. . Hanna Aalto . .

It is not always easy to choose painting or other art works. In this short article I give hints for successful art buying. You can buy bird painting because you need art to decorate your room or because you are birder and who would like to see birding art on you walls. Many times birder buys painting because of the species and spouse chooses it for artistic values. Best bird paintings bring to your mind memories of great birding experiences or other unforgettable moments in nature.

This painting would look great with light matting and muted gold frame

Measure the space you intent to hang the new painting. You can test affect of different sized and shaped paintings just by cutting pieces of colorful newspaper sheets and placing them to your wall. Test also 2-3 smaller paintings instead of one large. Save optimal measurements to your cell phone. And of course you don’t need to follow these measurements accurately. You might also ask if you can take painting to home for testing.

You have to consider too if you want painting to be main interest point in the room or should it be harmonious part of you interior. When selecting a painting to match colour, select one of the boldest colours in your room and look for art that includes that colour. Picking up one or two of the same colours will send a message that the painting belongs in these surroundings.

In exhibitions paintings are often framed similar simple frames. If this kind of simple framing does not fit your home style, you can chance frame easily. Ask help and ideas from artist and experienced framer. It’s a good idea to match frames and mattes, especially for similar paintings on same wall.

Framing is not always needed. Here is Tom Björklunds fabulous paintings without fames

If you can’t find painting that fits to your home you can contact artist and ask for commission painting for this place. Remember that most paintings are willing to paint subject you want but chancing their style to another is usually “Oh no”.

Other option is that everyone buys the art they love and then find a place to put it. If you feel strongly about a particular work of art, this is what you should do. But you may find that when you get the art home and place it on a wall art looks out of place in the room. First, hang the painting in other locations in your home. It may look better in a place you hadn’t thoughts first.

If you can’t find a place where the art looks its best, you may need to make some changes in the room, such as moving furniture or changing wall to neutral colour.
Many paintings need lightning to exhibit its brilliance. If you place a work of art in direct sunlight, however, it may well fade.

Today was vernissage for my exhibition in Kulttuuripappila Sylvi. There is bird and nature paintings and silver jewellery. Every painting and jewellery piece has their own story. All of them are based on some kind of experience in nature. Some experiences wanted to be painted and some liked to be 3-dimensional objects.

Exhibition is open 5.7. – 7.8. 2011, 12.00-18.00.

I visited Helsinki Korkeasaari zoo and Ähtäri zoo searching inspiration for further animal paintings. There vas lots of species that I will never see wild. You can never have perfect impression of species after photographs or videos. When you see animal, you get better idea how it moves, what kind of poses are natural for it or how it behaves. Both of these zoos have many Finnish animal species but also more exotic ones.

Visiting Ähtäri zoo vas great experience. I went in as last visitor. Animals had counted that all humans have left. Wolverines were digging up their meat hides when they thought that possible thieves (humans) were gone. Bears were mating and wolf cubs were chasing bumble bees. When they saw me they looked very funny. They had “don’t you know what time is it” look at their face.

Every summer one inspiration source is visit to Retretti art centre. This summers best exhibition was “ Married to an artist”. This was about artist couples. The exhibition comprises works by masters as Werner Holmberg, Victor Westerholm, Juho Rissanen, Elin Danielson-Gambogi and Alvar Cawén, as well as works by their spouses, Anna Glad, Hilma Alander, Hilda Flodin, Raffaello Gambogi and Ragni Cawén. Married to an Artist shows a new perspective to Finland`s Golden Age and Early Modernism art scenes.

There was also exhibition of Tove Janssons paintings and Moomin cartoon originals. It was exiting to be able to study these close. Carl Barks Donald Duck originals were so familiar from my child hood cartoon book readings that I just walked that part trough. In outdoor display there was very nice life size animal sculptures made of chicken wire!

Google has made good tool for all who are interrested who is using their pictures. It is nice to find people who have liked your paintings or pictures so much that have saved your photo on their website. You might also find stolen pictures that are used by competetive companies. In worst cases paintings have been found on other painters resume or from Chinese copy painting stores.

This Ural Owl picture taken by Janne is decorating Slovenian, Thai and Indian birdtour company websites. It is also on Creeck. None has asked permission for this.

Open picture file next to google picture rearh. Click left button of your mouse on your picture and drag it on search bar. Google will search where this picture is published. It is not perfect yet since it does not find everything.

I am currently working on series of wildlife paintings. This is a painting of Arctic Fox in spring time. They change their thigh white winter fur to short brown summer fur. Their appearance chances completely! Fluffy furred becomes thin and lean!

Arctic fox is endangered species in wild nowadays. Foxes are spredding to north tundra and as stronger animals they will win the competition between these 2 fox species.

Naali keskellä karvanvaihtoa. Saaliiksi on jäänyt tunturisopuli