem to be on and sparkling in the background when you look at my photo. I have had this picture on display in my home since my wedding but now on aluminum it transports me back to my first wedding dance.

Aluminum is a great way to elevate your photo and bring it life, water glistens and seems ti almost move, lights seem to be sparkling and the whole picture has a sense of being alive not flat like a typical photo. So if you have a special memory you want brought to life check out the aluminum options form Gallery Direct.

This post brought to you by Ellen of Thrifty & Chic Mom.

Art Giveaway: American

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Melissa Spence

In February we honor and celebrate our American Presidents, most notably President Washington and President Lincoln. These birthdays and the holiday of President’s Day often remind us and leave us feeling thankful to be Americans. If you didn’t know already, Gallery Direct is located in the capital of Texas. And if you know Texans we are proud of our state, but we are also proud to be American. Did you also know that Gallery Direct is pretty much one of the coolest American art companies around?

Are you picking up on my “American” theme in this blog post? There are a lot of American things I love. One of my favorite American food is the Hot Dog. The idea of a hot dog on a bun is ascribed to the wife of a German named Antonoine Feuchtwanger, who sold hot dogs on the streets of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, in 1880. One of my favorite American or national pastime is seeing a major league baseball game. Go Red Sox! And when I think of a cool, American toy I think of Radio Flyer. Both my kids had a Radio Flyer Tricycle as their 1st bike. And they still have a Radio Flyer wagon. The company was founded in 1917 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. And the photo above is of a young girl with a Radio Flyer wagon circa 1955.

So who wants to win this gorgeous fine art piece, Radio Flyer I by one of our exclusive artists, Justin Garcia? I bet you do! It’s a beautiful canvas giclée (18×24″) with a 1 1/4″ natural dark brown floater frame, a $289 value. Here’s how you can enter to win:

For 1 entry leave a comment on this blog post with an answer to this question, who is your favorite American president or person ……or what is your favorite American thing, food or pastime?

For 2 entries (because you want to win that bad!), leave a second comment to let us know you’ve shared this blog post on your Facebook, twitter or blog.

*Comments are moderated and will show up once approved.

Entries will be accepted from now until until Sunday night 11:59pm on February 19th. We will select and announce the winner on President’s Day and ship off their awesome free art. Good luck!

The Gift that Keeps on Hanging

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Breanna

So you forgot to record the Patriots/Ravens game for your boyfriend and his cable cut out right before Billy Cundiff’s missed field goal. It’s okay. There’s time to redeem yourself before Valentine’s Day. Luckily you have a great memory, and an even better camera, packed full of snapshots from the fantastic time you two had in Cabo last summer and the amazing surprise party you threw for him on his birthday. So go ahead and grab that picture of you looking svelte in your two-piece, or the one where he swears he looks like Robert Downey, Jr. and have it printed for Valentine’s Day. It’s the gift that says, “LOOK AT HOW MUCH FUN WE HAVE TOGETHER.” So next time he’s yelling and throwing things at Tom Brady, he’ll see the picture hanging on the wall and remember how much he loves you. Maybe you will remember that, too, next time he leaves his dirty glass on the coffee table.

New Artist: Christine Wilkinson

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Melissa Spence

If you haven’t noticed already, we’ve been finding some pretty awesome artists to join our family. This of course means more unique and new art for all of you! We just launched artwork from Christine Wilkinson. Her digital abstract collection has a lot of a psychedelic feel to it with it’s shapes and colors. Christine started hand drawing these shapes back in school in the 60′s, a foreshadow to what she would be doing later in life…working as an artist currently in London, England. She explores with her camera using light in many different forms: light on light, light through objects and light reflected off objects.

I find this piece, Diving for Pearls, so interesting with the movement all the lines create and the layers and lightness of the different color. Though a lot of her art seems to be inspired from the psychedelic 1960′s counterculture, in some ways I felt this piece was modern or even futuristic. It reminded me of a red robotic eye.

These two companion pieces, Green Pinko I & II, are very soft and feminine. They too also give us a feel of movement. I could imagine this is what it would look like up-close and inside of a bubble.

These series of images, Grid Formation I-III, give us a more abstract, rigid and masculine feel. The repetitious elements seem to resemble a candle burning motif. The different stages keep your eye moving along.

So if you like what you’ve seen so far on this post, check out more of Wilkinson’s amazing art on Gallery Direct!

New Artist: Brett Pfister

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Melissa Spence

Gallery Direct is excited to welcome another new artist to our family, Brett Pfister. Brett is the Print operator for The Canyon Gallery and owner of Mind’s Eye Productions. His background and degree is in Graphic Design, this knowledge shows in his photo treatment and technique in his digital art. Besides being a professional Graphic Designer and Artist, Brett also does Photography, Video Production and Web Design.

This is one of my favorite new images by him, Veiled Eden. The female figure and soaring birds really draw you into this image wondering what could be going on in this “garden of Eden”. The texture and lightness peaking through the trees really make it interesting as well.

This new image, Intrepid Home, is being printed on aluminum to be hung in our office gallery right next to our CEO’s office door. Brett has a couple really fascinating images using barren trees, including Stretching, Nostrum Locus, The Ends of the Earth, and Cynon Valley.

This image, Break, is also going up in our office gallery. The color, technique and texture he uses in this image really give meaning to it’s title. It’s a beautiful piece.

Come check out the rest of Brett’s images on Gallery Direct!

Study: Men + Art = Happiness

Posted on January 3, 2012 by jtamkin

Norwegian’s are known for seeking happiness in life, they even build research teams tasked to discover how we can be more satisfied in life!

In a recent study conducted by these happiness seekers, it was determined that men that enjoy cultural activities are better off in mind and body than their uncultured counterparts. The study followed on over 50,000 men and women to tracked their personal satisfaction, perceived state of health, anxiety and depression.

Overall, both men and women who participated in cultural activities—including enjoying fine artwork, had lower levels of anxiety and depression, reported more life satisfaction, and generally “felt better” than those not participating in cultural activities.

But the biggest beneficiaries were men. And here’s the strange part: men more interested in watching and looking at fine art images— at home, in museums and art galleries – enjoyed the greatest benefits of all; even more than men actively participating in cultural and creative activities.

Lucky for you guys, Gallery Direct has a lot of images hand selected just for the guys! Here are our top “Guy Art” picks:

The Gunfighter by Benjamin Arnot

This image of the Cowboy is a favorite among the guys in the Gallery Direct office. Printed on aluminum and framed it sits outside the CEO’s office in our Gallery. This is a creation by Benjamin Arnot, he combines his painting with digital imagery, adding in a geometrical element. Very manly, yet tasteful!

Urban Radio II by Sara Abbott

Graffiti images are very trendy right now and are a top pick among our male customers. Sara Abbott has several graffiti images, including the image to the right. These images look great on any substrat, I think the bigger the graffiti image, the cooler the effect.

These next images are sexy, yet sophisticated. Appreciating the female form in a tasteful way can liven up any room, giving it a sexy contemporary look. Cherry Rain I & II by Sia Aryai

For more art for guys browse www.gallerydirect.com

New Year = Feel Good Art

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Melissa Spence

Happy New Year 2012 to all of our blog readers and customers!

Each new year many of us do our best to get inspired, motivated and feel good about our lives. And then come the 2nd week of January we loose the inspiration and motivation. So why not get creative, make your own inspirational and motivational art to hang on a wall in your home – something that brings a smile to your face and makes you feel good everyday you see it. It’s really not that hard to do, I’ll show you how…

At Gallery Direct we offer an Americana line and a Vintage line of art. You will see from both these art subjects that “posters” from that time period often had a message (type) on them. And now they have become great focal points and works of art to hang up and admire. You can create your own “poster” with your favorite inspirational and motivational quote, upload it to Gallery Direct to be printed – and then you will have your own one-of-a-kind artwork that you made to hang in your home!

First determine the size you want your “poster”. Go to the Gallery Direct website and click on the “Print Your Photo” tab on the top right hand side.

Choose the size you want it to be and using Photoshop (or a similar photo program) create a file at that size. To make a textured or colored background for your “poster” you can find free vector art, graphics and patterns at FreeVectors. I used Seamless Flower Pattern 3. Make sure the graphic or pattern you choose for your background is set to the print size you want at 300dpi. Next just add your quote!

For all of you that are familiar with the world of Pinterest, you can find a ton of inspirational, motivational quotes, or quotes that make you laugh, or quotes that just make you feel good from there. I chose a quote that makes me smile and laugh. Just type your quote on top of your background in Photoshop. To fancy it up, use some cool fonts. I found my free fonts at Fonts For Peas. I used Rage for the “R”, Before the Rain for “Nice”, and Haettenschweiler for “Normal”. And that’s it, you’re done creating your poster artwork! Flatten the image and save at 300 dpi. Format: JPG, TIF, PNG or BMP. File Size: 500KB to 50MB. And upload your file at Gallery Direct!