favourites

As mentioned before, I've been going through art and pictures for the last week or more, so I thought I'd share some of my favourites with you. Everything came from Value Village or other thrift stores, and if the picture didn't come from there, the frame most certainly did. Also, last year, mom brought me about eight heavy suitcases and said they were filled with pictures. So for some reason, I just assumed they were family pictures, and I never bothered to open them. When we moved, Idle Husband was really keen on unpacking everything and opened a suitcase. Inside, there were some family pictures but the rest of it was mom's art collection. I told him to just leave them for later and it's been on my mind since then, so I went through all of the suitcases this weekend, and it was really like having my own personal Value Village in our basement. Those old suitcases were a treasure trove filled with a lot of art that I remembered and always loved, so I included a few of my favourites from that source as well.

I love poppies, so when I saw this paint-by-number, I had to have it. Actually, I also had to have it just cuz it's paint-by-number (I used to paint those all the time when I was younger). You never think it's paint-by-number from far away, either. I think it's just because you don't really expect it to be since they usually only come in really childish kittie/doggie/pony designs. If they started making really gorgeous paint-by-number designs like this, I'd probably start painting them in again.

I bought this as an empty frame because it was round and the glass is convex. I didn't have anything to put in it for the longest time and at some point, I cut out this print I liked from a magazine ad, didn't know what to do with that either, so I tried putting it in the frame, kinda liked it, and that's where it's stayed for at least 10 years. I still don't have a picture for the frame, but the print has grown on me so I'll probably never change it.

The parthenon Random Greek temple in a seashell frame! No, I didn't buy this cuz Idle Husband's Greek and I wanted to get all the Greek stuff I could. I bought it years before we met. I just thought it was so beautiful in its tackiness, you know? It was too strange to leave. Now that I've actually been there (gawd who'd've thought?!), I always stare at it cuz it amazes me how much the parthenon has changed since this picture. Just the fact that there's not a swarm of people in the background is odd to me. Also the picture isn't an actual picture. It might've come from a magazine, I'm not sure. I was also just informed that this isn't the parthenon at all and that even though it kinda looks like it, there are a million temples that look like this in Greece.

I love everything about this one. The colours, the raised texture, the frame, the artistic style, it all really works well together. The only thing that sucks is that it's a tiny picture again. A lot of my favourite art is tiny and I can't use it as a feature which really bums me out.

This was in a suitcase. The picture needs a better frame and better matting (duh), but I love that it's the Queen (or queen mom? I'm actually not sure) and she's looking right at the photographer. It's neat and historic and I love those old black and whites where you can kinda make up a story as to what's happening, but you'll never really know. It must've been some visit to Canada since you can see all the Mounties in the background.

This is a ceramic piece and it's part of a series. It says that this one's September: Saison Start. I've always loved the art style. It's really unique. Hmm now that we're in the age of Google, let's search it... Interesting! The series tells the story of a young couple from meeting to their first child. Aww! I had no idea. Gosh I'd love to find the rest of them.

This is another thrift store frame I bought without a picture. At one point, I was cutting that unicorn writing paper to size so I could use the backside as matting since it matches the frame colour (it's hard to tell in the picture). Anyway, I put the paper in to make sure I'd cut it correctly, and then I thought, I actually really like that. It's different and interesting. And there it's stayed. I probably did it in high school and I've never once thought of changing it.

This picture came to us from a dear friend of the family after he passed away. I love that it's double exposed, so the people kind of look like ghosts on top of the background. I think that's the friend, the guy in the middle (I only knew him when he was elderly, so I'm not sure what he looked like when he was younger). I put it in the frame years later. This is another one that makes me wonder what they were doing, what they're laughing about, and then it's even more interesting because there's another completely different picture under them. I think it's a guy fixing a boat, but it's really hard to tell! Oh and I love the dresses and hairstyles on the women.

I love her shirt and hair -- style and colour, the dreamy gauzy feel of it, and I just think it's so unusual to have a bunny in a picture like this. It's probably a reproduction of some artist's work, but I have no idea who.

This came out of the suitcases today. I remember it on the wall and I always loved it. I'm so glad I have it again. It's been almost 10 years since I've seen it. The frame's a little damaged, it looks like mom glued the corner at one point. I think I remember it accidentally falling off the wall. I like how this isn't a typical landscape, either. Most landscapes always have trees or flowers or maybe a river bank, but I've never seen a swampy looking marshland landscape since this one. I've always been drawn to it because of that uniqueness.

I picked this up cuz of the homemade frame first and then I fell in love with the photograph. The frame is old barn siding or perhaps a shingle. It's extra delicate since it's so thin. I love how the photographer paired such a rustic frame with a photograph that I think looks really modern. It's that unexpected pairing which makes it so interesting.

This is a photo of my dad and his buddies. It's not supposed to be whimsical or humorous, this is just how they were. I scanned the photo into the computer today to see what it would look like in black and white. I don't really like the frame and how it screams western so much, but I do love the picture and the concept. It's a nice memory. I thought that if I made it black and white and put it in a larger black frame with white matting, it would make it a little more modern and more of an interesting feature piece rather than just a smallish picture off to the side somewhere.