Thank you Michele!!
Accessible Art – Canvas Gallery
"The empty wall has become my nemesis. It really is the final frontier for my design – too often an after thought when a place to sit and a place to eat rest empty in a client’s home.
Art is sometimes overlooked in budgeting for design especially for the young family whose other priorities trickle to the top.
Which is why I was completely a flutter walking into Canvas this week.
The concept is simple – relatively affordable* art presented in an accessible way.
Established in 2003 by a husband/wife/partner team, it has become known as an alternative to the more traditional gallery. The floors of Canvas are littered, literally, with hundreds of pieces of large-scale artwork – photography, painting and mixed media combined.
And I love the Canadian spin – all artists featured are either established or emerging home-grown talent.
But content aside, I love the mood in this spot. Despite my mother’s greatest efforts, taking me to every gallery and instilling a deep, easy love for art in me, I am vacant when it comes to technique and the language of art. I easily intimidate in a traditional gallery where you are supposed to ‘get’ everything.
That said, I definitely know what I like. Most people do. So don’t need to be told or convinced.
Canvas insists everything be taken home on approval. Love that. There is never a feeling of a giant leap – you can live with it for 24 hours and then make a decision.
Pieces are not framed which helps keep costs down – when is the last time you had something framed?!? Bonkers. The look therefore is clean and somewhat contemporary but adding a matte and frame is an offered service at Canvas for those who prefer the that look.
But if art just isn’t in the cards for you right now, try looking at home.
For those with kids, art probably abounds on the fridge, in folders, crammed into school bags. And because so much of it is coming home, it is hard to know what to frame and what to…cough…..toss.
A framer who I have worked with for years recently created some custom frames and mattes for me in standard-ish sizes with flip backs so I can swap out the oodles of art my girls create. And because of the swap out factor, everything already has a place on the wall so I don’t have to rearrange anything now that my standard sizes are hung. Lovely.
* I put a huge asterisk on affordable because the chasm between affordable and not is massive, depending on who you speak with. This is intended to be a broad stroke – this is original artwork and relatively speaking, very well priced.
