Christmas is a joyous time of year; it has evolved from a strictly religious holiday to a worldwide holiday of giving and charity. It is one of the most recognizable holidays with many iconic symbols and themes. From Santa, to snowmen, to Christmas trees. Christmas art is both stunning and special to many during the holidays. Decorating your house and trimming the tree and time honored traditions passed down from generation to generation.

Santa Claus

What rich history and fond memories come from the image of Santa Claus. No Christmas is complete without Santa, and what is more endearing than Santa art from Peggy Abrams to Donna Race some of the most renowned artists of our time, and their detailed renditions of Santa in all his glory. He brings us presents in the night with his sleigh and rain-deer shimmying down the chimney and feasting on our milk and cookies to fuel him for the rest of his journey.

Christmas Tree

Under the tree come presents. And in the stockings come treats, and that a lovely piece of art “Santa's Stocking” by Peggy Abrams fine art print is, when we think of presents and the tree we think of that big box of special dreams we asked Santa to bring us, and dream at night in hopes of getting what we so desired. Stocking hung are an age-old tradition.

Santa And Snowman 3 by TheMacneil Studio

Christmas Scenes

Sledding in the park is one of the fun things that you can do in the snow Remembering your time out in the snow with your friends while you mom cooked the evening dinner, with the sun setting on the fine white snow your shivering fingers and toes.

Winter Art

The winter scenes portrayed by the legendary Ansel Adams, in “Pine Forest in the Snow, Yosimite Nation” is one of his most inspired photos and memorable themes in his trademark black and white the rich detail and flow will make you want his whole collection.

Snow

Lets build a snowman, or look at a great picture on the wall while we stay inside warm and cozy. Mary Ann June's “Snow Folk Faith” is a warm and inviting fine art print that is sure to become a family heirloom.

Christmas time is a wonderful time of the year, making your house a home with fine art and starting your own new traditions with your family and children is sure to create lasting memories that you kids will be able to talk about for years to come, and when they begin to have families of their own they can pass down your traditions and start a few of their own.

 Scenic artwork has been around for centuries and is a popular subject amongst artists and buyers. Regardless of the location, season, or lack of activity, this art subject never grows old.  Scenic art shows the beauty of nature through the perspective of the artist creating the piece. The places we pass everyday and don't even look twice at comes alive when put into art. These pieces make great decor for offices and bedrooms, they bring a peaceful feel to the room.

The Brain and Nature

It is a well-known fact that a natural environment promotes positive emotions.  Nature is non judgmental, always perfectly balanced, and as pure as a newborn baby.  While our lives evolve into the fast-paced technical world, it is soothing to know that some things never change.  Scenic art almost feels like going home again, before the craziness of adulthood began.

Bring Back Memories

Memories often have a lot to do with scenic painting selection.  Childhood visits to the beach or mountains can tap into that buried subconscious and open the senses of sounds, smells, and touch. Personal to individual tastes, scenes that recreate the past deliver peace in quiet, private areas, like bedrooms or dens.

Aesthetic Appeal with Changing Seasons

Many artists are able to capture the vivid colors and feel of spring, summer, fall and winter.  Select a favorite style and redecorate living areas with appropriate seasons.  William Vanscoy, for instance, is an artist that weaves emotion into nature, making visitors stop and listen to their heart and soul.  Intriguing scenes of different seasons make these paintings perfect in living areas.

Kitchen Atmosphere

Everyone loves the comforting feel of a cozy kitchen.  Fruit and flower still life is not a necessity in bringing a natural goodness to this popular room.  Artist Diane Romanello brings an uplifting spirit of friendship in her natural exhibit of 'Among Friends I' for spring and summer, while Stephen Lyman is spectacular with the winter scene 'A Walk in the Woods.' 

Scenic artwork is the perfect touch to the decor in any room of your home. The colors range from black and white to earth tones to bright colors. This makes it easy to find a scenic art print to match your color scheme. Find the right emotion for each season with perfect paintings or prints. Contact Us to discover your own satisfying scenes of nature and display them proudly.

When it comes to French commercial artists from the Art Nouveau period, one would be remiss to skip over Jules Cheret. Despite having passed away in the fall of 1932, his work continues to mesmerize art and advertising students alike. Here’s a snapshot of his career and some of his famous framed art:

Born in the late spring of 1836, Cheret officially began his artistic career in 1849. He started with a brief apprenticeship in France and later moved on to England. Once there, he focused his attention on London’s most famous entertainment venues. Among them were the now iconic Moulin Rouge, Olympia, Palais Garnier and Folies Bergere. During that time, he created a highly visible and coveted series of posters. Many of them featured dancing girls designed to promote the venues’ assorted shows. The collection of framed art produced for such venues includes the following prints:

• Folies-Bergere Le Miroir
• Pantomimes Lumineusses Theatre Optique of E. Reynaud
• Folies Bergere La Loie Fuller
• Alcazar d’ Ete Kanjarowa

The much sought after posters were not the only works he produced throughout his career. Cheret was also known for his paintings, book jackets and extensive advertising work with a variety of commercial enterprises. They often included elements like great coloring, watercolor washed backgrounds, floral designs and engaging subjects like actresses. Among the ones immortalized in Cheret’s works are Rene Maizeroy and Sarah Bernhardt. Examples of his commercial work include advertisements for the following companies:

• Monaco Parfumerie Distillerie, Iris Villa Monte-Carlo
• Quinquina Dubonnet Aperitif
• Saxoleine, Petrole de Surete
•  Vin Mariani, French Tonic Wine

Because of his large body of impressive artwork, he later went on to win the prestigious Legion d’honneur (1890).

Showing your love for someone special during Couples Appreciation Month doesn't have to include fattening foods, overpowering perfumes and expensive flowers that eventually wilt and die. There is a better option, love art. Love art comes in different forms to match the personalities of those you appreciate the most. For instance, there are heart paintings, romantic art and love prints to choose from at our gallery. Created by a variety of accomplished artists, they’d fit into a wide array of interior designs too. Let’s take contemporary interiors and pop art fans as examples. They may enjoy art by Roy Lichtenstein.

Roy Lichtenstein’s artwork often features comic book characters kissing or pining away for a loved one. His romantic yet contemporary scenes may be placed on to canvas, framed or laminated to suit your loved one’s design sensibilities. We've even heard of couples who display the comic book lovers alongside of memory boxes filled with souvenirs of their first date, engagement or wedding.

Word art also tends to be quite popular among Couples Appreciation Month celebrants.

This is especially the case with prints that include romantic poems or sayings. Artist Louise Carey has several pieces of art that fall into that category. The sayings that she uses in her artwork often talk about unending love, true happiness and friendship. They tend to have a contemporary, youthful vibe that many people adore. Those that prefer a more mature feel to their artwork may prefer prints by artist Bonnie Mohr instead. Her paintings include complete romantic poems and verses that touch on issues like fate, spiritual love, marriage, new beginnings and the joy found in sharing life’s journey with another.

Those are just a few of the art themes lovers will find among our holidays collection.

April is National Decorating Month but that’s not the only reason to shop for wall art in the days ahead. There are a lot of funky holidays scheduled to take place throughout the month and we’ve got several framed art pieces that can help you celebrate them in style. We’ve picked out five unusual observances to help you get started:  

Straw Hat Month

It’s Straw Hat Month. So why not celebrate it by decorating your home or business with paintings featuring people wearing straw hats? Famous artists Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Pierre-Auguste Renoir have created several paintings that would blend into a straw hat theme. There are also full color photos that celebrate straw hats too. They include Susie Boyer’s Working Day is Done and Walter Bibikow/Danita Delimont’s Cuba, Sancti Spiritus, Trinidad, Cuban Straw Hats.

National Kite Month

National Kite Month is another reason to redecorate in April. Try setting up a display wall featuring artist Jack Sorenson’s Flying Kite with Friends or Paul Brent’s series, Beach Kites. Brent’s series would pair perfectly with artist Katharine Gracey’s Beach Houses collection or Michael Paraskevas’ My Seven Aunts. They feature flying kites too.

International Guitar Month

International Guitar Month also falls in April. That said, you might want to hang a series of guitar themed artwork throughout the house. The list of artists whose work contains great images of guitars includes, but doesn’t end with Pablo Picasso, Tang Ling, Edouard Manet, Adam Perez and Deann Hebert. Of those five, Tang Ling’s collection includes a series of black and white photos taken at a guitar factory. In our opinion, they’d look fantastic on display in a music room.

Car Care Month

Fans of vintage motor vehicles rejoice! It’s officially Car Care Month as well. So hang up framed photos of classic cars, racing posters, race drivers and more. We’ve got more than 700 pieces of car art to choose from, including works by artists Antonio Massa, Scott Westmoreland and Keith Mallett.

National Card and Letter Writing Month

Lastly, April is prime time to pay homage to the lost art of letter writing. Yes, it’s actually National Card and Letter Writing Month. Celebrate it with movie posters like Letters to Juliet or contemporary prints like Wild Apple Studio’s Letters Series. Other artists who’ve creating pictures featuring letters are Deam Millman, Albert Ludovici, Cristin Atria and Alma Lee.

If you have any questions about purchasing artwork that fits right in with these and any number of April’s funky holidays, please contact us!

In today’s installment of decorating tips we wanted to talk briefly about the art of conservation framing and how it may protect your favorite, Fulcrum Gallery prints from harm. It is typically a six-part process that starts with selecting art prints that have been created using the highest grade paper possible and goes on from there. Some art lovers may opt to end the process quickly by laminating their prints whereas others may want to continue by choosing museum quality, custom framing materials and techniques. At this time, we’d like to focus on the latter.

If you are hoping to have your print preserved using conservation framing techniques, it’s important to first realize that everything included in the framing package has a role to play. Therefore, it does not pay to only do things half way. In other words, once you make a commitment to a certain level of art conservation, its best to adhere to that level of quality all the way through. Otherwise, you’ll be jeopardizing the integrity of the entire framing package.

The purpose of conservation framing, as you've probably guessed, is to protect the print from moisture, dust, chemicals, insects, temperature change and other atmospheric pollutants. So every piece of framing material must be chosen with that in mind. That said, you’ll typically need the following, acid-free, buffered items for a museum quality job:

- Hinging and Mounting Materials (e.g. Japanese Tissues and Mounting Corners)

- Fade/Bleed Resistant Window Mats

- Frame Backing Paper

- pH-Neutral Tapes or Adhesives

- Frame Backing Board

- UV Filter Glazing

- High Quality Frame

The UV filter glazing is generally placed into the frame first. The window mat is then placed against the UV filter glazing, followed by the print. That way the print does not make direct contact with the glass. Next comes the hinging and mounting materials, which are designed to keep the print from moving around in the mat window. Once the print has been mounted into position, a back mat is added. The frame backing paper comes afterward. It is affixed to the frame using pH-neutral tapes or adhesives. Some framers also opt to finish things off with a few staples to further keep the backing paper in place. Either way, the overriding goal is to make sure that the frame package is air-tight and protected from full UV light exposure.