Get the latest pulse on art facts & home decorating tips.

Convergence
By Jackson Pollock

Have you ever strolled through an art gallery and wondered about the artists’ creative process? Take, for instance, the work of the late American Abstract Expressionist artist Jackson Pollock (1912 – 1956). Pollock’s famous “drip paintings” (created from 1947 – 1950) featured artful, evocative smatterings of paint that might, at first glance, appear random. However, Pollock’s works were anything but accidental. He generally painted with a vision of the outcome, and his finished pieces were always compositionally balanced.

Untitled, 1946
By Jackson Pollock

Deeply influenced by the “pouring” style of Indian sandpainting, Pollock worked with large canvases on the floor. Walking around and often on the canvas -- as though in a meditative trance -- he energetically flung, dripped, spattered and poured paint until he was satisfied with the end product.

Would you like to see Jackson Pollock in action? Below, you’ll find fascinating video footage of the artist painting, narrated by Pollock himself.

This video also offers a rare glimpse into Pollock’s creative process:

Interestingly, research on Pollock’s drip paintings (by physicist and art historian Richard Taylor, for one) has indicated that some of his pieces actually display properties of mathematical fractals. Moreover, this tendency became further pronounced as the artist progressed in his career.

Pollock’s critics dismissed his works as simplistic and messy, but there was clearly more to it than the simple splattering of paint. Through moving meditations, the artist created ingenious Abstract Expressionist artworks infused with primordial patterns. Which is more than just great art; it’s good math, too.

Have a favorite artist-in-action clip? Feel free to share.

Want to Know What’s Cool for Fall?

One of the greatest perks of my job at ArtSelect is getting to spend all day on the lookout for top trends in art and décor -- and then getting to share them with you. Right now, for instance, as summer heads toward fall, I’m noticing some really distinctive themes carrying over in art, design and clothing too, for that matter. Which is why my design team and I compiled 5 new art collections to help you decorate with autumn’s freshest looks.

Let me give you the rundown!

1. Silhouettes

This highly stylized collection features art prints and canvas with striking shapes and patterns.

Got the Bamboo Blues
By Jan Weiss

2. Giclee Canvas

The richly textured, collector-quality art in this collection will add luxury to any room. The images are all printed with fade-resistant archival inks, no less!

Earth Meets Sky
By Cheryl Martin

3. Boho Global

A celebration of worldwide style, this Bohemian collection features rich, Euro-chic art prints and canvas.

Tuscan Textures
By Studio Voltaire

4. Nature Inspired

This is one of my favorite collections, because it features artful imagery with flowers, birds and other nature-inspired motifs.

Orange Tanager
By Nicholas Wilton

5. Simple Elegance

These days, elegance doesn’t have to be synonymous with frufru. The images in this collection are stately yet not too fussy.

Empire Style xviii
By L. Rigo

And remember, you can custom frame any artwork from these collections (and on our site) to put your own spin on things.

Happy decorating!

Need help finding posters that suit your style? Try browsing our new Unframed Art Prints collection in these 3 easy ways:

1) Subject

2) Decor Style

What's your signature decor style? Bright, bold and Contemporary? Rich, exotic and Global? Shop for posters by Decor Style and find images that click with your furniture and overall style.

Goddess of Wealth,
A Global style poster

3) Artist

Perhaps you'd like a Renoir-themed bedroom or one large Cezanne image in your living room. Either way, we make it easy to find fine art posters by all your favorite artists, including Leonardo da Vinci, Mary Cassatt, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet and other greats.

Enjoy your forays into the world of posters! And be sure to check back for new fine art print titles, we're adding more every week!

The One Thing My Coworkers All Agree On

I work with a pretty creative and diverse bunch here in the ArtSelect web department, so opinions are often varied. Yet there's one thing they all seem to love right now: the oversized art print I currently have hanging on the wall behind my desk.

Poppy Chromatic
By Robert Mertens

I tend to switch the art in that location a lot, trying different things out. But as soon as I put up Poppy Chromatic by Robert Mertens, everyone took notice.

It's a real show-stopper and conversation piece. For starters, it's an oversized art print, measuring 41.4" x 41.4", so you really can't miss it. And the colors are strikingly vibrant, almost phosphorescent! Compositionally, though, it's quite simple; there are just 3 poppies against a very neutral background. So between all those elements, what you have is a bright, bold, beautiful work of art that also holds understated elegance.

Stepped Gold Frame

When I was custom framing this piece, I decided to use a very ornate, gold frame. You might initially think that a stand-out frame would be too much for this brilliant piece, but it really works because of the artwork's streamlined composition and neutral background. Also, the colors of the frame are found in the print itself, which draws the whole theme together beautifully.

Because the frame is stepped, it provides somewhat of a 3-D platform that calls even more attention to the image. And you probably noticed that there is no mat involved. That's because, between the ornate frame and the largeness of the image, I decided it would be best to keep things simple and leave it out.

So, what else can I say? This work of art is cheery, luminous and inspiring, and it makes me happy to look at it. I can't tell you how many of my co-workers have come up to me and joked, "If that work of art goes missing, you’ll know who did it!" But the problem is, I won't, since everybody loves it.

Stay tuned for more facts and favorites...

A Set of Six Self Portraits
By Andy Warhol

It seems just about everyone knows the basic facts on Andy Warhol (August 6, 1928 — February 22, 1987). One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Warhol is renowned worldwide for his successful and controversial career as an avant-garde painter, film maker, author, record producer and wild socialite.

But beyond those basic facts, how much do you know about the life and work of the Pop Art King? Ready to test your knowledge? Take our quiz below and see how you fare!

Pop Art Pop Quiz

Q: What classic American food did Warhol turn into a pop art icon?

A: The Campbell's Soup tomato soup can.

Campbell's Soup I (Tomato)
By Andy Warhol

Warhol first took to making large paintings of soup cans in the early '60s and went on to use the motif throughout his career. Doing so, he ingeniously borrowed the fame of the Campbell's brand to cultivate his own. The event of Warhol's soup can paintings marked the beginning of the Pop Art revolution, which highlighted instantly recognizable images and icons from American Pop (Popular) Culture.

Q: Did Warhol have any appreciation for classic art from museum masters?

A: Absolutely! But being the iconoclast that he was, Warhol paid homage to the classics by lending them his own personal avant-garde flair, as he did with Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Boticelli's Birth of Venus.

Double Mona Lisa
By Andy Warhol

Details of Renaissance Painting (Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus, 1482)
By Andy Warhol

Q: What sort of people did Warhol most love to create portraits of?

A: The rich, famous, fabulous and -- most of all -- the beautiful. From Jackie O to Elvis, Warhol's vivid, often fluorescent portraits featured all of the day's most popular celebrities. He is quoted as once having said, "My idea of a good picture is one that's in focus and of a famous person."

Elvis, 1963
By Andy Warhol

Q: How did Warhol create his famous portraits?

A: Via silkscreen. Of his silkscreen paintings, Warhol said, "In August 62 I started doing silkscreens. I wanted something stronger that gave more of an assembly line effect. With silkscreening you pick a photograph, blow it up, transfer it in glue onto silk, and then roll ink across it so the ink goes through the silk but not through the glue. That way you get the same image, slightly different each time. It was all so simple, quick and chancy. I was thrilled with it."

Through a silkscreening process, Warhol turned the original black & white photography Marilyn Monroe Portrait (above) by Corbis into his famous Shot Blue Marilyn.

Q: What was the name of Warhol's art studio?

A: The Factory. The legendary studio was, from 1963 – 1968, the home of New York City's most groundbreaking parties. In this hip hangout, Warhol surrounded himself with rock stars, Hollywood celebrities, beautiful bohemians and the intellectually elite.

Q: Was Warhol's artwork all avant-garde?

A: Not entirely. Warhol also created works of art with simple, subtle beauty, like this black & white photography print:

Bridge
By Andy Warhol

So, how did you do? If you have any additional Warhol facts or Q&As to share, by all means, be our guest...

Customize a Warhol Print
in Less Time Than it Takes to Brush Your Teeth

You’ve probably heard this classic Andy Warhol quote: “In the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.” An interesting prediction from one of the most wildly famous and influential men of the 20th century.

Whether or not you’ve had your Warholian fifteen minutes of fame yet, you can spark your own creativity with the artist’s timelessly hip Pop Art -- and custom frame it in less than five minutes. It’s really simple. You just click on the image you like, choose the print size, and then pick a mat and frame combination that’ll really make the image pop (forgive the pun!) with your décor.

There are tons of different ways to explore your creativity. With Warhol's classic Campbell's Soup Can, 1965 (green & red), for instance, you could try something fresh and contemporary, like a cool, silver-grey frame:

Or, for a more rustic, casual look on the same artwork, you could use a weathered, bronze-finished frame:

For a really striking look, you could also experiment with a two-tone frame and use two contrasting mats:

It's really fun once you get going. And by all means, if you want to try your hand custom framing this artwork online, share the image with us!

The great part about custom framing with ArtSelect is that you can easily envision the artwork on your wall color by clicking the Wall Color tab in the custom frame shop. Another little perk to make life easier.

So, what do you think? Are you ready for your five minutes of frame...?

These days, there’s a lot of wall art being marketed as “canvas transfer,” but it’s not all of the same quality. True canvas transfers are made by transferring images from a paper print and permanently embedding them into artist-grade canvas. This process seals and preserves the images in acrylic, which lends them a deep, lustrous texture that's quite similar to what you'd find in original oil paintings.

Aquamarine
By Brent Nelson
(shown in canvas transfer with deep museum wrap)

Canvas transfer knock-offs, on the other hand, are just paper prints that have been laminated to canvas. This shortcut method results in a far less textured artwork that is nowhere near as beautiful and which will fade over time.

When you're shopping for quality canvas art, don’t be fooled into buying a lesser product. Authentic canvas transfers offer far superior quality, beauty and longevity.

At ArtSelect.com, you'll find only the highest-quality authentic canvas transfers. We offer a wide range of subjects, artists and styles, including:

Abstracts

Solar Ice II
By Marta Castells
(shown in canvas transfer with deep museum wrap)

People and Figures

Flaming June
By Lord FredericLeighton
(shown in canvas transfer with antique gold frame)

X-Ray Photography

Hibiscus
By Steven N. Meyers
(shown in canvas transfer with satin black frame)

Explore the possibilities for yourself in our canvas art collection...

If you'd like to learn more about canvas art in general, click here!

The "Pollock Experiments" Paintings:
Imposters or the Real McCoy?

Do you love a good mystery? I know I do. And the Jackson Pollock controversy that’s taking the art news world by storm this week is too intriguing not to mention…

Here’s the deal in a nutshell: according to a recent online article in Newsweek, back in 2002, decades after Pollock’s death, someone discovered over 24 small paintings labeled “Pollock Experiments” in a storage locker that belonged to Herbert Matter, Pollock’s close friend and fellow artist. The artwork certainly featured Pollock's signature drip-painting style, and when the cache's existence was announced in 2005, a fiery debate over the artwork's authenticity ensued.

A painting from the controversial collection,
courtesy of the McMullen Museum of Art, shown online at Newsweek.

This September 1st, the collection in question is about to be shown in an exhibition at the McMullen Museum at Boston College. So naturally, the mystery is being revisited anew. Scholars and art scientists are on the case, but it’s a tough call to make. Want to hear both sides of the debate? Check out the original Newsweek article online.

The late Jackson Pollock in action, photo from "Seeing is Believing" article on Newsweek website,
courtesy of Martha Holmes / LIFE-AP

So, what do you think? Did Pollock paint them or not? If you have an opinion to share, by all means cast your vote here! Otherwise, stay tuned: I'll be keeping my eyes and ears open for updates...

Word to the wise: want to watch videos of the drip-master in action? Check out our recent post: "Poetry in Motion!"

Lydia in Fuchsia
Giclee Limited Edition by Yvonne Maloney

Do you love off-the-beaten-path art and décor finds? If so, be sure to check out our eclectic collection of Limited Edition artwork by diversely talented contemporary artists.

Like the designer dress that's fashioned for only a select few to wear, our Limited Edition collection features artwork printed in small quantities to retain integrity and value. Each piece is hand-signed by the artist and comes custom framed with conservation-grade materials to ensure archival quality. All titles come with a certificate of authenticity.

We currently offer 2 luxurious types of Limited Edition art: giclee and serigraph.

1) Giclee Limited Edition

Our Limited Edition Giclee art prints are vibrant, lustrous works of art printed using archival inks and paper. The process entails digitally capturing an original image, optimizing the digital file, and then precision printing it using a state-of-the-art giclee printer. It takes an hour or more to print just one high-caliber giclee, and the end result is a stunning, collector-quality work of art.

Sound of the Bees
Giclee Limited Edition by Valerie Willson

Limited Edition Serigraphs are created through a meticulous silkscreen procedure that can take up to 100 days to complete! First, the serigrapher painstakingly separates the colors in the original painting and creates a stencil for each hue. Then, he or she slowly builds the image, color after color, layer after layer, by pressing ink through successive stencils onto a piece of paper positioned beneath a silk, nylon or wire screen. The amount of time, skill and effort invested in the creation of a serigraph edition is reflected in the strong archival qualities of this medium -- serigraphs have extreme longevity and are excellent heirloom pieces.

Palouse Hillside Dusk
Serigraph Limited Edition by Marcus Bohne

Our Limited Edition artwork offers an entryway into the rich, multifaceted worlds of a great many up and coming contemporary artists, including Marcus Bohne, Lourenco Didier, Kent Lovelace and others. And with subjects and styles like Abstract Art, landscapes, figures, cityscapes and more, you're sure to find that distinctive, eye-catching home accent you've been looking for.