BWW Blog: Amy Parrish - Accessible Art

When I photograph on-location in my portrait business, I often find myself working in homes worthy of a magazine spread. Sometimes it's the architecture that makes a home feel grand, and other times it's soaring ceilings or the sheer size of a space. You'll usually find a cohesiveness from room to room (colors, textures, themes), likely excruciatingly planned by an interior decorator. But, regardless of these features, the one thing I've noticed that really sets a home over the top is the presence of original artwork.

A lovely scenic print purchased from a retail store pales in comparison to the likes of a Paul Hamilton landscape painting. The same goes for a mass produced piece of three-dimensional art when compared to the raw sensuality of a Shane Snider sculpture. Have you ever noticed when walking through a museum, that famous pieces you once saw in a textbook actually look quite different than you had imagined? (This happened to me when I saw one of Vincent Van Gogh's self portraits in Musee d'Orsay. The colors were radically more vivid than I'd seen in any replicated versions.)

Shortly after graduation, when I still lived on a college student's budget, I didn't even consider displaying pieces other than what I fished from clearance bins & yard sale piles or created from the resources I had available to me (not realizing that, that alone, was a form of art). In my mind at the time, paintings & sculptures belonged in museums. They were completely inaccessible to "regular folks" like myself. Obviously, I see things a lot differently now, and am writing this post for anyone who might feel similarly to how I once did. I'm here to tell you that there's no such thing as being too poor, too unsophisticated, too young, too whatever, to surround yourself with something that's unique and special.

Here are some images of my beagle-basset hound, Jenkins to help illustrate:

All I needed to create this piece was a camera and a party hat. The photograph ended up being featured on a Hallmark Greeting card and is lovingly displayed in my home.

The sister of one of my portrait clients created this piece to use as a project example for her art students. She had seen a photo I posted from another one of Jenkins' birthdays and used that as inspiration for her collage. It was an unexpected and heartwarming gift!

My husband and I commissioned this oil painting by artist Karen Rumora. For roughly the cost of a weekend getaway, we now own a piece that we get to see on a daily basis. www.karenrumora.com

This mixed media piece by Susan Mahan is currently on display at the Wayne Art Center, in Wayne, PA for their "Reigning Cats & Dogs" show. The dog pictured is a childhood pet of Mahan's (as well as the parrot). When I contacted her, Mahan mentioned that she plans to accept pet portrait commissions in the near future. www.susanmahan.com