This blog has moved

Hello dear followers - my blog now has a new address: http://blog.modernmural.com/
Check out the latest ideas and fun musings there. Happy Summer!

- Juliane

Relaxing in the Comfort of Your Dentist's Office?

Sounds like an anomaly, but it's possible! One of our clients took these photos for us. She did a superb job incorporating some soothing wall art and great color into her client's office. She also took advantage of the Customize Your Own on the site to tweak the location of the lone tree in Art 2261. All 3 pieces are 34"x34" Canvas Giclée and make really nice standalone pieces as an affordable way to display modern wall art.

Thank you to Susan D. Nord of designsbynord.com for providing the photos!

Existing for everyone, all in the name of love

Colourlovers.com is dedicated to color, more specifically, palettes of color which are submitted by color lovers from the world over (and almost a half million followers). All in the name of love.

You can love and comment on any of the content on the site, and believe me, people are passionate about what looks good and what doesn't. One of my favorite features is the section on color trends in fashion, web, print, business and more. To designers out there, check out the Business Trends section for really nice palettes. I come to this site when I need inspiration for my design - few palettes leave much to be desired, but I always find a boat load of great color combos.

If you're going to be creating your own piece and uploading through our site colourlovers will help you create a slick piece of wall art. Enjoy!

In the fight between you and the world, back the world.

Discovered Mister K this week - how gorgeous, alluring and somehow a bit melancholy. This font was created in reverence of Franz Kafka. The type seems to echo his streams of consciousness and is periodically interrupted with expressive pictographs. My favorite font this week.

Musée d'Orsay Collection and Other Impressionist Works Make Their Only Stop in North America at the de Young Museum

Found some must-do's in art this week! If you're in the San Francisco area, check out the exhibit "Impressionist Paris: City of Light" at the Legion of Honor. Gorgeous luminescent works explore life in Paris during the 19th century from the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco and prominent private collections. Through September 26.

This exhibition is running simultaneously with "Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musee d'Orsay" at the de Young Museum (Sept 26 - Jan 18 2011). The Musée d'Orsay in Paris houses the largest Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art collections in the world. The de Young is this collection's only stop in North America. Definitely worth the trip, as you will see the the works of the most influential Impressionist painters such as Van Gogh, Gauguin and Cezanne, among others.

I'll be headed there next weekend to explore. Impressionism is a crowd pleaser - the lighting techniques that were predominant are chewy and palatable; but you must see the paintings in person to experience their sumptuousness and grandeur.

Who is your favorite Impressionist?

Lost & Found: Inspiration From Retro Illustrated Advertisements

I found a gem blog that I know you'll like too. Today's Inspiration features advertising illustrations from decades past, mostly beginning in the 1940's. It was so fun going through the pages and pages of fantastic drawings - ads from Time magazines, fashion drawings, oil company ads - we see many now that try to replicate what was created then, but these just have so much magnetism. From famous illustrators to not so famous ones.

Modern Wall Art to Soothe the Weariest of Souls

Super-soft delicious textures: are you in?

The portfolio of one of our contributing photographers, Florene, is modern, clean and super macro. The wall art created from her work fits in so eloquently to any space because of its organic motifs and natural colors. Her photos are mostly botanical - some boast golden bamboo forests, soothing rippling water, delicate veins of tropical plant leaves, unruly straw-like bark from palms and many other raw subjects inspired by her native Florida.

What makes Florene's work so uncommon is that she takes what is ordinary to her surroundings and creates modern wall art with rich luscious colors, soft textures and warm emotion that could soothe any weary soul. At the macro level the imagery becomes abstract enough for your mind to fill in the blanks but still creates a satisfying composition.

Among my personal favorites are:

Orange Angles (Art 2919): Very nice macro of flame colored palm leaves. Notice the sharp crisp edges of the leaves and the 3-d texture. The color makes it yummy. Looks especially good in 2-34"x18" rectangles and 24"x56" rectangle. Mesh of Gray (Art 2943): Interesting silver background with black mesh in the foreground. The uniformity of the lines are tranquilizing but the viewer still keeps interest due to the imperfections in the weave. Looks especially good in 6-18"x18" squares and 2-18"x34" rectangles. School's Out (Art 2956): Small silvery fish dart (mostly) vertically in whimsical play. I love the subdued colors of this piece, which at first appear to be warm grays with splashes of indigo dollops of paint. As you investigate more closely you catch the detail of eyes, spines and tails. Really cool photo. Looks especially good in the 56"x24" rectangle where we catch light reflecting off the fish which creates a shimmer at the bottom of the piece. World Up Close (Art 2973): macro of a tropical plant leaf. The title is fitting since the colors and shapes are reminiscent of a satellite image of Earth. We see lime colored veins running through the leaf and it's mesmerizing. This one is probably my favorite from Florene's collection. Looks especially good in the 8-18"x18" squares and the 34"x34" square. Many items ship free. Check out Florene's portfolio here and experience the clean gorgeous wall art from modernmural.com.

Best Selling Art of the Summer

It's difficult to pick up on seasonal trends when wall art will hang in your space year round. However, I'd like to feature some of the hottest selling art of the summer so far. Although we are seeing a liking for neutrals, some of the best sellers are pretty bold. The trends show everything from graffiti (Art 2665) by one of our French artists, Martine, to bold and bright photographs of flax and cherry colored Japanese umbrellas (Art 1587 & Art 1569) by another French photographer, Phinecoree. In an urban illustration titled "The Last Kiss" we see the just the legs and feet of two lovers stretched up to kiss one another good-bye in front of a subway train (love this one). There are many organic subjects, as well. Martine's piece "Automnal" is reminiscent of cracked glass, with gorgeous autumn colored leaves showing through. One of our photographers from Halifax, NS, Jewels, captures a lone tree capable of evoking even the faintest of memories.

The art is produced in most sizes on the modernmural.com, so check out the links to see availability!

As seen left to right, starting with top left corner: Art 2665, 1569, 1587, 166, 2550, 2053, 1015, 1935, 2378

Edward Tufte: Beautiful Evidence

One of the best ways to look at data is through fascinating visual ways. I was turned on to Edward Tufte's work a few years back. His design is clean, eloquent and simply put, beautiful. Tufte is a world famous statistician who also teaches political and computer science at Yale. He is most famous for his undertakings of Information Design, and very eloquently describes quantitative information through drawings, graphics and sculpture. In a world with innumerable data, Tufte finds ways to expose profound relationships through visual means. Interestingly enough, in March of this year he was appointed by President Obama to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's Recovery and Independent Advisory Panel to reveal how recovery money was being spent.

Check out more on Tufte's website.

NEW fabric wall hangings now available!

They've finally arrived. Affordable, stylish, elegant and articulate - fabric wall hangings will impress. Nature inspired motifs bring tranquility and cheer to your space, with beautiful whimsical patterns and hip designs. They're available in 6' or 8' lengths and feature sleek aluminum holders and stainless steel hardware. Eco-friendly inks on plain weave fabric. Check them out on modernmural.com for more details!

Create your own custom sized artwork

You're looking to beautify your walls but you need more or less than what we have shown on www.modernmural.com. We create wall art for any sized space; rule of thumb is we can do anything as long as it's in multiples of the standard tile sizes on the site. At 1.5" thick and gallery wrapped on 100% cotton canvas, it's affordably priced - call us for details!

Shown here is Art 2632 in qty 3 of the 34"x18" tiles.

sweet artwork for the extra large spaces

You're wondering how to fill up a 20' wall with one image and you want crisp exact quality. You'll want to use vector artwork, which will fulfill this need you once thought impossible. Vector artwork is illustrative, and typically artsy and conceptual. It is based on a mathematical formula and therefore can be exponentially enlarged without sacrificing any quality. We've got a lot on modernmural.com, check some out from a few of our artists: Nicemonkey and MightySmasha. You'll find fine lines, brilliant colors and intricate designs.

Photo above is Art 2903, Orange on White, and is vector artwork.

Featured Artist: Susan Riddle

I had a moment to ask Susan Riddle, one of Modern Mural's contributing
artists (a brilliant abstract painter), some things about herself: check it out!

MM: Where do you live?
SR: In Aptos, CA, a very laid back, quiet town just a few blocks from
the beach. It can be really mysterious and foggy.

MM: Where do you go to think creatively?
SR: To my garden, where I find colors, textures and composition. I like
seeing it go through its stages during the year. It's death and regrowth.

MM: Who are your design influences?
SR: Gorky, Kandinsky, Rothko, Frankenthaler, Miró and all children's art.

MM: What's your favorite piece of art that you've produced?
SR: It changes all the time, but if I had to pick one it would be a piece I did
called "Imaginary Dreams" because it was totally unplanned. Usually, I
determine the colors I want or the layout I want, but this one was just flowing.



MM: What's one of your favorite leisure activities?
SR: Riding my bike by the beach and gardening.

MM: What is your favorite color to paint with?
SR: Red, because it goes great with yellow and orange (which are my 2nd and 3rd favorites. I've also been getting
into gray to offset the "happy". My college professor always used to say to me, "Your work is too happy -
get some gray in there!"

MM: What's your favorite dessert?
SR: Definitely strawberry shortcake.

MM: What message do you want to convey through your work?
SR: Joy and happiness.

BBQ weather - decorate outdoors!

Warmer weather = grilling & BBQ...what's a girl to do when she wants to invite friends over for a backyard feed? Decorations are covered here (thanks to Martha, you can find how-to tips here.) Have a fantastic weekend!

Elegant white balloons and lanterns prove themselves a hit; votives decorated with real leaves.

String of lights with glued seashells add ambience; makeshift canopy adds intimacy.

Dual vases with tinted water in between creates a dreamy ambiance; shaded string lights glow.

The coolest cake cutter - ever.

I've been eyeing this cake cutter/server for a number of months now. It makes cake cutting and serving a cinch by cutting straight down then squeezing the handle to lift the piece! When I first discovered it last year, it was not yet on the market, but now it's for sale on Amazon.com. Created by Finnish designer Maria Kivijärvi combines the perfect form & function with lovely clean lines.

Dwell on Design LA - we'll be there!

We recently reserved our spot for Dwell's design convention! We'll be Booth 924. Dates are June 25-27. If you're in or around the Los Angeles area, stop by - we'd love to meet our customers!

Halifax: abundant textures

We have several photographers from Halifax who exhibit beautiful textures and both brilliant and subdued colors. The simplicity of the context is extraordinarily captivating. The natural and man-made textures are captured expertly, and there is nothing more intriguing than that.


Because of its rich history, Halifax has bountiful texture all seeding from old naval yards natural formations on the coast. This texture is what caught our eye - peeling paint, rusty bolts and smooth ocean rocks. They make extraordinary modern wall art.


Halifax is known for its beautiful harbors. In 1749 Governor Edward Cornwallis and 2500 settlers created Canada's first town on the picturesque shores of the world's second largest harbor. Its geographical location on the Atlantic made it an entry point of immigration into Canada and Halifax later became the primary North Atlantic base for the Royal Navy.

All Natural Ginger Martini

Ahh, blissful summer. I've had my share of ginger martinis, and just recently started looking for an all natural recipe - the warm sun just makes me crave them!

Among my stipulations for martinis are: no sweet & sour mix, no Rose's lime juice, no weird sugary additions. (Ginger has many health benefits, check it out here.) Just pure and clean ingredients. I found a few, although I made some slight adjustments to my preferences:

All natural ginger martini

2 oz vodka

Juice of ½ lemon or lime

1/8 tsp fresh grated ginger

½ oz organic agave nectar

Splash of extra-dry vermouth (if you like it)

Shake all ingredients in cocktail shaker with crushed ice for 15 seconds. Serve Up in a martini glass. Garnish with lemon or lime twist.

Enjoy - and drink to your health!

Featured Material: Canvas

(6 months ago we changed the canvas we offered to one with a heavier weight that visually offers a richer and more substantial surface for displaying wall art.)

The canvas we use for your wall art is 100% natural cotton which gives an organic texture to your mural. The matte surface ensures fantastic image quality, and at 22 mil provides a substantial heavy weight canvas. Beautifully gallery wrapped edges are precision folded.

Because the canvas is 100% natural cotton you can see and feel the texture of the fabric with out detracting from the finished product. See photo.

It's made for long-lasting art reproductions - which means that you won't see edge cracking and gives undoubtedly superior print quality.

Clouds for Computers - What Two Very Different California Communities Have in Common

For students living in East Palo Alto, CA, life is challenging. In 1992 East Palo Alto had the highest per capita murder rate in the country, at 42 people murdered with a population of 24,322 people. Poverty seemed to be imminent for its residents and the community struggled with low academic performance. East Palo Alto was relatively untouched when the Dot.com boom surged the economy for the rest of the Bay Area in the early 2000's. During this past recession the town suffered a much higher unemployment rate than the rest of the country.

Sounds daunting, right?

It has been. However, projects headed by concerned community members are striving to improve the life of the residents of East Palo Alto, particularly that of the children. I was clued into one in particular, Clouds for Computers, which aims to connect the neighboring wealthier community of Palo Alto with East Palo Alto through art and technology.

Clouds for Computers is the brainchild of local San Francisco artist Peter Shaw. Shaw works with children at Costaño School, among others in the area, creating cloud paintings. The paintings are based on Peter's own series "100 Blue" which consists of a progression of perfect blue squares that graduate from barely perceptible to nearly black. Their precision indicates the accuracy that technology offers. In an effort to emulate "100 Blue" each student receives a 16"x16" canvas, acrylic paint and a brush and creates his or her own interpretation of the California clouds. The art materials were donated anonymously. Children from neighbor community Palo Alto are also creating their own cloud paintings. The paintings from both communities will be hung side by side - bridging the gap, in many more ways than what is seen. Dozens of tiles are hung, creating one large mural masterpiece and emulating the expansive sky that exists above all of us and across every community. The goal is to create 1000 California Clouds paintings, and already the count is 700.

The story doesn't end here. Peter has plans to scan all of the paintings along side the children so they can learn the process of digital art and reproduction. The process is an important one and links the two communities through digital means. Amazing for the kids!

I had the opportunity to see the paintings and to speak with Shaw and some of the students who are taking part in the project. Peter is extremely passionate about teaching the children the process of art to technology as well as social means of communication. The end goal is to sell the reproductions of the paintings to raise money for laptops for the children at East Palo Alto schools.