"Yeah, I must admit, when I see a painting like this, I get emotionally... erect." - Steve Martin, "L.A. Story"
At some point during my hiatus, I started buying art.
Art is very subjective, and I hate to ridicule virtually anything in this particular field with the possible exception of that ridiculous sculpture of a pregnant Britney Spears bent over a bearskin rug in all her glory - or lack thereof. I suppose you have to draw the artistic line somewhere, and that figurative line in the sand could start with that worthless piece of crap.
"I want to draw. I want to create. I want to sculpt something massive . . . Where's the bathroom?" - Chevy Chase, "European Vacation"
I can't draw two realistic stick figures, so I have a high degree of admiration for someone who can paint a realistic fruit bowl sitting on a table. That being said, I could care less about buying something like that to hang on my wall. Especially my current residence, which is an industrial loft with high, exposed ceilings and a few cinderblock walls scattered among the traditional drywall.
Modern art works well for me in this regard. I enjoy colors and textures versus a faithful rendering of a field of lilies. At least I do right now.
Luckily, my wife and I discovered a local artist who paints modern pieces as well as someone who boasts a strong dislike of galleries. This latter philosophy meant that her pieces were somewhat affordable, a change of pace from the downtown galleries where similar pieces carried price tags in excess of $5,000.
She kept her art on display at her home, which was a 3-story house that had art on every floor. It was a comfortable setting and I was able to consume several complimentary cocktails as I roamed the residence.
There was no pressure to buy, and no pretentious art gallery salesperson to stalk me and discuss how a certain piece "conveys the artists feelings of alienation and anger in the face of a cold, hard world."
Save that shit for someone who cares.
But I did buy a piece to hang over the bed: 
(On the artist's wall)
(Above my bed)
The piece (I also love referring to art as "pieces" for some reason) simply jumped out at me, and since hanging the painting, we've had several people over to view it. Some of them were a little taken aback at the boldness of the colors, but my typical response has been: "It's an aggressive piece - like me in the bedroom."
I like to watch their reaction, and then follow it up with "Art should reflect your personality - don't you agree?"
I do.
-BDS
I love it. I'd like to see more of her work. Before I read your descriptor I was just going to say it had a lot of fire and passion, so it's in the right room for sure! haha You just need a little spotlight on it now and it would really set it off.
Looks like a moldy ketchup potato chip. But I'm no art critic or anything. Like it though.
Jlee - That description would fit too. Ha. What you can't tell from the pic is the textures on it, which are very cool as well. I know what you mean about the lighting as I'm going to get on that as soon as I pay for the damn painting. Ha.
WhatIgot - I believe that was the original working title, but it got changed to Solare when we bought it. Ha.
Well you've seen my blog and the type of pics I choose for Mute Monday so you know I love me some colour. That, my friend, is just beautiful. I love the warmness of the colours and JLee's right, it is the perfect room for it.
Btw I love your bed too and they go perfectly together. I like your typical response to your friends' reactions too. Gotta talk yourself up at every opportunity because nobody else will do it for you ;)
Heff - That's pretty smart as I'd never thought of that before. And it is only something to look at, but some things look better than others as you well know from your Playboy reviews among others. Ha.
Gypsy - I figured you'd dig the colors and that's what sold me on it as well. I just liked the "warm" colors and the bedroom is mostly silvers and blacks and chocolate, so . . . a little color was good. And I agree about talking yourself up and I disagree about being inherently biased about it. ha.
it is beautiful. so i'm sure that it also reflects your wife's personality.
Affordable art is my current "soap box" subject because I believe it does add to the quality of life in our homes/office/etc. Everyone should have it. I've been buying small pieces over the past year and they make my heart beat everytime I look at them. Modern furnishings/lifestyles are even more enhanced with art, especially vibrant colors and bold strokes. The piece you bought is PERFECT for your home - and using it as a headboard is brilliant... I bet your wife made that decision, right? ;-) Either way, congrats and I hope it is only the beginning.
Ruf would love that. Orange is his favourite colour! Strangely he's been known to be aggressive in the bedroom also...
Cats - Definitely. We both found it independently of each other & it was our favorite one when we met to discuss them. It worked out perfectly.
Anonymous Boxer - Amen. I
Agree completely and mark-ups on art are generally ridiculous. I feel very lucky to have found someone who I like who is both local and so far outside of the gallery system. And my wife loved it as much as I did, so I feel very fortunate. Finally, we've already bought a second piece (on lay-away (sp?) from the artist for our downstairs. I've got the bug. Ha.
Havingmycake - Maybe there's a correlation there. Ha. Orange is a good with me as I've been in a rut with the color lately. Nothing wrong with that.
LOVE this piece. I, too, have a penchant for the abstract with bold colors and textures.
And of course it's in your bedroom. Where else would it be? ;)
that artwork says you like sex!
okay....thatw as dumb'''who doesn't "like sex". I mean it says you think about sex a lot....
and you are a guy, so that is an obvious observation.
honestly, I love the color orange and if the rest of the bedroom is black and very modern, that artpiece is perfect!!! love it.
thank god it isn't a Nagel.
Bostonpobble - Thanks and we're definitely in agreement on the bold pieces. I also have a penchant for using and liking the word penchant. ha. As for the bedroom - exactly - it makes no sense anywhere else.
Vivavavoom - Who's Nagel? I will have to look him up soon just for morbid curiosity at the very least. And I appreciate the clarification on the meaning too. Ha. The bedroom is black, chocolate & silver and modern so I think a little orange gives it some good color. I'm digging on Orange lately as well.
Thats HOT! So is the girl!! You take that number home too? I'd hit it!
It is quite a bold piece but I like it.
Are you sure you two weren't just using the art to invite others into your bedroom for other reasons? haha
Throwherdown - That's supposed to be Britney Spears. I'm not sure if I see it. Ha. And somebody already did something as she's pregnant in the sculpture, so I guess everyone else is just too late.
Miss Ash - Ha. That's a good theory, and maybe I'll start with "come into the bedroom to see an aggressive art piece." And the piece is less harsh in person - trust me.
All my art is from my kids.
I don't know if that makes me cool or sad.
Very nice! I couldn't draw a decent looking stickman to save my life, but that only makes me better appreciate artists. I wish I had the tiniest bit of talent in that department...
Mr. DNA - I think it's sounds cool enough to me, although that's a lot of art from the same artist(s). Ha. But you got to go with what you like, so it sounds good to me.
Grace - Thanks & I wish the same thing. It doesn't keep me up at night, but I still would like to be able to be proficient at drawing.
I like it, good choice! Brings color to that wall as well. Oh yea, I tagged you on my blog. Do it or not, tis okay. I've been so busy with school and work hardly any time to post right now. Glad to see you are back posting and I'll try to catch up : )
Symplyamused - Glad to be back & thanks for stopping by. I like the art as well. And I'll pop by & check out your tag very soon - I've got packing for Vegas, but will answer it and look at yours first. Thanks.