Start with Art Archives - Page 38 of 61

Start with Art: Tete Blanche et Rose by Henri Matisse

June 10, 2019 Ride up With Me! "I'm going up to the beach house for the weekend - I'm going to drive, so you can just go with me!"

Her wardrobe palette is deeply invested in black, but for this weekend she eschewing the dark, and going straight-up pastels!

So she tossed her bag into the back seat...

She was expecting the air conditioning to be on full blast, so she pulled a shirt on over her tank top...

She doesn't expect to swim all that much, but she takes her suit along just in case! She does plan to walk along the beach a lot, so water shoes are definitely in the bag...

Generally, at least some people go out for a meal or two, or they go into town to buy groceries and browse around... She makes sure ... View the Post

Start with Art: Tribute to Franz Marc – Foxes by Becky Kelley

July 7, 2019

I have to confess - I can't confirm where I've seen this painting, or where I got this image, or if this is the real title and artist. I've tried searching online and come up empty-handed. Maybe it's just me? She's Not Really Comfortable... She spends most of her time with artists. She's an artist agent, and she represents some amazing people! And when she's with them, it's all very casual - never business attire, seldom dressy...

But one of her clients is going to have a show at a small, but very important museum, and she has to go make certain that all of the details are just right! So she's settling on a tidy, but quite vibrant, color palette...

She frankly doesn't own much that qualifies as business ... View the Post

Start with Art: Persia by Helen Frankenthaler

May 31, 2019 Sun She had worked on the report for 3 months. But when she turned it in, she could still only see places where she wished that she had more time - she could have done so more!

So when she was called into the manager's office on Friday afternoon, she assumed that she was going to be given notice. She was pondering how to pack the things from her desk with the least disruption to the people around her...

Imagine her delight when she was praised for her efforts, given a hefty bonus, and told not to come back to the office for 10 days!

She's going somewhere warm. Just to sit outside, and maybe walk around a little bit. She wants to see birds swimming on a body of water, and watch little children ... View the Post

Start with Art: Farm near Duivendrecht by Piet Mondrian

May 29, 2019

Her farmhouse doesn't look quite like this...

Gradually... Since she inherited the farm, she's been trying to decide what to do... She rents the fields - she's NOT going to start farming when she retires!

But she is going to live there. Starting just before the end of the year - she will be there by Christmas! There's so much hiking, bird-watching, and just general relaxing there...

She has committed to work through the middle of December, but she wants to start moving NOW, and she has a fairly excellent idea. Why not take things up to the house every time she visits? Some winter clothes, some bedding, some books... If she takes a car-load every visit - say maybe 9 times before the final move - she will save ... View the Post

May Travel: Knitting a Stocking by Sir Francis Grant

May 20, 2019 She Could Scream... but it wouldn't help... She's supposed to visit a client, to help them choose which software, and for how many people, they will buy. But she's being given shockingly little direction about how to prepare! So she channels her inner calm knitting woman:

She was told that the office is very casual.

She was told that the office is casual, but that she needs dressy clothes to meet with executives.

She was told that it was always really warm in the office.

She was told that they run the air conditioning so high that it's like a meat locker there.

AGGGGHHHHH!!!!!

She can do this...

When she arrives, she's just going to stop by the office to drop off her laptop and some information ... View the Post

Have You Ever Had Your Portrait Painted?

May 13, 2019

I have, a lot, years ago. When I worked in a bookstore, I moonlighted at an Art Center, as a model... It was nice to be paid in cash, but it was quite a lesson in sitting quietly!

I've been ill - fibromyalgia has eaten up quite a bit of my time... But I didn't want you to wake up Monday morning without something pretty on The Vivienne Files!

So I'm sharing some Giovanni Boldini paintings with you...

They may not be your style, but there's no denying that these women have their personal image sorted out. Can you imagine how long it might take to decide what to wear for such a project?

I want to be the Countess de Janville when I grow up - I've got the curly hair!

My ailments tend to only last a few ... View the Post

April Travel: Start with Art – The Bounds of the Intellect by Paul Klee

April 22, 2019 Warmth She's has reddish-brown hair for most of her life. And freckles. And warm brown eyes. All her life, she's been happy to dress in a quiet, subdued way that accents her coloring. Sometimes, she dresses to match herself! And other times, she chooses subtle greys that contrast perfectly with her overall warm appearance.

When she saw this painting, she knew she had a winner! It even includes accents of orange, which she's never tried, and a deep maroon red, which she loves for her nails and lips:

She knows that people don't wear a lot of brown in big cities... And they never seem to wear brown at the home office. But given that her offices don't HAVE a dress code, she's not concerned. She's going to show up for ... View the Post

April Travel – Start with Art: Verre et Paquet de Tabac by Juan Gris

April 19, 2019

Remember our heroine who helps non-math types learn to work with data and statistics? She's on the road again!

She likes structure, and clear-cut plans. She was wise enough to realize that she would NEVER find clothes in this "wet cardboard" color, so she substituted her favorite bright yellow/gold for the beige... This is her inspiration:

She likes bright, and cheery, and she's happy to hold the attention of her "students" while she's persuading them that numbers will not hurt them...

Because she works for an advertising agency, she doesn't have to get super dressed up, but she always likes to have something with her to look businesslike. You never know when office managers and assorted executives might ... View the Post

April Travel: Start with Art – Between Breath and the River 4 by Susan Osgood

April 5, 2019

Remember our friend the flooding expert? She's very busy...

This is her art inspiration, and her wardrobe color palette:

She's traveling to the Midwest United States, to help determine where bulldozing or other changes in the immediate terrain might help clear standing water from some flood areas. She's studied the maps, and thinks that she knows what her suggestions will be. If her map analysis is correct, she only expects to be on-site for a day or two...

Still, she's not sure if she's going to have to actually go out and SEE any of the locations in question. (there's one that spot she really feels that she should visit in order to be exact about her plan for drainage...)

So she's going to have shorts, ... View the Post

Start with Art: Undergrowth by Vincent van Gogh

March 27, 2019

I love van Gogh... These colors are so perfect for spring and summer:

She Hasn't A Clue... Well, that's strictly not true - she knows that she has to wear clothing to the wedding, and that it won't be ballgowns, nor jeans. Other than that, the invitation was maddeningly vague...

So... she's taking a couple of dresses - there's a chance that she's going to the rehearsal dinner (more of that vagueness that makes this such a headache), so she will wear 1 for the dinner, and 1 to the wedding. Maybe.

At least she knows exactly what she's wearing for the drive to the hotel - her favorite new green!

She's not, in fact, all that worried about what she's going to wear. She's got plenty of options, from a nice ... View the Post

Start with Art: Grey Fireworks by Helen Frankenthaler

March 11, 2019

She's running for office... Not a big office, nothing that will require travel beyond an hour's drive from her home in order to campaign. But she's serious about it! This is what she's using to help her focus her campaign wardrobe...

She enrolled in a 3-day workshop for women running for office... And she's going to use this trip as her dress-rehearsal for some of her campaign outfits!

She's taken a close look at other women who are running for office, and she's noticed that some of them wear a very neutral "core" outfit (often black tops and pants) with accent jackets... She's going to emulate this idea, using dark grey as her neutral, and 4 accent colors taken from her favorite painting.

Since she ... View the Post

Start with Art: From the Lake by Georgia O’Keeffe

March 9, 2019

Planning a wardrobe with mostly neutrals doesn't mean that your wardrobe will be predictable...

Let's start with this most wonderful painting:

It's pretty simple - we can start with the same neutral clothes that we used a few days ago...

Ah, but the accent pieces are quite different. One of the neat things here is that this heroine could have 5 neutrals... the brown and the grey would both be excellent secondary wardrobe neutrals, don't you think?

This wardrobe feels very different to me than the earlier version with bright accents:

I've kept the silver earrings, and then added in brown and aqua...

Same with the bracelets - her neutrals are still perfect for her wardrobe, but ... View the Post