“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” –Vincent Van Gogh

Famous for his technique of using dashed brushstrokes, Van Gogh used a multitude of colors to create incredible, harmonious images, and I often turn to this quote when considering interior home design.

A well done home isn’t created with one fabulous couch in an unpainted room. Instead, it is the architectural details, the finishes, the light, the furniture, the accessories and the art, to name a few, that make it something to talk about.

It is the eclectic accent pieces and paintings picked up along the way that make your home a snapshot of your story.

Now that the holidays are upon us and we are all trying to fluff our houses – me included!! – I wanted to share one of my greatest joys at Segreto: working with our gallery artists. They are so diversified in talent, ranging from traditional landscapes to contemporary pieces, and they all have wonderful hearts. Here’s a sneak peak into my dining room (still unfinished)… I have two Segreto Artists‘ work represented! The piece in the entrance is our newest addition, Blakely Bering!!!

Blakely began her professional art career in 1998 after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University. She worked for several years in opera design and television production. After she studied large scale design and painting, it was a natural evolution for her to enter the fine arts world.

Blakely’s work on canvas tends to reflect her theatrical sense and her ability to create work that remains powerful from thirty feet away. She has been noted as a colorist for her intricate rich layers of oil on canvas and panel. Producing fine art for national and international collections and selling over 5000 pieces since 1998, she believes it is important for the work to go out into the world and speak for itself in the years to come.

Primarily creating oil on panel pieces, she mixes her own paint using various oils, chemicals, powdered pigments and crushed metals to achieve her frozen movement effect. She even uses the Texas sun as a catalyst for the process.

Using glass, epoxy and other unique materials to enhance her composition, her pieces stand off the wall just enough while simultaneously drawing you in with mesmerizing metallics. I often refer to her pieces as jewelry because of her incorporation of glass and other glamorous features. It sure looks great as a backdrop to our boutique items!!

Can you guess where she gets her inspiration from? Geological formations and aerial views of the ocean… I can see that! I love her work, but more importantly, I love her as a person. She is a wife, a mother of one, and a full-time artist!!

Our other new artist is Alicia Kowalski! Though she always had an interest in art, Alicia fostered her gift a little later in life, after dedicating her entire career to the patients at MD Anderson Cancer Center. A Houston native, she attended Rice University and The University of Texas Houston Medical School, completing a residency in anesthesiology at UT Houston.

With so much of her life devoted to caring for those with serious health issues, Alicia sees art as a joyous respite in every day life. “If I can bring a smile to your face or a warm wave over your heart, I have achieved my goal.” These are two of her pieces we have in the shop!! The tree installation would be beautiful on a mantel or dining table since it’s viewable all the way around!

Over the last decade, Alicia’s been creating art in many mediums from paintings to collage, photography to sculpture, and her work is featured in several private collections across the U.S. I absolutely adore her butterfly installations, so I commissioned a piece for my dining room!!

When you work on a commission with Alicia, you get to pick any fabric for the backing and any color for the butterflies. Some are precut and hand-painted butterflies in various materials, papers and vellums. I chose white, metal, gold, pale lavender, pearl vellum, and gold butterflies atop a linen back!! Alicia starts by creating the footprint, and then she layers from there, sometimes using styrofoam to create a large mound!

Here’s the finished piece! I love the way the butterflies seem to float off the wall – it’s the way she layers them that gives them so much depth!!

Since the art is framed in a custom lucite box, it was the perfect way to add a bit of contemporary balance, echoing the lucite chairs, while still blending with the antique elements in the room. The work really brings everything together! Alicia has such a big heart – I really enjoyed working with her throughout the process!

The last touch for my dining room is painting a panel in a thin line of gold leaf!! The room just needed a detail, but one that would add something rather than take away from the existing elements. I guess I’m not a clean line minimalist, even though I keep trying to be!! I’ll post the completed picture soon!

It’s so much fun for me to meet the people behind the paintings, and I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit about them. Click here to view our other artists’ work, or come by our boutique to see what – or more importantly, WHO – is dazzling up our walls today!!!

Join Me at Marrone Market in Friendswood this Thursday!

I can’t wait to share some Holiday Cheer at Marrone Market in Friendswood! Drop by between 11am and 2pm on December 10th to get your signed copy of Segreto Style – just in time for Christmas!!! Hope to see you there! Have a great week!