An Open Letter to a Goodwill Donor –
I cannot thank you enough for donating your unwanted home goods to my local Goodwill. With your donation, you are helping to provide jobs and training for people in Central Texas, and that is an extremely important and worthwhile endeavor.
However, I must ask if you recently found this black velvet painting in an attic or if it has been hanging on your wall since 1973. Either way, putting it back into circulation for the general public to find was inappropriate. You are lucky that I am the one who came across it.
My mantra for 2012 is to only bring things into my home that are useful or beautiful. Luckily, I found this before the calendar had rolled over to the new year, so I don’t have to lose karmic points for this one. Both the wolf and I are all smiles about it.
Because I brought this masterpiece in my home, I feel that I must incorporate it into my decor somehow. So, I have extended and accepted a challenge to myself to work this beauty in somewhere by the end of the year. Who knows? I could end up with a 70’s kitsch styled room before 2013. I do have a dead tree in my living room and a drum hanging from my ceiling, so I guess anything is possible. I hope my readers have some good ideas about what I could do with this painting.
P.S. You don’t happen to be the genius behind the Britney Spears/Kid Rock coffee table, do you? I’m still searching for the person behind that collaboration.
LOL! I look forward to seeing what you are gonna do with this!
I think the frames is great!
Wow. Good luck. I would paint over the whole thing. Do a yellow frame with maybe a blue background over the wolf and some white chevron. If you are attempting to keep the wolf picture… I have NO idea!
Wow hahaha that IS a good find!
Have to agree, the frame is a keeper. Smiling wolves are…oddly disturbing, however.
On a completely separate note, have you seen these? http://pinterest.com/pin/287948969894716546/
I would paint the frame a solid white, and maybe try to re-paint the dark brown in the picture to a light beige? And maybe try to lighten up the eagle and the wolf but adding light brown or grey tones?
Whatever you do, I cannot wait to see what you come up with!
Make a throw pillow?
Yes,
A throw pillow. or a bag.
Ha! Um…good luck? I know people who have similar in their house, but they are perfectly serious about it. I try not to look at them so my brain doesn’t fill will all sorts of questions.
hey, i painted that. i’ve been wondering where it went? oh! i’m just kidding 🙂 i honestly think TLC should run a show where designers have to center a room around an interesting find like this… i think it would be a hit. you can start the trend!
That painting is by one of my husband’s favorite artists! He has a wolf in his study by this artist. Signatures look the same. We love the wolves he paints! He set up a spot in town once with all his artwork and met the guy. Very nice artist!
Ok, I totally didn’t believe you, because I thought this was part of the black velvet paintings that were mass produced in a huge factory in Mexico in the 70s. It even says ‘Hecho in Mexico’ on the back.
But, I just googled it, and you are right! The artist is Ortiz – is that right? All of the frames I’ve seen with his work look exactly the same. Tell me more information if you have it!
huuuuhhhhh! DON’T do this to yourself. I am sure the original owners only enjoyed this because they were getting high ALL THE TIME and they loved to stare at it.
If you must… rip out that velvet WASH IT THOROUGHLY and give it to your son. My boys would love a wolf/eagle somethin’ somethin’. Then paint the heck out of that frame and make a magney board or cork board from wine corks.
How’s the weather in Texas right now? Cold enough for a good bonfire? =)
Good luck with that…..
I assume you live in the Austin area, am I right? I have been in Georgetown for almost five months, and we’re looking to buy a house in Round Rock. Are you close?
you could upolster the back of a chair with it – or cover a stool maybe? This totally cracks me up…
Haha! I say leave it as-is. It would be perfect for an office. The eagle says “soar to reach your dreams” and the wolf says “with determination you can achieve anything”. You may also want to get yourself a wolves howling at the moon t-shirt: http://www.amazon.com/Mountain-Three-Wolf-Short-Sleeve/dp/B002HJ377A
The only way to use that is to paint over it!!! or use multiple mediums and decoupage them over it. My daughters have been doing the neatest things on canvases lately. They do some painting…slap on some magazine pictures, newsprint, photos or something crazy…and paint some more. Everyone loves them.
I guess I would have taken a pass on it. But if your aspirations for it hold true, I may never shop GW the same way again!!
BAHAHAHA! Especially the crack about the coffee table at the end – that was a doozy I remember seeing on BetterAfter! Wow. And I need to adopt your 2012 mantra FO SHO!