Tell Your Life Stories
with Fine Art You Love

Suppose there was a weekend not too long back where the two of you took a break from the cold and stayed at a quaint bayside inn near Newport Beach. The evening stroll along the bay walk was magical. It was a cool night and the sailboats anchored in the harbor were gently rocking toward and away from each other. The masts’ warm colored lights bobbed about, leaving little streaks in your vision.

Later you discovered a piece of art that took you right back to that special memory. You had to have it. Now, you’d like to hang your art so that your memory – your story – is shared with others so that they will experience this memory, and others, as well.

We at Sanguine Fine Art are big on Art Styling – a different take on displaying art that truly reflects you. Art Styling involves a degree of common colors along with varying sizes and shapes. But one thing that can set it apart – and the idea we’re covering with this post – is the concept of telling your life’s stories by connecting your art with memories and other things you love.

For instance, we’ll use a piece such as “Harbor Lights” that might remind you of a weekend beach trip (or, insert your own memory here) to show how to build your own stories. A work like this – that has strong color, a lot of character or meaning, a notable size, or that makes a strong statement – serves as an “anchor” in your arrangement.

Alongside Harbor Lights you could add a secondary piece like “Mirror, Mirror”, which carries a compatible color scheme and deliciously jaunty attitude. It also adds to the waterside mood. You don’t need to go for matchy-matchy, by the way, like a full-on nautical theme, though keeping within a range of consistent colors helps create a cohesive feeling.

To finish this arrangement, you could pull in another memory: say, a decorative Moroccan bowl purchased while exploring the Cedros Avenue Design District in Solana Beach. Note that the square, vertical and round shapes you’ve combined in this grouping offer variety for the eyes. So, there are now two things going on here: a pleasing aesthetic and a true story – your story. Your life.

Now, you could stop here, or … continue!

Here’s where you can tell even more of your story or what interests you. Consider things you’ve collected over time from family or travels, or perhaps heirlooms or memorabilia that can be shadow-boxed. In this “Harbor Lights” vignette, a floppy hat you might have worn on a memorable seaside cruise fits perfectly under the carefree woman in mirrored shades. Many wouldn’t call a hat a work of art, but your story makes it so.

You might also find accent pieces that telegraph your fun or quirky side – little guys that might show off fun bits of jewelry, ethnic block prints, framed fabric swatches or colorful molas. Or if it fits, matted and framed typography or simple shapes, like we’re showing here, add a punchy graphic quality. Your own choices will inject your personality into the design of your home or office.

Art Styling with your most loved art and treasured gems puts the fun in personalized design. And though there are other elements involved in Art Styling, the above simple concepts will get the ball rolling. When you’ve infused your life story into an art styled wall, you can’t help but feel welcomed and joyful whenever you’re around it.

We hope this motivates you to be bold enough to start building a home or office sanctuary that has “You” written all over it!