Two Awesome Custom Art Sources

It's going to be a back-to-back design post kind of week up in here because I have two art resources I cannot keep to myself for even one second longer. The week in fitness will just have to wait because no one cares this is way more important. I have been thinking a lot lately about what design elements I want to add to my bedroom, and yesterday I came up with the following concept: oversized painting in rich, moody colors hung over the bed or over the dresser facing the bed with three solid velvet pillows on the bed in a corresponding color. Picture a painting with colors like this one and pillows like these (see below). I'm not in love with the subject of this painting (birds about to be eaten by a potentially rabid dog), but the colors are goooood. Keep on reading and you'll see what I mean.

Etsy Moss Green Pillows

So, once I came up with my design "concept" if you can even call it that, it was time to commence the infamous internet search. Since finding solid velvet pillows is a cinch (bo-ring), I decided to focus first on the art. Unfortunately it's not easy to google "art in rich colors that will appeal to my tastes" and find something worthwhile. It's even harder to find art that is oversized (most art is not) and that does not break the budget (most art does). Lucky for me, I found not one but two sources that pretty much have exactly what I'm looking for. I don't remember how I stumbled upon either of these sites (sorry, not helpful), but I'm so glad I did. Except now I want to redo my LIFE. Is it appropriate to hang art in my car? I thought so.

The first site I found was 1^st Art Gallery. 1st Art Gallery is a site that makes museum quality oil-on-canvas reproductions of historic works of art. The site has so much to offer that it's a little overwhelming. Enter: categories and search terms. Since the painting that sparked my interest contained animals, I decided to start my search there. I had to narrow down the bajillion paintings somehow; and, when in doubt, the answer is usually animals. Not surprisingly, I found a lot of good stuff in the animal category. Check it out.

I think if I had to pick a favorite right now it would be the fancy monkeys. Which is ironic because monkeys seriously freak. me. out. Planet of The Apes is pretty much my worst nightmare. But hey, one more monkey in my apartment is one less monkey out there roaming the streets. You're welcome.

As if the 905 (not an exaggeration) pages of animal artwork on that site weren't enough, I then remembered a site I found a while back called Surface View that had a wall hanging I liked in a similar color scheme. I didn't remember the site having a ton of stuff I liked, but decided to visit it on a hunch nonetheless. Well, I was either not understanding how to use my eyes navigate the site the first time or they have added about a million things since I last visited because this time I wanted everything. Below is a mere fraction of the items I'm currently coveting.

Not all of these would work for the dark & rich bedroom "concept" I described above, but that doesn't mean I'm less in love with any of them. Just scrolling through these images makes me giddy. Bonus: they have Slim Aarons prints for a fraction of what you normally find them for.

And last but not least, I have to mention Photographer's Gallery. These pieces are a little more expensive, but they aren't completely outrageous and there is some really awesome stuff. I especially love everything by Slim Aarons and The Cheetah Who Shops (see below).

The thing I love most about all of these sites is that you can customize the size of all of the pieces. Finding oversized artwork can be difficult, and the size customization option makes it so much easier. Surface View also allows you to crop out parts of the picture and print on a variety of surfaces. I think all of these images, especially the ones in rich colors, would look amazing framed with thick white mats and simple gold frames (something like this). Maybe on a charcoal painted wall? Yes please.

So, which one of these pieces is your favorite? I seriously want them ALL. Looking through this post is like sensory overload. The ones I have wanted for the longest time however are The Cheetah Who Shops and the second to last Surface View picture (Slim Aarons Eden Roc Pool). Need. More. Walls.