The Artful Lifestyle

Bon Voyage…and Bon Appetit!

2012-01-18T21:03:00.003-05:00

Even with all the crazy stuff going on in the Huffington world right now, we do have our laser beam sights set on two special dates coming up this year: June and September. That’s when we’ll pack our bags, leave a forwarding email (or maybe not) and head off over the pond to gorgeous and glorious Provence with a group of fun, adventurous and hopefully hungry travelers.

It’s so fun when a trip can be healthfully hedonistic (and somehow it’s easy to do at Les Murets). It’s all about eating what’s ripe and in season so the flavors are bursting with every bite. It’s all about eating leisurely and taking one’s time to savor and enjoy every little bite.

Dinner’s ready at Les Murets

It’s all about lively conversation, meeting new people and finding common ground over simply but beautifully prepared meals.

It’s all about the ritual of the meal – a nicely set table, some candlelight and plenty of time to savor and relax.

And the wine…well, the wine is simply sublime and a hugely integral part of the whole Provencal experience.

Among lots of other things, we’re happy that our weeklong Provence tours pay due homage to the French tradition of honoring food and the special ceremony of the meal.

At lovely Les Murets, breakfast is as simple as a freshly-gathered egg, a slice of perfectly ripe Cavaillon melon (these are tiny and perfect little melons grown in Cavaillon…they look like mini-cantaloupes but the taste is nothing like you’ve had before…) and maybe a slice of fresh bread or croissant, smeared with locally produced jam and a sliver of slightly salty butter.

The days revolve around lunch: where, what and when. We time the market visits around the lunchtime destination so on Tuesday, it’s a tiny little restaurant in Oppede (a pretty as a picture village near Les Murets). The restaurant is a small little spot and everyone who works there wears about five hats. Jean-Marie is in charge (when he’s not managing his transportation company and driving tourists all over Provence) and we’re pretty sure the nice girl who takes the orders is also busy in the kitchen barking orders and plating the yummy salads and delish main dishes that make up lunch.

Lunch in Oppede.

We love this picture of lunchtime Provencal wine…with the Diet Cokes in the background!

Another favorite spot is gorgeous Ile-Sur-La-Sorgue, the antiquing capital of Provence. The market, brocante and antiques are feasts for the eyes and after a few hours, everyone needs a feast for the tummies. One of our preferred spots is a beautiful little spot off the beaten path. The menu is limited to the day’s offerings…and we’re always delighted with what is set down in front of us. (Plus, it’s sort of a hot spot and you never know who you’ll see…)

The garden setting of our lunchtime pick in Ile Sur La Sorgue is divine…

It’s always fresh, creative and elegantly presented.

And, it wouldn’t be a trip to Provence without a stop at the well-known Bistro du Paradou. Loud, energetic and totally unpretentious, this little gem always seems to win awards for its amazing cheese tray – not to mention the eggplant appetizer and…if it’s Wednesday it’s rabbit, cooked to utter perfection.

Yum….

Lots of ooohs and aaaahhs for the fabulous cheese tray.

Bistro du Paradou…could it be any prettier?

Over in nearby pretty Loumarin is La Cour de la Ferme, you get to sit outside on a terrace with umbrellas shading you from the sun. The menu is carefully chosen and is always perfect. The wine is sublime. The company is fun and relaxed. It’s nirvana. (And, the last time we were there, we were pretty sure Britsh author and Provencal celeb, Peter Mayle, was sitting near us.)

Dessert…

Dessert: all gone.

But, the best meals of the trip always seem to happen right at home on Les Muret’s terrace. Whether it’s the magical Provencal light, the camaraderie of new and old friends sharing countless adventures over the week or the simple and fresh food, we’re not sure.

One thing’s for certain: no matter how much delicious wine we drink and meals we inhale while we’re there, we never gain weight! Call it the French Paradox or what you will…we just call it a wonderful time and a little slice of heaven.

Cheers!

Ta ta.

A Little HHH Make-Over…

2012-01-09T09:00:00.001-05:00

Imagine our excitement when a dear friend (and art-loving client) came to us and told us that, according to the elves, she has been a very good girl. Santa had agreed to give her a mini-makeover for her living and dining room. Would Huff Harrington Home like to help? There were a few pieces that had already caught her eye…

Of course, we said oui, oui and oui and spun our little selves to sleep for many nights imagining what we could send her way.Now, the first thing you need to know is that this client’s home is already fabulous, gorgeous and filled to the brim with one-of-a-kind antiques, art and special “found” pieces that she has picked up in her many travels. The home has been photographed and published numerous times. This Madame possesses a very keen eye and has wonderful taste so we were anxious to listen carefully to what she had to say.

The Living Room: Before. It’s elegant, sophisticated and full of special, one-of-a-kind objets. We were worried…how could we possibly improve upon this?

The Living Room: Before. We love the lines of the pretty antique bench and the glass side tables that sit on the wall opposite wall to the armoire.

Our client spent an hour or so with Sam (our interiors wizard) and the two of them came up with a nice little wish-list of what the homeowner would love to see.

She wanted a new look for her dining room and was willing to replace the light fixture and the table and chairs for something with a little more oomph. She also requested something that was a little more “user-friendly” for her pretty living room, although we were having a hard time envisioning anything prettier than what was already there.

The Dining Room: Before. Our client was preparing for a party so the rest of the chairs had been moved out. We love the existing Italian slipped chairs.

(And, by the way, what made this even more fun is that the Madame was going out of town for a few days. We had carte blanche to do as we wished while she was gone…)

So, first on the list was a long, clean-lined white linen sofa that we had custom ordered for HHH several months ago. It’s bench-made by a small California company, took forever to arrive but when it did, we all fell in love with it. It’s squishy and comfy but very, very good-looking. We would constantly find clients lounging on it, texting furiously as they took a little break from the madness. To us, that is the sign of a good sofa.Then there was a crunchy and texturey low-slung coffee table that looked and felt like driftwood. The client adores the the beach and we loved that she wanted to incorporate that passion into the room. And, to pick up on that beachy, casual and relaxed vibe, there were two extraordinary chandeliers that she immediately gravitated to.

We weren’t sure which one the client would end up with….

Madame, our client, had spotted some other things at the store. There was a fantastic, 19th century oak dining table that seats twelve at the drop of the hat. Ann and Linda found it in Belgium and recognized it immediately as the perfect example of the authentic Belgian-Dutch design that is so hot right now. Aged and limed oak, graceful but strong lines and incredibly functional and strong: this is a table to linger at and pass down to future generations. Our client spotted a set of nicely-shaped neutral upholstered chairs to go with the table. (We recommended new chairs as opposed to antiques because we find the old styles simply aren’t as comfortable for lounging around the table as we know this client likes to do.)

We thought these would be a nice counter-point to the woodsy Dutch dining table our client fell in love with.So, in a pouring December rain, we packed up the truck (our loyal guys from Distinguished Transport in Atlanta helped us out) and drove off to the client’s home. And then the fun began.With Sam leading the charge, we rearranged, rehung, repositioned and then sprinkled the whole concoction with a smattering of gorgeous accoutrements.

The pretty living room, before. Pretty darn gorgeous and hard to improve.

And, after…

The new living room: the yummy linen sofa sits where the armoire used to be and is flanked by two scrolled iron lamps. And there’s the texture-y driftwood coffee table now accessorized with some of the the client’s books, a horn bowl and two mounted tortoise shells. The client’s own abstract (by Bonnie Beauchamp Cooke) hangs over the sofa. We’re crazy about the interior Frenchy shutters and couldn’t resist adding a walnut table topped by another mixed media figurative painting by Tracy Sharp. And, we do adore the trio of crystal obelisks and the African antelope horns, all framed by graceful windows.

The armoire moved to the opposite wall and is now flanked by two slip covered armchairs…one of them sports our very favorite Union Jack pillows (done in a very cheeky pale blue…)

Looking into the dining room….

Here’s the impressive 19th century Dutch dining table, the homeowner’s own rustic buffet and lovely Louis Philippe mirror…and an edgy abstract by George Marks. We love the pattern that the driftwood lantern throws up on the ceiling. Sam also insisted that we remove the seagrass rug…and voila: the room feels even more spacious. The French doors lead to a cozy little porch that the owners use all the time.

We couldn’t live without the existing Italian armchairs having a major role in the room…we love the play of curvy Italianate married with chunky and strong Dutch. Quite the European union.

The homeowner already had the crusty buffet and Sam had the brilliant inspiration to pair it with an elegant Louis Philippe mirror that the client already owned.

The dining room with George Marx’s abstract hanging behind the table.

Flanked by two floor-to-ceiling windows, this curvy French table is the perfect backdrop for crystal, African antelope horns and a sexy painting by Tracy Sharp.

The story has a happy ending: the client arrived home with lamps softly glowing, candles lit and everything looking cozy and inviting. She was happy and loves her new spaces. And we were thrilled with the results of our very first professional “install” -- and can’t wait for the next chance to mix, marry and merge all the things we love.Ta ta.

Top Ten for 2011

2011-12-29T13:04:00.005-05:00

It’s the season of Top Ten countdowns and we have thought about writing a well earned blog about our “Top Ten Bloopers” as we’ve forged our way into new adventures and businesses. And we will do this – if we don’t write the book first! But this has been a pretty remarkable year for us Huffingtons and we think that before admitting to all of our little faux pas along the way, we’d like to reflect upon the top ten events that have made 2011 our most exciting year in business.

#10: The Raw Space

Finding and falling in love with the old Mercedes dealership on West Paces Ferry, and thinking that with a little TLC, make up and lipstick, it would be the perfect spot for Huff Harrington Home.

Isn’t she pretty? See #1 if you don’t believe us!

#9: The Blonde Bombshells at Huff Harrington Fine Art.

This was one of our favorite shows ever. The artists enjoyed it, our clients seemed to love it, the press got a kick out of it, and we all had a ball!

From top left: Lorraine Christie, Melissa Payne Baker, Dawne Raulet, Aaron Whitehouse and Bonnie Beauchamp Cooke.

#8: Shopping in Europe!

As soon as we signed on the space, we were out the door and over the pond shopping for merchandise. We’ve got enough stories to fill a book on this one, but let’s just say that as usual, it was loads of fun.

Ann posing with a beautiful antique French “Miroir a Fronton Coquille”

#7: Trips to Provence:

We made several of them this year, many of which were documented in previous blogs. One of our favorites was the incredible “Painting in Provence” trip with the effervescent Nancy Franke.

Nancy Franke leading the painting trip at Les Murets

#6: The Paris Apartment

It took almost a year of renovations, and more frequent flier miles than we care to count … but in the end, the renovation of the Paris apartment was a collaborative effort among several Huffington designers, and one of the most satisfying and beautiful projects we’ve ever been involved in!

The Beaumes de Venise apartment we renovated in Paris

#5: A JDRF masterpiece

What started as a simple request to one of our artists – to paint a painting for the live auction of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s annual Gala – turned in to one of our favorite projects, led by Melissa Payne Baker and several junior ambassadors from JDRF. The results were incredible: The artists painted a masterpiece which raised over $12,000 for JDRF during an exciting bidding war at the gala in May.

Melissa Payne Baker at the gala with the masterpiece.

#4: Lorraine Christie’s Solo Show

Lorraine gave it her all, and the results were amazing. With 22 of the 24 paintings sold in just a matter of days, this was one of the most exciting and sought after shows we’ve ever hosted, and certainly one of the most fun as well. Our congratulations to Lorraine and to the lucky clients who were able to purchase her paintings before they flew off the walls.

“Assent” by Lorraine Christie

#3: The Dream Team

They probably like this better than being called Huffingtons (!), but regardless of the name, we couldn’t be happier with our new little family at Huff Harrington Home and Huff Harrington Fine Art.

HHH Dream team, from left: Sam, Emily, Allison, Ann, Meg, Collee and Linda.

Sarah Sullivan is now the manager at Huff Harrington Fine Art, enabling us to split our time between Huff Harrington Home and Fine Art.

Sarah, right, shown here with Meg, Ann and Linda

#2: Opening Night at HHH

We were exhausted, exhilarated and almost ready to be exhumed, but it was one of the most fun nights of our lives, and definitely, one of the most memorable. Surrounded by friends and family, we opened our doors and prayed that nobody would buy anything, because we were still struggling on how to use the cash registers!

Cheers!

#1: 11-11-11

That was the day that we officially opened our doors at Huff Harrington Home (and the day that we learned happily how to use the cash registers). It’s been a dream come true, one made possible by the help of so many people: Supportive vendors, friends, artists, clients, husbands and family, as well as the friendly, trusting and respectful partnership that we’ve come to share. 2011 has been full of surprises, adventures and yes, mistakes – but it has also been so much fun. We can’t wait for 2012!

Huff Harrington Home

Tata,

Huff Harrington Heroes

2011-11-28T07:05:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are a week or two into our newest little venture…and it’s been great. We’re busy, busy, busy…but what fun!

We’ve got a million great things we can’t wait to share with you…and don’t worry, they’re coming soon.

But first and foremost, we absolutely have to tip our hats to the wonderful team we have in place at Huff Harrington Home – and thank each and every one of them from the bottom of our hearts for everything they have brought to our lives.

Linda, wrestling with inventory on the computer…always a smile on her face.

From our darling Linda Mohan (who has been with us since the very first day of Huff Harrington Fine Art and whom we had to peel away from the gallery to come to Home because we couldn’t imagine daily life without her); Allison (who is a constant presence of graciousness, calmness and order – and who seems to know everyone in the city);

Digging through the dumpster for a missing lamp harp. Now that’s impressive…Emily and Colleen are really, really dedicated.

Colleen (who knows every design source in the ATL and is completely tireless and always ready to do anything) and Emily (who has the sweetest smile and warms our hearts with her enthusiasm and hard work.)

Two words: true dedication. Searching under the newly arrived sofa for the lamp cords and an outlet in which to inconspicuously plug them.

And, of course, there’s Sam Jones…a Renaissance woman if there ever was one. She’s full of brilliant ideas, hasn’t met a sofa she doesn’t want to move to at least three different spots and constantly keeps us giggling with her funny observations on life in our little version of the fast lane.

True dedication, part deux…

If all that’s not enough, we have to give Sarah, our wonderful gallery manager, a gigantic round of applause for keeping our first-born, Huff Harrington Fine Art, happy and ticking seamlessly along. Here’s Sarah on the right on the night of our Home opening (with Emily and Colleen.)

Where would we be without these energetic, fun and enthusiastic girls? We shudder to think and it never fails to bring a smile to our faces when we see them in action – always charming, gracious and bursting with fantastic ideas and creativity.

Sam, Emily, Allison, Ann, Meg, Colleen and Linda. We have the very best little family at Home.

You’ll have the pleasure of meeting them if you stop by the gallery or Huff Harrington Home and we promise you’ll be as enchanted with them as we are.

Ta ta.

A Link in the Chain

2011-11-27T11:34:00.005-05:00

Mina Yamada and Courtney Tomlin

It started with a visit from one of our favorite jewelers, whom we were introduced to via the Trinity School. Over the past several years, Huff Harrington Fine Art has happily contributed to the Trinity School’s Spotlight on the Arts fair, and so as a kind “thank you” this year, Trinity generously gave each of us a gorgeous bracelet from one of their jewelers, We Are One Designs. We loved the bracelets and we loved the story behind the jewelers, who contribute a hefty 20% of their sales to the customer’s charity of choice. So naturally we asked the jewelers, Mina and Courtney, to come by the store and show us their wares.

Adorable Mina barely had time to walk in the door before one of us unabashedly pounced on her to buy the necklaces right off her neck. (This is one of the many perks of our job!) Luckily, she kindly obliged and now one of us is getting compliments on the necklace every time she wears it!

It got even better. There were so many styles to choose from that we had a hard time narrowing it down, and so we kept increasing our order. Mina had to make several trips to the store that day, but she was happy to provide. And our customers responded immediately by buying the jewelry even before we could get the pieces in to inventory.

And then the piece de resistance. Along with the purchase order we had to make a decision about which charity would benefit from the 20% donation to their cause. We talked amongst ourselves about some of our favorite causes and then Allison walked by and suggested a lesser known but extremely important and effective local charity called Focus. Allison and Mina both had experiences with Focus, which supports families with children who are medically fragile or have significant disabilities. We told them we’d think about it, and we did a little research.

Fast forward two days, and Allison came back to the store (on her day off!) with her adorable daughter Kate and equally adorable husband Mark. It was Allison’s birthday and she wanted to shop! Allison has an exceptional eye for jewelry and discerning taste, and so it was no surprise that she ended up picking out a bracelet from our growing jewelry section. She casually asked us, as we were wrapping her birthday present, whether we had chosen a charity for the jewelry sales from We Are One Designs. We told her we’d selected Focus, and she was overjoyed.

Later that day, Allison wrote us a little email, and this time we were overjoyed: “I came home tonight and was more excited about HHH choice to support FOCUS than my beautiful birthday present! I remembered an article that Katie (her daughter) wrote about her experience with FOCUS through National Charity League and had to share with you. I also have to say that we have a dog named after a beautiful FOCUS child, Chloe ...”

That made our day, along with meeting FOCUS' Executive Director, Lucy Cusick, and her associate Annie, when they came by the store with our jewelers, Mina and Courtney on Friday. We hope that through our association with these jewelers and this fine organization, we at Huff Harrington Home will be a little link in the chain to help the families of children under stress, especially during this holiday season.

From left: Mina, Meg, Ann, Lucy, Annie and Allison (and Courtney was behind the camera!)

Cheers!

PS For more information on Focus, visit their website at: http://focus-ga.org/index.htm. Their mission: FOCUS understands and supports the unique needs of families with children who are medically fragile or have significant developmental or physical disabilities. FOCUS offers comfort, hope and information to parents; accessible recreational and social programs for children and teens; and fun, inclusive activities for the entire family. A non-profit founded by parents in 1983, FOCUS continues to embrace and strengthen metro Atlanta families.

Lorraine Christie Stories

2011-11-18T22:17:00.001-05:00

We all enjoy telling our clients about how Lorraine Christie weaves stories into her paintings. It’s a well known fact that she often names the paintings before painting them, and already has an idea of the characters in her paintings and their relationships to each other even before her brush touches the canvas.

Well, having just opened an excellent and tremendously successful show for Lorraine Christie, we, as gallery owners, have enjoyed the stories told by our clients who have been touched by Lorraine’s work. In some cases, they had to buy the painting. In other cases, there were some broken hearts of people who couldn’t get the painting they wanted. But in all cases, it seems, Lorraine’s evocative images and the (often romantic) stories that are woven behind them have stirred up enough emotions in our clients that we have a few stories of our own to tell: (By the way, to protect the identity of the clients, we’re just offering cropped glimpses of the works).

There was the musician from Decatur who performed at our gallery several years ago as part of a classical quartet, and who said that she’s been haunted by the beauty of Lorraine’s work ever since. She had to come to the show and meet the artist.

There was the woman who has wanted a Lorraine Christie painting for years, and now, recently divorced and just spreading her wings, came to the show, met the artist and gave herself permission to buy.

There was a couple who spent their honeymoon in Paris, and needed to know that the City of Light was the inspiration behind the painting they wanted. It was … and now they are thrilled to proudly own the painting.

At one point during the evening, some clients approached us and said, “That man over there can’t stop staring at the painting – does he know that it’s sold?” Luckily, we told them, he did, because his wife had bought it without his knowledge! And luckily, he was falling in love all over again. It was a wonderful sight to watch.

There was the couple who have collected Lorraine’s work over the years, with a keen eye and much happiness. But the icing on the cake was when the husband, a cleverly conniving kind, planned a secret trip to Paris for his wife, and bought a beautiful Lorraine Christie painting of Paris, as one of the clues in the multi-pack, beautifully wrapped present.

And maybe our favorite story of all, that of the wife who’d always deferred to her husband’s taste in art, and knew that he wanted a Lorraine. But he couldn’t attend the show, so with some hesitation, she bought a painting for him. Then she hung it in the restaurant where they were having his birthday dinner, and waited for his reaction. Half way through dinner he said, “OMG, is that a Lorraine Christie hanging over there? This restaurant must be doing well!” and she said, “I believe it is. Do you like it?”

Luckily, he loved it … and the rest is history.

Ta ta …

PS Enjoy some pictures from the exhibition. And if you missed the show, we still have a few paintings hanging. So come by and see for yourself … and tell us your Lorraine stories.

Clients, with our gallery manager Sarah Sullivan

First HHFA show for Emily Sawyer, who is working for us at Huff Harrington Home, but loves to spend time at the gallery – with a friend from her home town.

Meg Harrington with artist Aaron Whitehouse and Sarah.

We’re Open!

2011-11-11T07:27:00.002-05:00

Today’s eleven eleven eleven…and Huff Harrington Home is officially open as of 10 a.m. this morning.

We have all been working day and night and our space is finally shiny, pretty and, in our very humble opinion, full of gorgeousness – and we couldn’t be happier.

Things started coming together last Friday when we finally got word that our long-awaited container from France was finally released from Customs in Savannah. We’re unabashedly babies at this new business and fingernails were bitten to the quick and tempers were frayed all week as we waited, called, waited, called, paced and called again. Finally, we heard that the truck would be at 102 West Paces at 7 a.m.

We arrived in the pitch black along with our helpers who had huge muscles, good cheer and some very handy skills.

The container was stuffed to the brim with our treasures and it was like greeting old friends when we saw their curvy legs and graceful arms. We were thrilled to see our twelve orange, painted metal grape-picking baskets that Ann discovered on her last trip. (We love those and have lots of ideas for them…)

Our guys didn’t love the orange grape picking baskets as much as we did….they are heavy.

Ann had her list….

The empty container left…and then the fun started. We unwrapped, unpacked, moved, moved again, polished and created mounds of cardboard and bubble wrap.

By the next morning, we were starting to see some results. With almost all of our merchandise accounted for, we’ve been tagging, placing, moving, tagging, tagging and more tagging. Did we mention tagging?

Some fun behind-the-scenes and very ad-lib photos of this week’s pre-opening days:

Allison in action: she’s working her magic…

It’s a family affair: the two Harrington girls pricing jewelry…

A little snapshot of what we have to offer: two stylish armchairs done in the most luscious wool blend in slate gray. We love these…especially accented with our sassy flag pillows.

Mirrors and chandeliers are hung and add the most gorgeous and playful sparkle. The antiques gleam and hints of gold leaf peek out from decades of patina.

And, as we hoped, everything looks wonderful together. The Louis XVI chairs love the sexy and modern lines of our lacquered furniture line. Our new upholstered sofas and chairs love the crunchy 18th century benches that sit next to them. Pillows of all shapes and sizes add punches of color. The coffee tables books are fabulous with a capital F. The jewelry is unusual, eye-catching and pretty, pretty, pretty.

Of course, we’ll be doing what Sam calls the “last minute fluff” at about 9:45 a.m. this morning but can you blame us? We want it beyond perfect for our opening day and we can’t wait to share every inch of it with you!

Ta Ta…

Eleven Eleven Eleven countdown

2011-11-08T07:14:00.001-05:00

It’s hard to believe that in just three short days (which in our minds, translates to 73 hours, 45 minutes and 30 seconds to get everything done), we will be opening the doors to our newest venture, Huff Harington Home at 102 West Paces Ferry Road in Atlanta.

It’s hard to believe that an idea, born out of our wonderful art gallery down the street, with many twists and turns along the way, is finally coming alive, to the public, on Friday. It seems like just yesterday that it was a dream …

What were we thinking on that rainy November day, when we fell in love with an old Mercedes dealership on West Paces Ferry Road, and thought it could be transformed in wonderful new home with all the things we love …

Look at Linda’s expression when we first introduced the idea to her! Actually, it was a love at first sight for her, and for Sam, both of whom shared our vision of what it could be, and cheered us on along the way.

With the help of an expert in commercial real estate who just happened to be part of our little family, and the support of a few other key people including a wonderful banker, and a vision of what it might look like, we signed papers on this space and took a giant leap of faith.

Then, of course, came the fun part: Defining what Huff Harrington Home could be and scouring the planet (OK, mostly the French and Flemish speaking parts of Europe as well as several wonderful sources closer to home). This part could take up a book, or definitely a blog of its own, so we won’t go into details now. Besides, we’re now down to 73 hours and 32 minutes before we officially open our doors!

What is it, you ask?

Well, you’ll have to wait until Friday to see it for yourself, but let’s just say that it started with some inspirational pictures of things we love, collected from magazines and blogs and even our own homes over the years:

(Sorry if we don’t remember all the sources … maybe you do, and can remind us so that we can thank them?)

We love the clean lines, the marriage of antiques and contemporary art ….

We love to mix it all up, and break all the rules.

We love the touch of the unexpected, as in the pink chairs in our favorite Paris Apartment.

And the glint of glam with sparkling chandeliers in antique mirrors …

And of course, we just love to find the little things that make it all come together.

Like these little jewels ….

And glimpses of gold …

Combined with nail heads …

And something very old ….

A knock on wood …

And coral from the sea …

A new take on blue

And a crystal ball

That will tell us how we’ll do!

Will you be there to support us? It’s just 71 hours away! We hope so … and hope you’ll love it too!

Ta ta …

PS Huff Harrington Home, at 102 West Paces Ferry Road, will be opening Friday at 10 a.m. “We’re home” Monday to Friday, 10 to 6 and Saturdays from 10 to 5.

Life and Love: Getting Emotional with Lorraine Christie

2011-10-30T18:22:00.009-04:00

Assent, oil on canvas, 24 x 36"

As you know, we’ve been pretty busy around the gallery with the recent American Women’s Artist exhibit and racing to unveil our newest venture in a couple weeks. Cick here to read all about it.But we’re not the only ones who have been burning the midnight oil and it’s with great excitement and honor that we present a solo show for the incomparable and exquisitely talented (and very hard working) Lorraine Christie.

Lorraine, who is funny, smart and self-deprecating – and always the life of the party - has been virtually chained to her easel these last few weeks…and we’re pretty sure her legions of fans and collectors will swoon over these new paintings.

What Are The Chances? 36 x 24 oil on canvas.

Lorraine’s unique appeal comes from her ability to tap into her own emotional reservoir which translates effortlessly and beautifully on the canvas. She weaves together stories of life, love and missed emotional connections and ties it all together neatly with her wonderful titles. And she composes her work playfully: the painting is often not about the most obvious figures on the canvas but rather the more obscure characters often hiding in the backround.

Rhapsody, 24 x 36, oil on canvas. Who is this painting really about? At first glance, you might think it’s about the couple with the red umbrella who are a little to the right of center…but knowing Lorraine playfulness, the hero is probably one of the other characters that make up this intriguing piece.

These paintings exude the gamut of emotions from joy to yearning to love and loss but it’s all done in an elegant and sophisticated way. Her settings all vaguely hint at large cosmopolitan cities such as London, Paris, Rome or New York and we have great fun watching our clients trying to guess the locale of the subject.

Two by the Thames, 24 x 36, oil on canvas. This one is pure Lorraine.

But what resonates throughout Lorraine’s work is her delicate way with emotion, relationships and how fleeting life’s opportunities are.

Table 7, 24 x 36, oil on canvas. This one is so gorgeous – the tension between the two main characters is almost tangible. Is it good tension or bad tension? (Or maybe he’s just checking that she picked up the fries order.)

And did we mention that when Lorraine turns her laser beam focus on a different style of work, the results are just as spectacular?

Reach Inside, 18 x 24, oil on canvas. When Lorraine paints a still life, you can practically taste the fruit. Rich, succulent and absolutely to die for.

We’ll unveil Lorraine’s newest body of work to the public on Friday, November 4th. Lorraine will be here at the gallery and we know it’s going to be a lively and fun night…and one we’ve all been looking forward to. Hope you can join us.

Ta ta.

Something to smile about

2011-10-24T22:17:00.002-04:00

We’ve been busy. Real busy. First, there’s the American Women Artists Nationally Juried show that we’ve been honored to host (hurry … it’s only up for one more week!), attracting favorable attention from art lovers and collectors all over the country.

Wonderful drawing by Leah Henry

Then, there is the long awaited solo show for Lorraine Christie, which opens to the public on Friday, November 4^th, and will undoubtedly be one of the most exciting and well attended events that we’ve ever had at Huff Harrington Fine Art. How proud we are of Lorraine – and of the new work that she has produced, to unveil at this show.

And then, there’s the little surprise, down the road … literally … at 102 West Paces Ferry Road. How much can we tell you about our little surprise? Because we don’t want to spoil it, we just ask that you save the date (how can you forget this one: eleven.eleven.eleven?) and join us as we excitedly open our doors and welcome you home to our newest adventure, Huff Harrington Home, on Friday November 11^th, from 10 to 6 p.m.

This much we know: Every day is like Christmas as we find surprises popping out of every box.

From Belgian antiques to American made pillows to French ballerinas to every wine lover’s necessity … we’ve scoured our little universe to bring together all the things we love. And how will it all come together? We have no idea … but we know it will be different, daunting and definitely fun (oh, and very pretty … and it will smell good, too!). With your loyal support and our measured madness, we think we’ve landed on a wonderful new store, filled to the brim with all the things we love. It is definitely something to smile about. We hope you will think so too.

Here’s a sneak preview of a day in a life.

Meg and the newest Huffington, Emily, on the hunt

Ooh la la! Quelle surprise!

After struggling with boxes and making best friends with box cutters, it’s time to freshen up a little and pose for a few formal portraits …

Which, after a day of unpacking, is about all we can take!

Luckily … with a little bubbly to the rescue (in the nice company of Emily and Linda), we can finally say:

Cheers! It’s busy … but we have a lot to smile about.

Tata,

American Women Artists

2011-10-10T16:54:00.003-04:00

They started to trickle in about two weeks ago. One or two packages at a time, several times a day. At first we were on top of it, and we stacked the boxes neatly into piles in our back room. We joked about it with our clients and tried to make light of our new found interior décor – which included lots and lots of boxes. And then the onslaught arrived: thirty boxes in one day! When our UPS man delivered another six boxes, we all collectively gasped, “Oh no” to which he replied, “You know that’s not the reaction I normally get when I deliver boxes.”

We had planned for this of course. In fact, we were even excited about it. And we knew exactly what we were getting in to, almost a year ago, when we were offered the prestigious opportunity to host the National Juried Exhibition & AWA Master Signature and Signature Member Show. But somehow we hadn’t quite anticipated that our entire little gallery would be taken over by boxes, and boxes and more boxes.

One hundred fifteen boxes exactly.

But then the fun began. We started to tackle the boxes, one at a time, about a week ago. Thanks to Sarah, our very organized Gallery Manager who had us following precise directions for receiving and cataloguing the art, we had a well thought out system in place which included the perfect tools and sharpened box cutters. And thanks to Debbie Leeuw, AWA’s very capable Executive Director, whose detailed guidelines to all of the artists included strict directions on how to ship their work, we were spared the onslaught of pesky peanuts and other non-eco friendly paraphernalia.

In fact, most of the boxes were so beautifully wrapped that before we even got to their contents, we were oohing and aahing over the packing!

Of course once we opened the boxes, unwrapping each piece carefully and unveiling the art work for all to admire, we started to realize what a fun show this would be. Featuring varied work from dozens of acclaimed artists from all over the country, who have spent years honing their skills and have the accolades and distinctions to prove it, this show brings together a significant collection of distinguished, contemporary American art.

How exciting for us to hang a show with completely new and different artists, and to do it with our signature way of mixing things up! How do you think we will marry these paintings together? Will there be our usual AHA moments?

Diane Rath, Small Gathering

Katie Dobson Cundiff, Together

Suzanne Hughes Sullivan, Luminescent Oranges

Leah Hopkins, Jenna – Haiti

Paula Holtzclaw, Shining Through

And what about the sculpture? This may be the most exciting part for us. After all, we don’t regularly feature sculpture in our gallery, although it is a medium that we all adore. The sculptures from this show range from beautiful, representational bronzes to abstract mixed media. What a great new dimension to our gallery!

Joy Kroeger Beckner, So Good to See You

Marilyn Newmark, Fancy Free

Rosetta, On the Alert

Marie-Pierre Philippe-Lohezic, Mystery

The fun has already begun for us, as we take roll up our sleeves, don our hanging hats and espadrilles, and spend the next few days hanging like crazy. The fun will begin for all of you on Friday evening, at 6 p.m., when you don your party hats and join us for our reception honoring the juried competition finalists (some of whom are familiar names from Atlanta), the Master Signature Members and the Signature Members of the American Women Artist’s Association. Won’t you come see us?

Ta ta …

PS By the way, all of this beautiful artwork is available for purchase. And we’ll even box it up and ship it to you!

A Little Slice of Heaven

2011-10-04T20:28:00.006-04:00

We have a little joke around here that the real reason I went into business with Ann is because she comes with a couple of wonderful assets: namely an insanely charming and rambling farmhouse in Provence (and now a jewelbox of an apartment in Paris…) Now, that’s not entirely true…in fact, we are excellent business partners, wonderful friends, adore what we do and always have a ball doing it.

But, truth be told, Ann’s Les Murets in Provence really is a little slice of heaven and when I was there recently with a group of eight women, we were all collectively praising and thanking Madame for her love of all things French, especially her real estate.

That indescribable early morning light over Les Murets

Through the gallery, we’ve offered these trips many times before (this was our sixth trip) and it never fails to amaze us how warm sunshine, soft light, lavender-scented breezes and plenty of good local rose can work its magic on one and all.

Choosing olives….

The formula is not complicated: we have a busy agenda that runs the gamut from shopping the dozens of local markets (that are part of the French culture and lifestyle) to visiting galleries, gardens and cultural attractions. We add some delectable and leisurely lunches and top it all off with some downtime by the pool and festive dinners on the terrace.

The cheesemonger’s truck – complete with marketgoers meandering past.

Everything is always mouth-wateringly appealing.

“How is this going to fit in my suitcase?”

One evening, we came to the 12th century Abbaye de Senaque and heard vespers. Heavenly.

One of the best treats that always occurs on these trips: we’re always bowled over by the simple and gracious ways our French friends treat us.

On Sunday, September 11th, we were enjoying a warm morning at one of our favorite markets…ooohing and aaahing over the huge array of just picked produce and fruit; tables groaning with organic honey and jams; neighborhood vintners pouring generous samples of their wine and all whole party atmosphere that goes hand in hand with French markets. Everyone was a little jet-lagged. One of our group stopped to buy something from a friendly vendor. “You are American?” he asked. “Yes, we are,” we answered. To which he replied “Today is a very sad day for your country. I want you to know that all of France is thinking of you.”

The September 11th tenth anniversary memorial in Paris, with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

There wasn’t a dry eye at the dinner table that night when we had a little sad moment of silence and thought about that terrible day and how, despite all the politics and posturing, nice people are just nice people everywhere.

For the rest of the week, we shopped, explored, ate, drank, hiked, laughed, ate and drank some more, and collapsed happy at the end of each day.

Overlooking Gordes after our lively hike there.

The picture perfect terrace where we lunched one day…

Every day was a huge treat, but Thursday may have been the highlight. Our adorable driver, Christophe showed up bright and early and drove us quickly down the autoroute to Marseilles where we happily sat in traffic and took in all the sights, smells and colors of Marseilles’s famous Vieux Port.

Then, it was on to Cassis for a little exploring and lunch. Here we discovered another universal truth: no matter where you are in the world sunshine, water, boats and clean sea-scented air will bring out the best in everyone. We strolled, shopped and ate heartily at a wonderful restaurant (where we inhaled la soupe de poisson – a heavenly concoction of sinful seafood broth served over a dollop of garlicky rouille and a crusty slice of baguette. Mmmmmm.)

Sunshine, boats, water, lunch…pure paradise in Cassis.

The beach at Cassis.

Anxiously waiting for our Soupe de Poisson…

The good news is that we’re already planning next year’s trips – and one of them even includes a stop in Paris before arriving in Provence. (click here for all the info.) So don’t worry: it’s never too late to experience the magic and friendship that Provence so effortlessly offers.

Ta ta.

Hopping to It

2011-09-21T10:51:00.002-04:00

Never a dull moment here at the gallery and here’s a quick update:

We’re having fun hanging for our new show which opens on Thursday. It’s the second year in a row that we’ve presented Arts and Ale – a lively exhibit that showcases great new art from our gallery artists to the toe-tapping sounds of one of our favorite local bands, Smokey's Farmland Band. We like to wash it all down with some microbrewery ale…and we’re expecting good art, good music and good suds will make for a fun evening.

And, here’s a little sneak peak of what will be on the walls:

Laura Lacambra Shubert

Meanwhile, across the pond in sunny and glorious Provence, Nancy Franke is hosting the first of two one-week painting workshops. Those lucky artists…their days will be filled with a perfect mélange of activities that will run the gamut from antiquing to wandering the local markets, digging into heavenly two-hour lunches…and plenty of excellent painting advice from our own Nancy Franke. Nancy is the perfect storm of an instructor: immensely talented but able to convey techniques in a humble, fun and spontaneous fashion. We can only imagine the goings-on going on!

Finally, a quick visit to the future home of Huff Harrington Home was exciting: walls are primed, electrical is going in and today the bones of our checkout counter will be put together. Ann and Linda have just returned from a buying trip in Paris and are over the moon about some treasures they have found.

Stay tuned and ta ta…

Another Door Opens for the Huffingtons

2011-09-05T12:41:00.027-04:00

If you’ve been following our blog lately, you may have noticed that we’ve been hinting about something big that’s in the works for us.

Six years after opening our little blue door at the gallery, we’re still having the time of our lives. We are passionate about art, adore our artists and clients and consider every day a pleasure. But we’ve noticed that our interest has been piqued by other elements that marry so nicely with art. In the space of two and a half years, one of us has either torn down and rebuilt a home (Meg’s new living room pictured below):

…or in Ann’s case, embarked on the search, discovery and miraculous transformation of a Paris apartment.

Despite the tears and temper tantrums that go hand-in-hand with rebuilding, renovating and designing interiors, we both realized how much we enjoyed the processes…and it got our brains whirling.

What if we kept the gallery but opened another retail store that featured all the other stuff that goes hand-in-hand with art?

What if we filled it to the brim with all the things we love – and can’t live without?

We started thinking about the furniture we’d carry – lots of crusty Louis XVI but a splash of new, bright and modern, too:

Who can resist the sexy lines of Louis XVI? We can’t…especially when it’s paired with something really sassy.

Then, we thought about lighting….chunky crystal chandeliers hanging side by side with industrial chic pendants:

What if we filled the space with baskets, books, candles, champagne flutes, fine linens, throws and hard-to-find, one-of-a-kind accessories that we knew we could scour from our favorite sources in France?

We know these would be gorgeous covered in a pale gray linen and we’d snap them up in a heartbeat.

And, clean and new: who couldn’t love this elegant upholstered sofa made here in the United States?

We remembered Linda’s fabulous photo shoot and her fun wine jugs. We could carry those, too. (We found five big ones that we loved and you should have seen Linda and Meg trying to get them in the back of her Suburban…)

Wouldn't it be fun to have a little section called La Pharmacie and carry French soaps, lotions, and creams (and yummy candles)?

And linens galore…

And, wouldn’t it be so great if we find a fabulous, high-visibility location near the gallery?

To all those questions, we happily can answer YES, YES, YES – and we proudly and officially announce that we’re opening Huff Harrington Home on November 11, 2011 at the swanky Buckhead address of 102 West Paces Ferry Road.

Our space is gigantic (to our eyes!) and oozing with industrial chic: concrete floors, huge ceilings, flooded with light and a long, long expanse of glass windows that will be perfect for showing off our wares. And, we plan on infusing our new space with our favorite french music, friendliness and fun.

We’ll keep you posted on the fun before and after pictures…but for now, we just can’t wait to open our new doors.

Ta Ta.

Before and After, Part II – The Paris Apartment

2011-08-26T09:29:00.001-04:00

It’s been a fun little blogging journey, but as much as I’ve loved sharing the ups and downs of a Parisian renovation, and as much as I’ve appreciated your kind and encouraging comments along the way, the truth is that the Paris apartment is now done. Finished. Fini. And so today, after three years of dreaming the dream, and a full year of long distance renovations, I am happy to unveil the last of the before and afters, and a little sad, because I don’t want it to end! Thank you for coming along for the ride, and for all your kind support along the way.

As I mentioned, when we first saw the apartment there were three American students living there. Luckily, the bones of the apartment were good … but everything else needed a change. The front hall was the easiest, and all we did was add a little ceiling molding and some wall paper which was hand carried in a ubiquitous big bag from Atlanta, that, thank goodness, always eluded the customs agents at CDG!

The living room bones were all good too, and we made very few structural changes here. Just a little decorating ….

… and some window dressing made a big difference.

Ikea was traded in for some divine antiques from the Paris flea markets.

Our new curtains in the living room were actually the same ones I have in Atlanta, that have followed me from house to house. They are Pottery Barn silk in clay … and we just doubled the width and double lined them to make them fuller. Again, merci to the big suitcase!

Here is a view of the living room looking in to what became the kitchen.

When we first visited the apartment, one of the front rooms was used as a bedroom for the three American students.

When her stuff was moved out, I almost wanted to keep it empty and open!

But this became the perfect room for the kitchen.

Originally we were going to mirror the doors between the living room and the kitchen/dining room. It was a huge expense and one that Sam Jones, my partner extraordinaire in this renovation, nixed almost immediately. It wasn’t the first or last time I thanked her for saving me a boat load of money!

I love glass doors, and I’m so happy we kept them the way they were.

This lone little fireplace became the cornerstone of the new kitchen.

And of course here are the infamous chairs with the pink check silk backs, for which Sam Jones practically mugged a pregnant woman in the remnants aisle of Lewis and Sherron fabric store (see our pretty in pink blog).

We were pretty excited that some shots from the kitchen were featured in one of our favorite blogs, Cote de Texas.

But I was a little surprised when I read the readers’ comments about our sink. After all, the sink seems perfectly adequate to me. What was the big deal, I wondered. And then I looked at the picture, and sure enough, the sink looks minute! The last time I was there, I measured it to see if the comments were justified. The truth is that the photo makes it look smaller -- just as the photo makes some rooms look larger! The sink is not huge …. but it’s very deep and so it doesn’t feel small. And I guess that’s just one more way the Europeans make use of tighter spaces.

Here’s the view from the kitchen in to the living room, with our little paint samples dappled on the wall.

Sam and I debated long and hard about putting a rug in to the living room. Luckily for us, nobody lives underneath us, so that is one more reason why we didn’t have to. And as I’ve said from the beginning, I am in love with the Pointe de Hongrie parquet floors, and it just seemed a pity to cover the up.

We’ve already covered one bathroom renovation in the previous before-and-after blog. We really hesitated about renovating this one because it had just been done by the previous owners. I actually like the tile … in small doses. But this was overkill and there was no way of salvaging some of it without looking like it was half done.

So we kept the same structure, and just tiled right over it.

Even without my morning coffee, this bathroom had a little too much energy for me!

We’re happy we went ahead with the renovation, but I did have a tough time giving up the cute little sink above!

Finally, some discerning readers have noticed that we replaced a pillow in some of our pictures:

With a monogrammed pillow:

And they asked us the significance of the B de V monogram in such a prominent place.

I’m happy to say that when we are not using the apartment, we have entrusted it to the care of an outstanding rental company in Paris called Paris Perfect. We have checked out Paris Perfect’s apartments first hand on several occasions, and loved every experience. So we were delighted when they whole heartedly embraced our apartment with the wonderful name, Beaumes de Venise. And I was so thrilled because it makes for such a nice monogram. (There is a little fun French snobbery attached to any monogram that contains the word “de” – known in French as a particule, and a way of setting apart the true aristocrats from the riff raff! Of course ours is purely made up, which makes it even more fun.)

So if you’d like to continue the little journey, and visit the rest of our apartment online, you will find it listed under Beaumes de Venise in the beautiful Paris Perfect website.

And while we may bid adieu to the Paris apartment series, we are not shutting any doors to antiques, fine furnishings and all the fun stuff we were exposed to during this Parisian journey. In fact if anything, we are busier than ever with doors opening very soon! We’ll give you a little holiday break and then tell you where these doors are leading us to, right after Labor day.

Ta ta,

The Ins and Outs of Commissioning a Painting

2011-08-14T15:35:00.002-04:00

Lately the phone has been ringing off the hook with clients asking for paintings that they can specifically commission with our artists.

We’re not sure what’s driving this mini gallery phenomenon but we’re always happy to accommodate when we can. Actually, commissions can be very tricky and we walk a little delicately around them. Usually the client has a very definitive idea of what they want. Sometimes they want another version of a painting that the artist has already done. Often they are pulling from their own memories, experiences or even design needs.

Nancy Franke has painted the terrace at Ann’s Provence home, Les Murets, a couple times for clients who have been there and who want to capture the memory on canvas.

Either way, we like to gently caution that art is a subjective and emotional thing and that the artist needs to be allowed to channel his or her own inspiration. We like to point out that artists generally don’t love recreating a painting they’ve already done so, nine times out of ten, the commission will be its own very individualistic painting.

The process itself can be time-consuming with client-artist meetings, exchanges of photographs and then, finally, the long-awaited final images followed by the unveiling of the real thing.

But as always, our artists have been coming through with flying colors. We recently coordinated a wonderful commission by Dawne Raulet for some clients who had a very clear idea of what they wanted. Dawne is known for her mixed media-photo-encaustic paintings and our clients had fallen in love with a small painting of hers of a beautifully lush magnolia.

Our clients fell in love with Dawne Raulet’s Magnolia, but it was much too small for their space.

The clients had a big wall to fill and they came to us with the very creative approach of painting four separate magnolias, each in a different stage of bloom. We all thought the idea was brilliant and this is what Dawne created for them:

Our clients, whom we absolutely adore, have promised to have us over soon to see these four paintings hung in all their glory in their new home. We can’t wait.

Doug Foltz is working on a commission right now for a couple who love his work. They’ve asked him to recreate a painting that is similar to this one – but they want him to number the dingys with years that their children were born. We love that very personal touch.

Doug Foltz’s Maine Dingys: the inspiration for a commission he’s painting right now. (The clients actually loved this painting, but Doug’s lovely wife refused to sell it!)

A designer client of ours fell in love with the work of Bonnie Beauchamp Cooke. Bonnie’s well-known for her gorgeously textured paintings of horses and she recently started creating lovely, elongated and sexy figures – all dripping with her layers and layers of medium. The client was working with some space constraints so Bonnie graciously came to the rescue with these three beauties:

And back to Nancy Franke, who is constantly being approached for commissions, especially of children. Nancy has a wonderful impressionistic approach to her portraits so they end being light, loose and full of the subject’s essence.

This lovely oil on linen commission is of the client’s teenage daughter.

And, finally, check out this absolutely perfect little painting that Nancy did for our Madame, Ann. This one had us all practically in tears:

The photograph that Nancy worked from….

…and the finished painting.

Nothing makes us happier than seeing a look of pure joy and excitement on a client’s face when “their” painting is unveiled for the first time – it’s their leap of faith with the artist (and us) that makes this the best job in the world.

Ta Ta…

Paris Apartment: La Vie en Rose

2011-08-07T13:16:00.002-04:00

… and the pursuit of the perfect pink.

We were surprised and delighted that our favorite blog, Cote de Texas, featured the Paris Apartment Kitchen in a recent series on kitchen redos. And we were tickled pink with how many people commented on the pink chairs! Sure enough, that touch of pink is our favorite little exclamation point in the apartment. But it came about in a somewhat circuitous manner, with the help of many of our gallerinas. Here’s the story of pink:

As art gallery owners, it’s perhaps not unexpected that many of our interior decorating decisions first start with the art. It so happens that back in October, Linda and I, having one of the most fun flea marketing days of our lives (and no, this one didn’t involve bumping in to Catherine Deneuve …), found some paintings that we fell in love with and each had to have. The one I selected, whose provenance is unknown, jumped out at me so fast that I knew it belonged in the Paris apartment, and I knew it would have a significant role. I had it framed by our favorite Atlanta framer and for six months, it sat in a plastic bag in the bottom of a closet while I waited for the apartment to be finished, for the dust to settle and for its final destiny to be revealed.

Meanwhile, on another wonderful flea market excursion, this time in the South of France, I found six exquisite chairs that I just had to have. I loved the simple Louis XVI lines, the sturdiness of the frame, the patina of the wood and especially, the nubbly linen upholstery. They were a little pricey but worth it, and I decided to plan the Paris apartment around them.

I was very excited about the purchase and couldn’t wait to show them to Sam when she accompanied me on a trip to Les Murets, where I had decided to store the chairs until the apartment was ready.

And then the inevitable happened. We fell in love with the chairs all over again, but this time decided they had to stay at Les Murets, instead of Paris. We divided them up and spread them around the house, and no matter where we put them, they looked perfect:

Either as a desk chair in the office …

As an occasional chair in a bedroom:

As a pair, flanking a console or in a corner of the living room.

Who knew I needed so many chairs? (I didn’t!) But that left me scrambling to find some similar chairs for Paris, with the knowledge that, having already scoured all the antique markets, I’d have very little choice. In a leap of faith, I decided to order six chairs sight unseen, off of a prominent French website. I crossed my fingers and hoped they would be decent, especially since returning furniture in France is no easy feat.

When the chairs finally arrived, I was surprisingly pleased with the shape and structure and the pretty muted color, called “marron glace,” which means iced chestnut.

But when I grouped them around the kitchen table, and filled in around them with furniture and accessories in my favorite shades of grey, gold, taupe and beige, the room went flat. I knew that a pop of color was missing, but I couldn’t figure out which color. And of course, that is when art (and Sam!) came to the rescue.

The answer jumped out at me right from the canvas of that magical painting: it had to be pink! I went to bed that night dreaming of pink and woke up early to visit every flea market and fabric store I could find, for the right shade of pink. Have you ever tried to buy pink? It is a very tough color! I spent two days desperately scouring the French countryside only to come up with fuchsia, raspberry, melon, cranberry, and just about every fruit color on the planet but no perfect peony pink. I even called a Parisian antique store where I’d remembered seeing a gorgeous swath of antique pink silk fabric draped over a curtain rod in the back room, to ask if it was still available, to which the woman replied, “Of course not! It’s not for sale. It’s an original Louis XVI fabric.” My bad. It’s just that I thought if it was in a store, it might actually be for sale …

And then Sam came to the rescue. Three thousand miles away, she knew exactly what I was looking for, and found it buried in the sale rack of the silk remnants in a fancy Atlanta fabric store. When she sent me the picture of the pink and cream checked silk taffeta, I started jumping up and down. Although she apologized for the quality of the picture, I instantly remembered this fabric from having seen it years ago and wishing at the time that I had a room for it. It was 2 a.m. her time, but I frantically starting texting her: This is it! Buy it! Go get it! Break in! I’ll bail you out of jail!! Please don’t come without it!!

As luck would have it, she returned to the fabric store in the morning (having slept very little, since I’d kept her up with my frantic texting) and wouldn’t you know that out of the thousands of one-of-a-kind remnants in the store, a very pregnant woman was holding that particular swath, probably trying to figure out if it was enough to do her nursery. Sam kept her cool, walked around a little, and when the woman put the fabric down (probably just for a second to go get a measuring tape), Sam grabbed it and ran upstairs to pay for it. She didn’t check her bag on the plane and arrived safely, with fabric, the very next day in Paris. And that’s when our fun really began!

With the help of a thin backed spoon, Sam carefully lined the backs of the chairs in the silk taffeta and we’ve been holding our breaths ever since to make sure that it stays. (If not, there is a very nice upholsterer down the street in Paris, who assures me that for $400 per chair, he will back it properly! Ouch.)

With just a little touch of it, only on the backs of chairs (oh, and with a few peonies thrown in too), the pink has made all the difference in the kitchen, which instantly went from blah to ta dah! Just to add another touch of it in the living room we found a little lumbar pillow for the sofa.

We bought it in Paris but brought it back to Atlanta for the monogram, whose initials will be explained in the next (and final) blog on the Paris apartment.

And then of course the final piece de resistance, is the touch of pink in the geraniums on the window boxes!

This blog is dedicated to Linda, who helped me find the fabulous first painting that set the tone for the pink; to Sam, who knew how to make it all come together, and who climbed mountains and crossed oceans to deliver the perfect pink; and to Meg, whose unerring support through this whole process has been so generous and fun, and who coined the perfect phrase for the pink chairs when she responded to my fit of insecurity and wrote, “… Love em! They’re so sassy!”

Merci mesdames. Ma vie est en rose, thanks to you.

Ta ta,

PS We’ll be issuing the final before-and-after blog on the Paris apartment next week, and with that, a little news of our own. Don’t go away!

Before and After

2011-07-25T23:19:00.001-04:00

The Paris Apartment, Part XIII

I have always loved before and afters. It’s one of the first things I look at when I’m leafing through a magazine, and I examine every detail to see how even the smallest improvement can make a huge difference. However I’ve always felt a little uncomfortable about doing a before and after, especially when it’s someone else’s before.

So let’s be clear here: This apartment had great bones to begin with, and the decor was perhaps a little shoddy not because of someone else’s neglect or poor taste, but because it was being rented by three students. Still, the pictures reveal what we saw when we first visited it, which says as much about the Paris real estate market as it does our improvements: i.e. with a great location and good bones in Paris, you don’t need to do much to an apartment for it to sell. And sure enough, it didn’t show too well. So luckily for us, that makes the “after” just a little more dramatic.

For starters, here’s the front hall:

This was an easy fix, with some wallpaper hand carried from Atlanta, and a beautiful Regence style mirror found in the South of France.

Yes, the apartment showed with garbage being hung from the door. Beyond it was the kitchen, which we turned into a bathroom. Just taking the garbage off the door was a huge improvement! We hated to lose the glass door, but given that the room was turned in to a bathroom, we had little choice.

Here is the original kitchen, in the back overlooking the courtyard. You’ll see in part II what we did to the kitchen. And this room turned in to a beautiful bathroom … but not without my losing a little sleep during the lengthy intermediary stages.

It didn’t look too good for a long time … actually months and months … and then finally, ta da!

This one really throws me for a loop. This is what the WC looked like when we bought it. Can you imagine selling a house where you painted over the glass in the bathroom window for privacy? Really! How difficult would it be to find a curtain? Especially in the land of gorgeous linens.

We just chose to replace the window panes and add a mirror to bring in the great light over the world’s smallest sink.

The bedrooms came with some wonderful built-in closets which are a rarety in Paris apartments. The problem was, in our minds, they were configured all wrong. In this bedroom, we moved the closets over to the left, revealing a pretty little angled corner that surely used to be a fireplace.

And although it was nice to have so much storage space, we really didn’t need it, so we removed some of these top cupboards, and opened up the walls. The chinoiserie toile, by the way, came from Atlanta … in my suitcase!

On the wall, below, we replaced the students’ desk and, in a flash of pure brilliance from Sam Jones, who helped on this entire renovation, we added molding that echoed the pretty molding from all over the apartment. The paintings, by the way, are from Tracy Sharp, one of our wonderful artists at Huff Harrington.

This second bedroom also had a few too many closets, even for those of us who crave extra storage. We found a good solution here, and just moved everything over a few feet, centering the bed on the wall, with closets on either side.

There’s a whole funny story about the checked fabric here which probably merits its own blog. Suffice it to say that it was a discard from Sam’s pile of treasures. After initially turning it down from Sam’s sweet offer, several years ago, for our Atlanta house as being “too country,” this time I snapped up all ten yards and carefully salvaged enough to do not only the headboard and bedskirt in Paris (see below) but also the bedskirt and several pillows at our house in the South of France (see further below). And, yes, Sam and I hand carried all the fabric to France … in our suitcases!

I just love how the check plays crisply with the toile in this bedroom.

And I am completely in love with the way it looks in this bedroom of Les Murets.

Have you enjoyed our little before and after? Well if so, there’s more. We’ll show the living room and kitchen next (it’s a small apartment, so there’s not a whole lot more) but then we’ll tell you a little secret: How this apartment, and the teamwork that went in to renovating it, has been the inspiration for some very exciting news that we are just about ready to share. Don’t go away!

Ta ta,

Another Huffington Photo Shoot

2011-07-20T21:05:00.006-04:00

You know Ann and I love to brag about our spectacular gallery gals whenever we can: Linda, Sarah and Sam who each bring their own special qualities to our little world. Gallery life would be so dull without them.

Linda adds that certain je ne sais quoi in everything she does, from her haircut to her fashion sense to her impeccable taste. Sarah is brilliant, witty and intensely passionate about art. And, Sam is the quintessential Renaissance woman who can design flowers, decorate a room effortlessly and is a bottomless well of information about anything and everything.

We were thrilled when our local newspaper, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, contacted us again about the possibility of shooting a Huffington Home (Ann’s was featured back in April and we all had fun watching her pull it together beautifully. http://theartfullifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/04/huffington-makeover-for-photo-shoot.html.)

Linda, the trooper she is, agreed to show off her personality-laden home. Usually we like to show the befores and afters, but Linda’s house is always completely put together in wonderfully spontaneous way. She is crazy about art – the more abstract the better – and her home is the perfect backdrop for that.

Our Linda is totally gorgeous, multi-talented and wonderful to be around.

And what a treat it is. As Linda would say, take a lookyloo:

Here’s her elegant and clean-lined living room. The painting is by George Marx and was one of Linda’s first gallery purchases. (Not only is Linda a wonderful gallerina, but she’s also an excellent client, too.)

This is so Linda: mid-century modern leather and chrome chairs paired with a nubbly, crusty burlap pillow that she picked up at a market in Provence.

We love it when beloved kids art is predominately displayed. The artists are now 16 and 18. Oh and we’re dying over those fabulous black and white curtains that play beautifully off the striped rug and drippy chandelier.

The sun room. We could spend all day in here just gazing at Linda’s clever way of displaying objects, paintings and the things she loves. She makes it all feel so personal.

The sun room again.

The living room. Dramatic and edgy. We all want to lounge in this light-drenched space. Linda would probably serve us champagne in vintage French flutes along with an artfully displayed cheese tray.

Linda has nailed the whole “opposites attract” thing: glass and iron make a heavenly match in the breakfast room.

Another study in constrasts in the master bedroom: linen, iron, wood and a bright and bold painting by their son, Quinn. Only Linda would think to put the painting on the floor.

We love the exterior of this fab house. The wing on the right side is a new addition.

Linda and Dan

So, how’s that for eye candy? We can’t get enough of it and can’t wait for Linda to invite us all over soon for one of her tasteful and elegant evenings. Maybe we should blog about that one of these days…

Ta Ta.

Sacre Bleu! It’s Bastille Day Again…

2011-07-12T11:53:00.006-04:00

And the Huffingtons are ready to throw a fete. With our usual frantic buzz of activity, we have been cataloguing, photographing, framing and pondering our hanging strategy for the gallery’s most fun event of the year.

Laura Shubert, La Fete, 30 x 40, acrylic on canvas

We’re not quite sure why this event garners such a devoted and happy crowd – we chalk it up to being held in the middle of the week, in the middle of July, in the middle of the summer…and just when you think the whole world is on vacation, it turns out that lots of people are around and ready to play.

Last year, we all wore our French espadrilles that Madame brought us from Provence…

We always have Jaques (aka Don, his real name) on hand to belt out the French classics and what a great job he does. We can promise plenty of nice wine, delicious nibbles and, of course, some drop dead new art from our gallery French and American artists.

On Madame’s last trip to Paris, she called me to excitedly tell me about some new paintings she had found. She sent me some photos but I couldn’t really appreciate them until I saw them in person.

These small watercolors by Fanch Lel are deceptively simple but a closer look reveals a real talent by the artist to capture the essence of all things French.

Fanch Lel, Moutons en baie du Mont St. Michel, 5 x 7, oil on board

We love his graceful treatment and skilled hand…but especially love the sweet and charming ambiance of these. They are painted on plain and simple board and are very small, but we love the way they gussied up in their new ornate and chunky frames.

Fanch Lel, Les Quais de Quimper, 5 x 7, oil on board

Fench Lel, Maree Basse, 7 x 5, oil on board

And that’s what makes the art business so pleasurable. The art doesn’t need to have any special heritage, nobility or accolades (although don’t get us wrong, that doesn’t hurt!) to make it special and meaningful. We always go by what our heart says and this time it was an easy decision.

And, our fete doesn’t just celebrate our French artists. Many of our wonderful gallery artists have caught the bug and have been bitten by that certain “je ne sais quoi” – Nancy Franke comes to mind with her spontaneous and deft use of color, shape and light. We adore this one that portrays beautiful Isle sur la Sorgue in Provence.

Nancy Franke, Dimanche a Ile, 16 x 16, oil on canvas

(By the way, we’re delighted to announce that Nancy is leading not one but two painting trips to Provence this fall. We can only imagine what fun the artists will have with this spunky, lively and talented teacher.)

Also joining us for our fete is artist extraordinaire and master of brushwork, Bill Davidson and we are so thrilled to have his pieces gracing the walls.

Bill Davidson, Provence Colors, 18 x 24, oil on linen

We welcome guest artist Lesley Powell to the gallery. We fell in love with her poker-faced and ever-so-French waiters who look like they could be rolling their eyes as their customers struggle with their bad French.

Lesley Powell, Maitre D’, oil on canvas, 20 x 16

And, we can’t get enough of Laura Shubert's light-drenched French exteriors and interiors. You can just about feel the warm sun and smell the lavender when you study her work.

Laura Shubert, Chandelier and Stairs, 36 x 36, acrylic on canvas

Laura Shubert, French Facade, 36 x 36, acrylic on canvas

So, if you’re in town, don your beret and slip on your espadrilles and stop by the gallery for a French fix: Thursday, July 14^th from 6-8 p.m. Bonne Fete!

Ta ta. See you Thursday!

Paris in Sepia

2011-07-05T14:39:00.004-04:00

We love it when people reinvent themselves and come up with things that, later in life, they are passionate about. That’s probably because at one time or other, we have all done that at the gallery. In fact, between us we have worn so many hats in our collective professional lives that it would make your head spin! We’ve had careers in marketing, advertising, real estate, public relations, food service (remember waitressing your way through college?), college admissions, teaching (English, French, theatre and even skiing!), flight attending, retail, interior design, and much much more. And that’s without even including Sam Jones, our real renaissance lady, whose resume would take up five pages!

One of our favorite clients, who not only has collected art from us over the years but also been to Provence with one of our groups, recently reinvented herself and has become passionate about photography. She is so excited about this new found passion and so charged by the enthusiasm of those who’ve viewed her work that it has given her a whole new lease on life, following a few tough years with persnickety health issues and a variety of interesting careers.

We first met April Dilbeck when we were babies in the art gallery business and selling out of Scotts, the famous flea market located near the airport. April had the booth next to ours, and she featured beautiful European antiques. We instantly bonded and became friends and April went on to becoming a cherished friend and client, who accompanied us on one of our first tours of Provence, a few years ago.

Knowing that we are all Francophiles here at the gallery, and thinking we could suggest a venue for some of her newest photographs, April sent us some examples of her recent work on Paris, entitled “Paris in sepia,” and politely asked for advice.

It so happens that she took these Paris photos following one of our trips to Provence, when she was staying at a quaint little hotel on the Left Bank, and spent much of her time dodging rain storms. Luckily, those dramatic storms became the backdrop for her photography, and that is one of the reasons her work is so powerfully luminous.

We loved the images and are thrilled to introduce a friend, and talented artist, April Dilbeck, who will be a guest artist for our Bastille Day Show on July 14^th. We hope that you will be equally drawn to April’s beautiful photographs of Paris and join us for a fun filled evening of wine, cheese, music and art … one of our favorite shows of the year.

We hope you’ll join us next week as we toast our French artists, and our not-so-French American artists, who have all been bitten by the French bug, and whose work will be gracing our gallery walls starting on Bastille Day, July 14th, 2011.

And we hope you’ll join us in welcoming April Dilbeck as a talented guest artist for this fun show.

A bientot!

Shopping for Paris

2011-06-27T08:38:00.000-04:00

Postcards from Paris

With its new kitchen finally delivered and installed, the Paris apartment was begging to be furnished. What better place to shop than the local antique fairs in Paris? (And who better to go with than Huffington pros, Linda Mohan and Sam Jones? Talk about a collective “great eye”!)

Linda and I were pinching ourselves, wandering up the aisles of the fabulous Chatou market, held twice a year on the outskirts of Paris. The first big purchase was the piece de resistance, the gorgeous gilded mirror, for the mantel in the kitchen.

Here I am proudly posing with it before and after its delivery … before I realized that it didn’t fit!

But luckily, we found another spot for it, which worked even better: Over the living room sofa.

Then Linda and I spotted this table that had beautiful Louis XV lines and a wonderfully worn French walnut finish. Of course Linda had to test it, to make sure that we could fit our American legs under it, because a low apron is a typical problem with a lot of antique French tables.

But this one passed the test and fit beautifully in the kitchen, just as planned.

I’ve always loved fabric with birds and this little scrap of fabric, in one of the antique stalls, just jumped out at me:

There wasn’t enough to do much, so I walked away from it. And when I felt the pull to go back and get it, someone else had picked it up. That’s when I knew I had to have it! Luckily, my competition was as fickle as I was, and before she even walked away and without knowing what I could use it for, I grabbed it. How fortunate, because it is the perfect show curtain!

It was love at first site when I saw this beautiful and ornate Napoleon III mirror in the Regence style (note that a real “Regence” Mirror would have been four times the price), and thinking that it would work beautifully in the bathroom, I bought it.

But in the game of musical mirrors that I’ve already mentioned a few times, this elegant beauty ended up in the front hall, and looks even better on the wallpaper (which was hand-carried in my suitcase from Atlanta, by the way!).

And speaking of musical mirrors, this one that Sam Jones (see her little reflection in it?) and I found at l’Isle sur la Sorgue in the South of France a few weeks later, that was originally planned for the one of the bedrooms …

… worked perfectly in the kitchen!

Sam and I fell madly in love with these Louis XVI style chairs that we found in the South of France.

But then we found that they looked so beautiful in the South of France (this will be in another blog, our renovation of Les Murets), that we decided they had to stay there.

So we robbed Paris to feed Provence, and found some other Louis chairs for Paris … whose backsides we just had to cover in pink and white silk taffeta … a move that Meg immediately coined as “Sassy” – which was just the look we were looking for!

One of these chandeliers would have been good enough, but when I found two identical ones … I couldn’t resist!

And a matching pair of sconces to boot? After months on the hunt, I had found just the right ones.

But when I first hung them, I was worried that my little apartment would look like the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles …

But Sam assured me that with a little artwork and a few accessories, it would go from bling to bling to the perfect zing!

Linda and I found this sweet little chandelier at Chatou.

I didn’t realize until it was hung, just how pretty it was. I just love the Swedish lines and how elegant it looks in our little checked bedroom (there’s a story behind the check that will make it to another blog – check that out!).

When Sam and I found the perfect side tables at the Paris flea market, it never occurred to us they would have to join us at lunch, while we waited for a taxi!

And it never occurred to our unsuspecting taxi driver that this merchandise would pop out from behind the bushes and need to be squeezed in to the cab!

But how else could we get it home? And how wonderful they look, once we got them there.

Shopping with these two gallery gals is entertaining and productive. But I did have to tell Linda to leave her little friend behind!

Sorry Linda, no room at the Inn for him!

What fun.

Do you want to how all these purchases play together in Paris? Stay tuned for more … as the Paris apartment is unveiled … little by little.

Tata,

AH (with Sam and Linda)

Birth of a Kitchen – in Paris

2011-06-08T18:57:00.003-04:00

The Paris Apartment, Part XI

Remember a long, long time ago … one of the Huffingtons mentioned she’d found the perfect apartment in Paris, and she even blogged about it? She called it Heaven in the 7th, and dreamed about spending Christmas there with her family.

That naive but happy Huffington was me. And although the apartment needed a new kitchen, and an extra bathroom, and the bedrooms had to be reconfigured, and all the systems had to be renovated and upgraded, I was assured that it was a quick and easy project and told it would take a “good month,” as in the French, “un bon mois.” It actually went from “un bon mois” to “deux mois” to “quatre mois to “huit mois” to, well, let’s just say I could have birthed this renovation and it would have gone faster!

But never mind. It’s almost done … and we are at the fun part. Now looking back, I’ll share a few stories along the way, to finish the saga of the Paris Apartment.

First off, there was the tough decision about moving the kitchen. The problem was that it was located in the wrong part of the apartment – in the back, miles away from the dining area (as is typical of most Haussmann style apartments). But did it make sense to have a kitchen with a view like this?

When in the front of the building, the view was like this?

Once we made the decision to move it, we realized that the practically brand new kitchen in the apartment could not be reconfigured to work in the new space … a blessing in disguise for me since I really didn’t like the existing kitchen, even if it was brand new. After all, did I really want a kitchen like this?

When I’d been secretly dreaming of something like this?

Luckily, it turns out that we found someone who needed a new kitchen, and our contractor agreed to take it out for free if he could give it to this elderly person – and keep one of the elements for himself. Huge relief!

I wanted a kitchen that was cozy and elegant, and looked as though it had been in the apartment for years. Ironically, I wanted what we Americans call a French style kitchen. But ironically, French style is actually very hard to find in Paris, where tastes run to super modern, high gloss contemporary.

After looking at hundreds of kitchen designs and despairing that none of them had what I wanted, I stumbled upon a small kitchen design store in the northern part of the Marais, and immediately knew I’d found my match.

Luckily for me, the owner was in and I quickly explained what I was looking for. I had a rough idea of the dimensions and so he sat down, with pencil in hand, and literally sketched out a drawing that was completely perfect.

We talked a little more, and decided to expand the kitchen to the whole room, and so he added on another section.

I approved it on the spot, and with a brief discussion of finances and a solid handshake, we agreed to have him build the kitchen.

My contractor prepped the room for the kitchen installation, and for an eternity, I waited patiently while the “kitchen” looked like this:

Meanwhile, the kitchen designer was less than communicative, and many months passed before I heard from him. I persistently phoned or emailed but I kept hearing the same chorus: Soon! It’s almost ready!

And then one day my contractor called and said, “Your kitchen has been delivered!” I was so thrilled at long last that I hopped on the next flight and could barely contain my excitement. But somehow “delivered” hadn’t meant “installed,” and this was what I found when I arrived in Paris that morning!

On my next visit, the kitchen hadn’t improved much more, but at least I could see the color – which, by the way, was not what I’d ordered – but I’ve learned to like it just the same!

The big excitement was when the mirror was delivered, and I proudly posed in front of it:

But when it came to hanging it over the mantel, it didn’t fit! I had carefully measured for the mirror's installation but hadn’t taken the kitchen cabinet molding into consideration, and my gorgeous piece de resistance was just a 1/2 inch too wide on either side. But no worries, I had another mirror that I’d bought for one of the bedrooms, and in a game of musical mirrors, we managed to find just the perfect solution:

The kitchen is now almost finished and I am the happiest camper. We didn’t get in for Christmas … or Valentine’s day … or Easter or Mother’s Day. But as spring turns to summer, and the sun sets at 10:38 p.m. in Paris, I’ll forget about the long months, the delays, the overruns and the costly mistakes and will be drinking up the last rays of sunlight, in my kitchen with a view, ever thankful for a dream come true.

Do you want to see more of the finished apartment?

Stay tuned …

Tata,

The Clementine Caper

2011-06-07T15:27:00.013-04:00

The Paris Apartment, Part X

This is a sad little story with a happy ending.

Quite a while ago, when the idea of owning a Paris apartment was just the germ of a dream, we received the most gorgeous painting at the gallery by Nancy Franke, called Study of Clementine. As we unveiled it and gasped our collective “Ooooh’s”, I announced confidently to everyone present that if I ever owned a Paris apartment, this would be my very first purchase. I crossed my fingers that it wouldn’t sell, and I pursued my dream of finding the perfect apartment. Meg even went so far as to put a hold sticker on Clementine, during my lengthy negotiation process with Parisian “notaires.”

Interestingly, Clementine got a lot of attention and everyone loved the painting. It even spurred on several other commissions for Nancy Franke, including this beauty below.

But nobody bought Clementine, and I felt comfortably assured that at the right time, this beautiful painting would be mine. I calmly and confidently waited for it to be the elegant star of my future Parisian pied-a-terre.

And then a terrible thing happened. The hold sign mysteriously came off, and a lovely client (who had actually eyed the painting for over a year, it turns out), came in and bought it. Clementine was gone and although I put up a good face, I was completely devastated.

It took me weeks to get over the loss and I still think about Clementine, happy that I got to enjoy her for those many months at the gallery. And I know she’s in a happy home. But the funny thing is, I let it happen again!

A few weeks after Clementine left the gallery, Nancy Franke brought in a little study of a French girl called “La Jeune Fille.” We all uttered the same collective gasp and everyone said to me, “OK – here’s your new Clementine.” Although I loved the painting, the apartment wasn’t mine yet, and I didn’t want to jinx it, so I took my chances and waited – just a little too long. And once again there were tears of sorrow and disbelief among my co-workers that I could have let two paintings slip by uncontrollably.

Then something wonderful and unexpected happened. We Huffingtons decided to blog about our favorite little paintings in the gallery, and I selected a small jewel by Nancy Franke, called “In the Spotlight.” I loved it from the minute it arrived at the gallery – partially because of the translucence of the colors and partially because it reminds me of my husband and me, and so I enthusiastically blogged about it.

And then Nancy did something extraordinarily generous and totally unexpected: She gave it to me! This was just around the time that we actually did sign the papers on the apartment. So with infinite gratitude, I accepted the painting and the sign that this little jewel would be the cornerstone of the Paris apartment.

We love it when art sets the tone for interior design, instead of the other way around. So it was quite natural for this painting, “In the Spotlight” to be the inspiration for the colors in Paris, as you can see in the sneak peek at one of our bedrooms. And it’s no coincidence that the painting actually works beautifully in every single room! As we say at the gallery, when you collect what you love, it all works together.

I was a grateful and happy camper and going to leave it at that. And then my daughter, just about to graduate from high school, told me one day that she loved the photo of herself holding a flower that I’ve had on my bedside table. It's a photo that was taken when she was five years old and it's always been a favorite. I've watched my daughter come in to the room, pick up the photo, and look at it wistfully. So something occurred to me: Wouldn’t it be the best graduation present ever to have a this picture painted by Nancy Franke? After losing Clementine and “Jeune Fille,” it was undeniable that I still wanted my own beautiful, elusive Nancy Franke figure. And so I commissioned it. And held my breath ...

Imagine the collective gasp when this gorgeous, thoughtful, luminous and sweet painting arrived at the gallery! I couldn't be happier. My daughter hasn’t seen it yet, and I'm carefully planning the perfect time to give it to her. Of course there may be one little catch …

It’s yours, darling, but can it please go to Paris? You can visit it any time!

Ta ta,

PS Many thanks to Nancy Franke, whose work inspires the collective gasp in us every day! And I'm only kidding (sort of) about stealing the painting back from my daughter.

A Cool Drink of Water : Doug Foltz

2011-06-02T15:51:00.002-04:00

Sizzle. Sizzle. Melt.

That’s what it feels like in Atlanta and much of the South these days. Anyone who is smart (or has a lake/beach house) has fled the city for a cool respite, and we wish we were with them!

If you can’t get to the water, we’ll help bring the water to you. Some beautiful new works by artist Doug Foltz just arrived at the gallery, and they’re the next best thing to being near the beach. You want to dive right into his cool, refreshing seascapes. I can almost feel a soft breeze as I stand in front of the lovely Haven…

Doug is a master of finishing his compositions just enough to get the wheels turning in your head. He leaves room to breathe, come up with your own stories and assumptions about the scene. He’s interested in showing the relationship between the horizon and the water – in Haven it’s a more equitable relationship, whereas in some of his other pieces, the horizon is more dominant.

The Summons

Tide Line

Doug has incorporated warmer tones and more detailed foregrounds into his newer work, as seen below in Breakfast in Darien, and also to some degree in Haven. The sunny yellow marsh grass contrasts with the ominous sky, yet the feeling evoked is fresh and clean – like the way the air feels right after a good summer storm. I like to think that those storm clouds are moving on out and a lovely, cooler (i.e. less humid) afternoon is about to unfold before me.

Where are you heading this summer to escape the heat? We always have the air cranked down in the gallery so feel free to come cool your heels here while you’re running errands around town!

Tata!

Sarah

A Labor of Love

2011-05-20T11:36:00.003-04:00

For us here at the gallery, selling art is a labor of love. Virtually every creative aspect of this business revolves around emotional decisions – and frankly, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

It all starts when we discover a new artist. Perhaps they have submitted their portfolio to us or an art-loving client has sent them our way with a glowing recommendation. Or we’ve stumbled on their website by accident or we’ve seen their work at a local arts venue. Whatever or however, we know it’s going to work when we Huffingtons all declare it love at first sight.

It was totally love at first sight when we saw Tracy Sharp’s sexy and mysterious figures.

We always say that there is no exact or scientific method to explain how we choose our artists or hang their work. We do consider whether we feel the work has appeal to our clientele…but more often than not, we’re going off our gut feeling. We look for affirmation from our senses: does this strike a chord and how? Does the palette please our eyes? Does the composition affirm the painting’s objective? Is the painting on course technically?

This jaw-dropper by Jim Richards gets a check next to all the boxes we have when we’re taking on new work or a new artist: the palette’s amazing, the composition is pretty much perfect and from a technical point of view, it doesn’t get any better than this. And it makes us feel so good to feast our eyes on it. Another plus for our clients: this is the tip of Billy Goat Island at Lake Burton, a well-known and much-loved lake not too far from metro Atlanta. People recognize it all the time – and have an immediate connection with the painting.

Once we’ve all agreed to “date” the artist, there comes to delicate dance of initiating conversations between us, working out the nitty-gritties and getting a handle on what makes this artist tick. Usually there’s an instantaneous connection like the one we immediately formed with Aaron Whitehouse. Aaron is a local artist who had the courage to actually stop by (unannounced!) on a Saturday and sweet talk his way into showing us his paintings in the trunk of his car. We adored him and his work within five seconds and we’ve formed a wonderful relationship with him.

Aaron Whitehouse was brave enough to actually stop in unannounced one day – how could we possibly resist his deeply textured and epoxy-resined abstracts that remind us of clear pools of water and beach glass?

Sometimes when the artist is clear across the country, we form a bond through dozens of emails. We’ve never laid eyes on Angie Renfro, but we are crazy about her…and her witty personality shines through every piece of correspondence we’ve ever had with her.

We’ve never met Angie Renfro but we have a wonderful cyber relationship with her…

We put our flag in the sand a long time ago about one thing: that showing and selling art for us was going to be a business based on an emotional investment for our clients, not a financial investment. Truth be told, getting a handle on buying and selling art solely as a commodity doesn’t sound very appealing to us. We do know serious collectors who buy art and then routinely store it only to sell it for a profit -- but we can’t relate to it the way we can when you hang a painting in a room and suddenly everything changes in the very best way.

Lorraine Christie paints emotion: lovers meeting and departing, missed connections and chance encounters.

For us, art has a much bigger job to do. We like it to evoke the senses. That doesn’t mean it has to be a thing of beauty or exude calmness. It can provoke, instigate, intrigue or raise questions – as long as it elicits some sort of response or reaction. Personally we feel that with the world in such bad shape, we prefer work that gives us a little peace, a little harmony and a little wonder.

Judy Cox’s Woman on a Horse stirs the senses up and raises a few questions. We love that.

And, speaking of eliciting a response, we had a cute story play out here at the gallery. A lovely and well-traveled couple came in specifically looking for a painting they had seen on our website: Nancy Franke’s Magic Hour in Gordes. When they saw the painting hanging, they immediately started pointing out the little road that winds through the village, guessestimating where their hotel was and “oh, remember that meal at the restaurant overlooking the village? And what was that wine?”

We loved the way this painting took them back to a well-loved holiday with their family. And we loved the way this painting spoke to them in such a personal way. We know they’ll always remember that happy stay in France whenever they look at this one.

We’re not sure how we got so lucky to spend our days with talented individuals who create such beauty but we thank our lucky stars each and every morning. We delight in watching and hearing the reactions from clients and visitors when a painting has spoken to them.

And isn’t that what it’s all about?

Ta Ta.

When Dreams Come True

2011-05-13T12:36:00.003-04:00

You may remember, a few weeks ago, we told you about the painting that Melissa Payne Baker created at the gallery with the help of several young, talented and energetic children, who all happen to have Juvenile Diabetes.

As always, when trying something brand new, we were a little hesitant about committing one of our artists to the daunting task of creating a painting with the purpose of raising money for a cause. What if it didn’t work out? What if it nobody bid on it and it didn’t raise any money? But we are also all very committed to the cause and it was clear, as the artists whipped out their magic and the painting started to unfold, that our fears would soon dissipate. Melissa and her team painted a gorgeous, vibrant and touching painting that had us all swooning over the end result. In fact, I knew that I’d be the first to bid on it at the gala and was already secretly plotting where I would put it.

And then the big night of the gala arrived, with all of us dressed to the nines, but none looking more beautiful or angelic than our lovely artist, Melissa Payne Baker.

Melissa stood by the painting, with her wonderful husband Rick by her side, and posed with many of the adorable children who had contributed to the art.

Melissa and Rick Baker

Melissa with Amelie and Mitchell (who, by the way, is the single best fundraiser you will ever meet!)

With cute Claire.

And proudly posing with their gorgeous work of art.

Remember that Melissa asked all of the artists to write down their dreams, and she incorporated them in to the final painting.

Some dreamed of becoming artists, or actors, or astronauts. While others dreamed of being able to do sleepovers, or never having to worry, or being able to eat lunch without having to go to the nurse and get shots. All of their dreams were poignant and heartfelt. And all of them strengthened this already powerful painting.

And then, drum roll, the moment we were all waiting for. In my mind, the highlight of the live auction, with Melissa and Rick proudly displaying the beautiful painting up on stage, while the artists posed in front.

The bidding began at $2,000 and quickly rose to $5,000. I raised my hand eagerly a few times over, until I realized that it was going out of my league. And as much as I wanted the painting, I couldn’t have wished for anything better.

$10,000 and we were sure it would stop there. The kids were ecstatic! The parents were cheering! I was in disbelief. And like a fast moving ball game, the bids continued to bounce around the room. And then the words that made us all cry:

Going once.

Going twice.

Sold, for Twelve Thousand Dollars!!

Thank you Melissa. Thank you artists. This was a dream come true.

Tata,

PS The Atlanta JDRF gala raised a record whopping $1.6MM for this event. Congratulations to all. We were thrilled to be a part of it.

It’s All About Moms

2011-05-06T13:26:00.002-04:00

This Sunday is Mother’s Day and we hope everyone will be celebrating happily with their moms – or being feted themselves with breakfast in bed and other goodies. We’re saluting our mothers with lots of love, nice dinners and fresh orchids arranged a la Sam Jones (who works here at the gallery and is also immensely talented when it comes to floral arrangements.)

The holiday did get us thinking about (what else?) paintings and mothers -- and how art can elevate its subject matter to heavenly heights.

Mothers have been heralded for centuries with countless paintings of the Madonna portrayed as saintly and pure – which she must have been.

Jorg Breu The Younger, “The Madonna and Child”

(We love her poignant expression – and the richness of the palette and way the light shimmers off the folds of her clothing.)

We’re drawn to the ordinariness of the subject: this mom’s a busy working woman and it looks like it’s almost naptime. The play of light and dark in this painting is exquisite and the composition is just about perfect.

Johann Gottlieb Hantzsch (1794-1848), Domestic Scene

You can’t think of paintings of mothers and children without Mary Cassatt coming in at the top of the list. We’re huge fans of this American impressionist painter and we’re collectively crazy about her tender and evocative paintings.

Mary Cassatt, Breakfast in Bed (how perfect is that?)

Mary Cassat, The Young Mother

Mary Cassatt, Sleepy Baby

Mary Cassatt, Mother and Two Children

Another impressionist painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, also painted softly rendered images of mothers, including this one of Madame Charpentier and her two children:

Madame Charpentier with her Children, oil on canvas, 1878(Madame C. looks so proud of her two beautiful girls)

Picasso rendered his mother and child with sharp lines and over-proportioned limbs – but the love and playfulness still shine through.

Pablo Picasso, Mother and Child, 1921-1922

Keith Haring did his colorful and acutely simple version in 1986’s Mother and Child.

So, happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there. We hope it’s filled with plenty of sunshine, love and laughter.

Mother and Child by Frances Hodgkins (pastel and charcoal, 1917)

Ta ta.

A Day in the Life at the Gallery

2011-04-29T12:26:00.003-04:00

When we first pictured owning a gallery, we figured we’d spend the days happily chatting with clients, hobnobbing with artists and looking chic and drinking lots of Evian. We imagined there’d be an unglamorous side that involved managing the business side of things, opening boxes, hanging paintings and changing lightbulbs but we didn’t give it much thought.

Maybe this is what we envisioned when we thought about owning a gallery…

How times have changed. We realize now that owning a gallery is a little like raising a family – lots of dirty diapers, dishes to clean, noses to wipe, beds to make and yes, plenty of Christmas mornings to make it all worth while. We do get to spend plenty of time happily chatting with our clients and working with our wonderful artists, but we wear jeans and flats and grab a coke and a container of chicken salad from next door (Cafe at Pharr, the iconic lunch spot in Atlanta that is thankfully located behind us.)

Cafe at Pharr’s chicken salads are positively and absolutely addictive. Thank goodness they are right behind the gallery so we can pop in for our daily fix.

We plan our show schedules in between hanging paintings and strategize about our marketing efforts as we juggle zillions of emails that constantly swamp our in-box. Meetings are sandwiched in between studio visits and client consultations. Boxes arrive on an almost daily basis. Paintings need to be catalogued and tagged. Bios need to be written. Sometimes we’re welcoming groups of local art lovers or high school art students. Every once in a while, we celebrate a birthday with a proper lunch and some bubbly.

And yes, we love every minute of it.

Just last week, we had a couple of those funny days that makes us laugh at how we actually spend our hours.

First, Pascal Bouterin popped in to say hello after a sojourn in his native France. As always, we were delighted to see him, but we really were crazy about the shirt he was wearing:

Here’s Pascal in that “Arty” shirt that we loved. He was busy chatting on the phone so we snapped away.

The day got busy with the phone ringing and clients coming in and out and before long, our neat and tidy desk looked like this:

Don’t they call this organized chaos?

The gallery was looking sort of messy, too, with a big piece getting picked up and Nancy Franke dropping off a wonderful new floral and Peggy Everett stopping in with a spectacular new landscape.

Unwrapping Peggy’s new landscape.

Nancy brought us “Ease and Flow” (oil on canvas, 24 x 24)

Speaking of unpacking paintings, sometimes we have to go at them with all sorts of tools, like we did a while ago when we received a huge crate just before a show:

This one took two screwdrivers and even a hammer to open.

Anyway, as soon as we got the paintings unpacked, catalogued and labeled, our friendly UPS driver brought us that one item we just love to hate: bubble wrap. The rolls are so enormous that we have to bodily squish them through the door. Usually Linda takes charge of that one:

Linda can do anything in heels – including manhandling the bubble wrap through the front door

After some rehanging (which we do on a daily basis to keep things looking fresh and exciting), Linda had to do a lighting check – our nice bright halogens burn out at an alarming rate. This process involves the ladder, juggling the new bulb while taking the old one out and trying not to sear your fingers at the same time. We volunteered to take a picture while Linda zoned in on the errant bulb.

In the meantime, we were doing what we love: chatting with clients, looking at art, running the business and generally adoring every minute at this little gallery. People never seem to believe us when we tell them we are slammed with things to do – is it because of our calm and serene atmosphere here?

Just like at home, everything needs looking after. Our little garden took a big hit this winter and our rosemary and lavender plants were looking worse for wear. We arranged for some new plants to be delivered and installed but once we got out there, we couldn’t help but start pulling and tugging.

Linda got into the act, too.

Our little nursery up the street was out of white peonies, so we planted foxgloves instead.

Like our families, the gallery presents us with something different every day: many challenges but mostly wonderful rewards that fill our hearts with joy every day when we hang our “open” sign, roll our sleeves up – and get to work.

Ta ta.

Gifts of hope

2011-04-14T17:36:00.003-04:00

A few months ago, a dear friend who has dedicated her adult life to finding a cure for juvenile diabetes, approached us at the gallery and asked if we could help out with a project for the JDRF gala in Atlanta. Aside from wanting to support a cause that is very dear to our hearts, at least one of us loves to attend the fabulous JDRF ball, and has been known to do crazy things like drink a martini and bid on a car! But that aside, we of course wanted to help our friend Barbara and with a little brainstorming with one of our lovely and most charitable artists, Melissa Payne Baker, we devised a plan.

The idea was to have some of the Junior Ambassadors, all adorable children with diabetes, come to the gallery and paint on a huge canvas, under the very capable direction of sweet Melissa.

The children arrived at the gallery not knowing what to expect, and some were pretty excited to be given a blank canvas, and a couple of knives.

Melissa taught them how to use a palette knife and encouraged them to paint freely, and before they knew it, some were slinging paint with the expertise of a Jackson Pollock.

Little by little, the giant blank canvas came to life with the strokes of genius from every one of our young artists.

Some were methodical and meticulous;

Others were more free wheeling and confident.

All were excited about it,

and just a little curious about how it would all turn out.

They also took turns working on a series of small canvases that will be given to major donors at the gala.

When we saw the finished small paintings, done by the young artists and ever so slightly enhanced by our Melissa, Meg and I wished we could be major donors for the cause!

Can you believe how beautiful these are?

Don’t you think the donors will be just thrilled?

We can’t get over them. Of course a lot had to do with Melissa’s choice of palette for this event.

As we often say to her in our “Sold” emails, “You nailed it!”

We’ve been so excited about this little series, which of course could never be reproduced again because so many little hands were part of it.

But the most touching part of the process came from what some of these brave young children, whose lives involve pricking themselves several times daily, monitoring every bite they eat, never being able to do sleepovers like most kids their age and living under the cloud of a life threatening disease, carefully crafted on a sheet of canvas to be incorporated in to the painting: Their hopes and dreams for the future.

So what’s the final canvas like you wonder? Well, you won’t see how Melissa has incorporated these precious treasures in to the painting, until she does the finishing touches at the gala.

But here is a sneak peek of this wonderful painting, a beautiful collaboration in its 48” x 60” glory, that will be auctioned off at the JDRF gala on the night of May 7th, and will hopefully help raise enough money so that some of these kids’ dreams will come true in their lifetime.

Isn’t it gorgeous?!!

Ta ta …

A Huffington Makeover for a Photo Shoot

2011-04-09T22:39:00.005-04:00

We had just barely said goodbye to the last group of movers, and were slowly settling in to our brand new digs in the sky when an email came in from the AJC, our local Atlanta paper. Could they photograph our new condo for the front page of their Sunday Home section (you know, the section that everyone reads, kind of like the Style Section of the Sunday NY Times)? My first reaction was to be flattered and pleased, especially since any mention of our condo would obviously include the art collection which would benefit the artists and gallery. And I was also pleased because I love condo living, and would like to fill this place with all my friends, so anything that I could say would help further that cause. So, sure, for the good of the causes … I signed right up.

And then it hit me. We looked terrible! We were raw. Our walls were still bare; our windows, undressed. Our light fixtures were nonexistent. And where were all my accessories? I think that in my excitement to downsize and my quest to simplify, I’d given away or stored most of the props that would normally enrich a photo shoot. I took some sample pictures to see how it looked, and I was dismally depressed.

Yeeks! Need a lot of work here …

Why did I love it so much if it looked so bad? Was there any way I could turn it around in time for the photo shoot? Did they have to photograph everything or could I prop and style some little vignettes? What was I to do?

Obviously, there was only one thing to do and that was to call on my dear friend and colleague, the miracle worker Sam Jones. Not only is Sam enormously gifted at furniture rearrangement and creating an environment that feels like it’s been lived in forever but she is also highly resourceful and energetic, and definitely a magician. Wait til you see what she did for me!

My biggest problem was the big, blank windows which desperately needed luscious drapes to soften the edges and warm the environment. These were on order but wouldn’t be installed for several more weeks . So with Sam, we had to fake it. And of course, Sam had a solution. She actually took six gorgeous silk panels off her windows and brought them over, along with a tall ladder and a couple of tension rods and cleverly hung them strategically over six of my windows. Tada! What a difference it made.

Before Sammy came to the rescue…

… and below, what a difference one curtain panel and a little greenery can make!

Look at that wide and cold expanse of windows …

and below, see the difference one panel can make (and a few pink roses to brighten up the room)

In Christie’s room, before curtains were installed …

… and after, with a painting by Bethanne Cople, and some luscious drapes.

Bare naked windows before …

… and after, what a difference the panels made (even on their makeshift tension rods!)

Of course the problem was that there weren’t enough curtain panels to go around, so we had to make sure the photographer didn’t take any of the windows where there were no curtains, as in the vignette below with only one panel!

Once we fixed the curtain problems, I felt like the rest would fall into place. Together we hung paintings, which is something we love to do – for ourselves, at the gallery or for clients. Then Sam, who is also a gifted florist, brought over some fabulous flowers that were just enough to add warmth and a touch of color. A dear friend sent me an orchid (again, using Sam’s services) and immediately my favorite piece of furniture, a Louis XVI dresser that I inherited from my parents, just came to life. And finally, we did a little creative exchange with a desk I had loaned to the gallery –

… and suddenly it became my new desk in our sitting room area, and my favorite focal point.

The gift of an orchid brings my favorite chest to life. Photo courtesy of Christopher Oquendo, AJC.

A floral arrangemet by Sam Jones on the dining room table, shot by Christopher Oquendo, AJC

The study, above, gets warmed up with some richer painting, below. (Photo below courtesy of Christopher Oquendo, AJC.)

I love how the AJC photographer captured the reflection of the kitchen in the trumeau, above. (Photo courtesy of Christopher Oquendo, AJC)

The writer for the AJC was enormously gifted and very patient with me as I whined that I wouldn’t be ready on time. But she worked around my plans and wrote her article before the apartment was pulled together, and managed to totally capture the essence, and my love, of it. She also made several references to the gallery, so one of my goals was happily achieved. And so far, I’ve had several friends say they’re almost ready to give up the house and the yard and join me in our condo building, so it looks like that worked too!

(Photo courtesy of Christopher Oquendo, AJC)

How in the world Scurry, our infamous Pup landed squarely on the front page of the AJC home section with a big grin on her face is beyond me! And it’s a little unfortunate that our daughter Christie happened to have play practice at school during the photo shoot, and ironic that our daughter Alex (who rarely comes home from college), happened to be visiting that weekend. But as we said to Christie, we’ll photoshop her in for the Christmas card!

(Christie Huff, who missed the photo shoot because of a school obligation)

It wasn’t perfect but it achieved its purposes and had one more benefit for me: It got me settled, quicker than I ever expected!

Ta ta,

PS Here’s the article link from the AJC: http://projects.ajchomefinder.com/gallery/view/homes/private-quarters/classic/private-quarters-huff/

Artist Amy Dixon Pays the Huffingtons a Visit

2011-03-31T11:39:00.003-04:00

One of our favorite painters, the exuberant and lively Amy Dixon, called us a few months ago to tell us she was coming to town.

Amy in her studio (with assistant)

She had graciously donated one of her iconic wine bottle paintings to the High Museum Wine Auction, which is a huge fundraiser for the museum and a really big deal around here. She was planning on flying in to attend the auction and shindig.

Amy’s well-known for her loose and luscious portrayals of wine bottles, beer bottles, martini glasses and steins…she donated this painting to the High Museum of Art Wine Auction.

Amy has lots of friends and fans here in Atlanta, and she agreed to our idea of having a painting demo here at the gallery. We love doing painting demos: it’s so fun to watch the artist get into their special place - and learning about techniques and tricks is invaluable if you’re a painter.

Sure enough, we had a full house of artists and we all hung on Amy’s every word. Amy brings an entertainment value to the whole demo concept: she dons her painting outfit (which consists of paint-spattered jeans and a top that are so cool and edgy that she’s often stopped by people asking her if she bought them at Neimans…)

She’s also lots of fun and chats away the whole time she’s painting. She welcomes questions and shares plenty of little tips. We loved watching her mix her palette and, with deft strokes, create little masterpieces.

She’s a very painterly painter, and we have always loved the texture, drips, layers and light she incorporates into her work.

New Horizons, 36 x 36

My Pleasure, 12 x 12

Lost Love, 10 x 10

Amy’s also got a great sense of humor, which we think translates beautifully into her work. Her renditions of our fave bubbly had us all salivating:

Vive La Veuve, 20 x 10

Check these out, too:

Overflowing, 14 x 11

Oatmeal Stout, 24 x 12

Amy also paints the most delicate and ethereal figures that are barely there on the canvas.

Standing Tall, 60 x 36

By The Window, 36 x 48

After about two hours of hard painting, Amy packed up her brushes and paints and dashed off to the auction, leaving behind some very happy people. Amy’s joie de vivre is contagious and we all think we caught a little of it last Friday. Thank you, Amy.

Tata!

The Blonde Bombshells: Grace Under Pressure

2011-03-21T16:57:00.001-04:00

We’ve been slammed for the last couple of weeks preparing for the opening of this wonderful new exhibit called The Blonde Bombshells. It turns out that we have a handful of artists who are fair-haired, paint exquisitely and whose paintings all work beautifully together.

The Blonde Bombshells (top row left to right: Lorraine Christie, Melissa Payne Baker, Dawne Raulet. Bottom row left to right: Bonnie Beauchamp Cooke, Aaron Whitehouse. Missing: Liz Barber)

We have had a great time with every aspect of this show: the advertising, marketing and public has been a blast; cataloging was relatively effortless and hanging the show was fun. All in all, we loved the way it all fell into place as an exhibit.

We decided to preview the show with a private collectors’ evening, which meant we were expecting a smaller, more intimate gathering. We hired Eric Hassel, our favorite piano player and we had the table groaning with delicious nibbles and Demaris manning the bar (champagne, wine and Guinness in honor of St. Paddy’s Day) By 6 p.m., the six bombshells were all present and accounted for, the gallery was gleaming and we were all ready for showtime.

Lorraine Christie’s Small Day Tomorrow, 24 x 36, oil on canvas

Dawne Raulet’s Swan, 48 x 48, photography and mixed media

Bonnie Beauchamp Cooke’s Green 48 x 36 mixed media

Aaron Whitehouse’s super cool Ephipany, 60 x 48, mixed media and resin epoxy

Liz Barber’s Water Reflections, 12 x 12, mixed media

Melissa Payne Baker’s Colorful Landscape, 24 x 36, mixed media

And then disaster hit.

About five minutes before opening our little blue door to welcome our guests, there was a tremendous bang – followed by darkness. No lights, no power, no air-conditioning. The gallery was bathed in a lovely soft light from the setting sun…perfect for a romantic dinner date, but not so great for viewing art.

With no lights on, Lorraine’s painting glowed softly in the late afternoon sun.

We lit our feast with candles and everyone happily dug in.

We frantically ran downstairs to our icky mechanical room and started throwing switches but to no avail. Our ex-flight attendant, Linda, took charge and sprinted over to the grocery store across the street to clean out their supply of flashlights. We didn’t necessarily panic, but we had a new empathy for the poor captain of the Titanic when he realizes his ship is going down.

With flashlights in hand, our intrepid clients examined every painting.

Our Sarah, flashing the light on Lorraine’s gorgeous painting, “I Wish.”

It was beginning to feel like summer camp with all the flashlights.

Then we found out that someone had hit a utility pole nearby and the power was out in a mile square radius. It was a small consolation that it wasn’t our fault, but it didn’t really help matters.

So, what do you in a situation like that? Our lovely artists, the eternal optimists they are, carried on doing their thing and assured us confidently that somehow we’d fix the problem. We were wowed by their grace under pressure and the seamless way they continued to meet guests, talk animatedly about their paintings and generally charm the pants off each and every one of us at the gallery.

We all absolutely made the best of it and between candlelight, flashlights, some chilled bubbly and good music, our lovely clients and artists mingled and had a great time.

The lights finally came back on about an hour later and the party rolled on as if nothing had happened.

And, as it turns out, our blondes are not only talented bombshells but also cool-headed and gracious when the going gets momentarily rough. Bravo to one and all – and yes, they do really have more fun!

Ta ta …