h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Without getting into the 'what is art' debate, I'm thinking painting and sculpture really.

I have a print of Flaming June (Sir Frederic Leighton) and a couple of small (12" x 12") originals by local artists - a hare and a rooftop scene.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaming_June

That strikes me as not much art to have, and I would like more.

PP.

I just bought a limited edition print of Great A'Tuin by Paul Kidby, signed by Terry Pratchett. (I already got a print of the City Watch and a different A'Tuin seen from the moon and a life sized Feegle and a 3d Rincewind head for the wall)

And for my last birthday Malabarista gave me 3 prints of pictures from the Hobbit by Allan Lee, which I framed. They now hang in the bedroom and look really nice.

But I'm not sure that's the kind of art you mean.

I have two framed art reproductions from the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Both are copies of silk paintings of birds, one on a light background, the other on a dark one.

On the wall behind my computer, there's a cheap but beautiful still life of a turquoise vase with red and yellow roses in it.

On the wall behind me, there's a soothing painting of a mountains scene, also cheap but evocative.

Behind my dining room table is my collection of Christmas Tree figurines. As you probably can guess, Swarovski and Waterford offer highly stylized and valuable glass Christmas tree figurines.

Although they aren't framed, I think I have some rolled-up prints of Salvadore Dali paintings somewhere....

I have a print of a Manga character on a canvas, a print of a photograph artwork (a local scene transformed in Photoshop), a print of an unmodified photograph of a stormy sea and three original paintings, two by a friend that she painted within the last 5 years and one by my great aunt who painted in the 1920s.

I also have unframed posters of paintings by Mucha, as I am a fan of his work - Flaming June is a lovely picture that is to my taste too.

What flavor is it?

I have some artwork, mainly prints which were mounted and framed by my sister, and given to me as a gift, while she worked at a framing shop. Four by Salvador Dali, two van Gogh, one Leger, and one Picasso; they're of various sizes and hung in different rooms. Also, we received one of these as a gift a few years ago, and had it framed: http://popchartlab.com/products/the-diabolical-diagram-of-movie-monsters.

Our only actual paintings were painted by my husband's grandmother and given to us when she died. They are of purely sentimental value, but they're not terribly amateurish, either. We've only got one hanging up, a pretty autumn scene of brightly colored trees surrounding a pumpkin patch.

I used to have or two Marc Chagall prints, too. Bob only knows where they've gone to.

I have wall mirrors with wild birds and a couple of bridges inlaid upon them with lead edging.
Hard to describe, but beautiful to look at. The artist has caught an Osprey catching a fish, and an Eagle catching prey.

The bridges are both Forth Bridges, and really accurate in design.

The other one, which is in the bathroom, is of a mermaid, and she covers the full length of the mirror. Every one who used to come in used to admire them.

I hope he becomes famous some time, as they will be worth a fortune, as they are all his early work.

Smudger.

Originals
3 watercolour seascapes from local artists
2 cityscapes in oil
3 Turner prints
1 Large oil seascape
4 Victorian fox hunting prints
2 Large French floral prints

And others

The lounge is dominated by a two metre by one metre oil on canvas of The Battle of Adua over one settee. It also contains West African bronzes, black and white art photos and a piece of art pottery that mixes cogs and mushrooms.
The kitchen has two large prints of dragons, a couple of Balinese tie dyes, and a collection of African spoons.
The landing has a double bed size patchwork of jungle leaves done in various greens and browns and a large signed dragon scroll from Beijing that used to have flecks of gold leaf on. It also houses my elephant collection which is of sentimental value only.
My bedroom has a Chinese tiger scroll, a tapestry of a sunami type wave in shades of blue made by the same artists that did the jungle patchwork and a selection of little pictures in "gold" frames. I used to have a collection of Polish theatrical posters there, but their black backgrounds made them too depressing to live with in an English winter.
No 2 bedroom has a series of three abstract prints over the bed and two large prints of African savannah scenes.
No 3 bedroom currently has nothing on the walls but I shall look out some mud prints (literally mud painted on linen) to amuse the grandchildren who sleep there before they come next time.
There's a framed cartoon in the bathroom of Chairman Mao and Hello Kitty entitled "Chairman Miaow".
There's other stuff on the walls as well. I'm setting up a cue collection for when the dementia kicks in.

I have three paintings and two sculptures.

An original watercolour by a local artist of a nearby mountain (which incidentally I climbed in the last year).

A limited print run of my choir and a number of other choirs performing The Creation in Belfast's Waterfront Hall.

A limited print run of sailing boats in New York.

A museum miniature replica of Pompon's Polar Bear from the Musee d'Orsay.

A replica of a Troupial Bird.

My house used to be full of photos I had taken myself but I got tired of them.

I have mass-produced tat generally. Audrey Hepburn looking through the Tiffany window, bridges in Venice, a lovely profile-type picture of some elephants presumably on the Serengeti, with a tree, done on what looks like pallets. Going up my stairs I have some Montmartre street art scenes, just mass produced prints bought in a tourist shop when my husband & I were on honeymoon, but they bring back happy memories. And a trio of Monet prints along my landing.

I also have an original hand-painted canvas done by my niece as a two-year-old. Honestly, I've seen worse in art galleries

Deb

What amazing collections of art!

I would especially love to see Wand'ring Star's elephants, but the photo of many choirs singing "The Creation" would also be worth seeing. There's an iconic painting of a "Creation" performance in 1808 showing the performers as well as a feeble Joseph Haydn [he would have been 76 or 77 at the time] in the audience.
http://www.google.com/search?q=creation+performance+picture+1808&biw=1024&bih=667&tbm=isch&imgil=ujVu_8w4nYSEdM%253A%253B5OF3kSGeWqLpTM%253Bhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fcreationproject.herberger.asu.edu%25252Ffile%25252F32&source=iu&pf=m&fir=ujVu_8w4nYSEdM%253A%252C5OF3kSGeWqLpTM%252C_&usg=__ijyafJatxKDYVn5woMCx81UMhhw%3D&ved=0CCUQyjdqFQoTCLPbuOHbkskCFYbVHgodatsO4Q&ei=GaFIVvPqGYare-q2u4gO#imgrc=ujVu_8w4nYSEdM%3A&usg=__ijyafJatxKDYVn5woMCx81UMhhw%3D

"The last performance Haydn attended was on March 27 1808, just a year before he died: the aged and ill Haydn was carried in with great honour on an armchair. According to one account, the audience broke into spontaneous applause at the coming of "light" and "Papa" Haydn, in a typical gesture weakly pointed upwards and said: "Not from me—everything comes from up there!"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Creation_(Haydn)

I have a total of 9 oil paintings created by a one-eyed woman of Dewsbury. In her later years, she would look through photos of travels to 'home', and then paint a scene remembered. Villages, streams, nature, what-ever.

(She lost one eye to an accident as a spectator at a football match when she was a teen)

There was a one-eyed artist in my town when I was growing up. People called her "Crazy Mary" because she was a terrible driver. Whenever anyone saw her on the road, they would phone their friends to warn them.

Small towns are like that.

We have an ink drawing of our village which my husband was presented with once. It hangs in the hall, which is a narrow corridor, with no space to stand back and look at it, and insufficient light.

Otherwise there is very little space for pictures on our walls. The walls downstairs are mainly in rough plaster (forgotten what it's called in English), and wood panelling, both of which are awkward to drill holes in, and most of the outside walls in the lounge are either glass (large conservatory section) or doors, windows, radiators, furniture or fireplace.

For our 20th wedding anniversary we went to Venice and as a present, one of our sons bought us a print of one of Monet's pictures of Venice. I probably spent more having it framed than he could have afforded to spend on the picture, but even with a lovely frame, the only place it would fit was on the stairs, where, again, it really doesn't have enough space or light to do it justice.

In earlier flats we had enlarged photos.

I have always shied away from buying art. I know nothing about it, I don't understand it, I don't appreciate it, and I would be scared of spending money on something, only to get fed up with looking at it after a few months.

I'd rather stand a vase of flowers somewhere.

"I would be scared of spending money on something, only to get fed up with looking at it after a few months. I'd rather stand a vase of flowers somewhere." [TC]


Flowers can wither, but a painting of flowers always looks fresh, so that's what I have.

It's a huge mix.
An oil, abstract by some artist I came across on an art weekend thing. One I bought from a door to door salesman... Most of his stock was tacky stuff, but this was different. Several lithographies, since I used to be in an art club at work. A ceramic bull that I really like, and a bird made from driftwood and a piece of rusty barbed wire for legs. An oil by my uncle, detail copied from Napoleons coronation of Josephine. A couple of his ink+watercolor pieces. An oil of red water lilies by my great grandfather - not the best artist, but he made it for me. A little figurine I made in high school, of a pregnant woman. Several bird watercolours by an old colleague, while his work was still affordable. And plenty of things the kids have made in school - some of them are really nice!

Quite a bit, now that I add it up! Not very high value in money, but very dear to me anyway.

In my computer room I have a large picture by Barry Clark of a Spitfire in full flight, and a limited edition print of two Lancaster's in flight.

Plus a photo of HMY Britannia which I took with me when I left it.

Smudger.

The art in My sister's house turns me off completely. I can't imagine what they see in it....