The quirky charm of vintage portraits

Well, I’m done.

This morning before I left for my yoga class--I finished shooting nails into the very last shelf and now it’s official; my matching bookshelves are finally done!
(Well almost, I still have some touch up paint but no more construction for now)
—Hallelujah!

I’ll have some pictures to share soon but today I decided to take a break and do something I haven’t done in a while...
grab my nice camera, take some pictures and do a fun post on a topic I love.

I've always had a thing for quirky, old portraits of interesting--even peculiar-- looking people. And everywhere I go I keep an eye out for them because I like the charm they inject into an otherwise serious space.

Especially when you put them next to a modern or industrial piece.

I found my latest oil portrait in a thrift store right under a pile of cheap frames and it was only a few bucks too.

(VERY rare for around here)

I recently had it in my upstairs bathroom, similar to this one:

Have you ever considered putting an oil portrait in your bathroom?
Well after several months I noticed some signs of water spots on the canvas, and even though I paid a whole $8.00 for my thrift store buddy, yesterday I moved him to my kitchen nook wall.


Do you have a gallery wall in your house?
Whenever I add something new to it I end up changing everything around. Sigh. It always takes longer than I think.

Here it is next to my giant (32 inch tall) metal letter E and my modern graphic print.

If you're like me and you like the idea of having a stodgy looking character from the past hanging on your wall, only you don't know how to begin, it's pretty simple.

OneKingsLane recently gave some design ideas that are helpful.

You can go bold with a large statement portrait (pricey though)--and in this case--that's all you need:

In my opinion, the reason it works so well in this room is because of the casual, airy vibe. And that striped animal rug---I want one!

I love this serious looking woman next to all the lush textiles and bold graphic print.

One stodgy man+lots of black and leather

=ultra cool, modern vibe.

Doesn't this lone vintage man add a retro, artistic feel to this bedroom? 

Or ,you can integrate your vintage portrait into a gallery wall like I did. 

Here's an idea I love, clustering similar themed pictures together--in this case ocean landscapes-- creates a cohesive look but that also takes more time and patience as you build your a collection.

Before I go here's a few portrait sources you might check out:

• If you like portraits but are interested in a female, here's one source I found on Pinterest.
• Believe it or not I haven't shopped for art on Ebay yet. But Emily Hendersen wrote THIS guide to buying art on Etsy you might find helpful.
• The talented Emily Clark shared her favorite source for Lady portraits: HERE>

But in the meantime, when you're traveling through beautiful areas, don't forget to stop at random thrift stores...you might get lucky.

What are your favorite sources for art ?

xo

Leslie

I'm sharing this post with theses friends:

The Scoop