The Artful Home
Cape Cod Home / Annual Home 2018 / Art & Entertainment, People & Businesses
Writer: Julie Craven Wagner
The Artful Home
Cape Cod Home / Annual Home 2018 / Art & Entertainment, People & Businesses
Writer: Julie Craven Wagner
Susan Danton, owner of Miller White Fine Art in South Dennis, comes from a career as a professional art therapist. She says her expertise in how to present and discuss art is invaluable in her role as a gallery owner. “I would not have opened a gallery had I not fostered a lifelong love of the arts, but along with that affinity; I thoroughly enjoy talking about art with others,” she says. “It doesn’t matter who I am speaking to—we have a conversation about what we see in front of us, how it makes us feel and the ways we can relate to it.”
Hillary Osborn and Doug Rugh, a husband-and-wife team of artists who can be found painting regularly in their gallery in Falmouth, have developed deep and meaningful relationships with many of their clients who have purchased their oil paintings. “I think most people have their own particular taste in art, and even if they don’t know anything about it, they know good art when they see it,” Rugh says. “There is no wrong answer [to the question of taste], but what we choose to live with is a reflection of who we are.”
At Cross Rip Gallery in Harwich, artist and owner Georgene Riedl reflects, “I think most homeowners who buy original art for their home are first attracted to a piece because it ‘speaks’ to them, that is they are first moved on a deep emotional level. I suggest that they buy what moves them, whether they can verbalize what that is or not.”
Deciding where in your home to display the art you have purchased is another point of consideration. Sometimes homeowners are searching for something to complement their color scheme, or to fill a certain space. Many gallery owners and individual artists are receptive to what buyers are trying to achieve by acknowledging color or tone in their homes. Rugh puts the challenge in perspective by saying, “As creative people, we like limitations. It can be a struggle to start on a blank canvas with absolute freedom. If we know someone has a warm color scheme and wants, say, a peaceful late-afternoon seascape in a certain size, that is a great starting point for an artist.” Quidley shares his perspective by saying, “There are times when I choose a piece for my own house because of the colors in the piece, which can be powerful. Conversely, some of my favorite placements occur when the piece is chosen based on its own merit and it breathes new life into the area.”
At Gallery Artrio, a cozy Cape converted into a gallery, separate rooms are painted uniquely, allowing the owners to move paintings to different backgrounds to see how the piece might work in their own home. “This gives clients the freedom to choose a painting based upon how the color palette speaks to them personally versus how the color palette will work in their present décor,” says Vandeventer.