Earth Tone wall art brings a sense of calm, peace, and connectedness to a room. How does it manage to do this?
Nature itself features earthy colors. So when you see them reflected in your surroundings, if you love being in nature, your mind will associate. The experience of enjoying art in your space equates with the same experience of being outdoors.
The tranquil colors are ochers within a spectrum that are all various shades of brown. They range from black, to green, yellows, orange, and reds – all with an underlying feeling and look of earth.
Vibrations and Frequencies and Earth Tones
To some, these might be woo-woo terms, and words that turn people away. But the way I feel when I’m in certain places, surrounded by certain imagery, definitely feels like it aligns with something in my mind and body.
However, there is definite scientific research on the frequency of the earth and other celestial bodies. Schumann resonances is named after a scientist born in 1888 named Winfried Otto Schumann. This link points to a study on when the concept was first introduced. The study is an effort to see if it was Schumann who first ‘discovered’ the frequency’s existence.
Real, or not
That doesn’t mean that this frequency somehow affects humans. But I see lots of theories (not necessarily scientific) that it does. My own state of mind does improve when I’m surrounded by an ochre colored scene. Whether it’s in real life or in earth toned wall art.
The palette I use has a pleasing effect on how I feel in the presence of my earth tone wall art. The pleasure starts with the foraging, all the way to the final strokes. It makes me feel good to go out to the creeks to look for the rocks I’ll use. It continues to make me feel good to look at it later.
When I crush them and make the pigment base, and while washing them to bring out the best color from them, I feel happy. And while making the paint, I’m filled with a sense of gratitude and awe.
None of that compares the the sense of connection that it brings to put the paint onto canvas and bring forth an image that captures the essence of this place.
I most especially love autumn. My palette seems to be forged from the colors of this season, and I love it.
Since I try to use mostly the local pigments to make my paint, earth toned wall art is the only kind of art I create.
2024 Bentonville Fine Art Festival
Would you like to see my paintings in person? It’s a great opportunity to see if they fill you with a sense of calm and tranquility 🙂 Come out to Bentonville on Nov. 9 & 10. The show of 50+ artists is from 10-4:30 Saturday and Sunday. It will be held Orchard Park, which is across the street from the driveway to the world-famous Crystal Bridges.
A Little About My Paint-making Process
Since my paints are handmade and (mostly) locally foraged, I have to make sure I have the colors I need before I begin a project. If it’s a plant pigment, then I’ll need to harvest the plant and process it to make the pigment. The only plant sources I use at this time are thyme, and the root bark of Osage trees. The rest comes from foraged rocks, soot, bone, or purchased lapis and titanium dioxide powder.
Here’s a blog post I made earlier about making oil paints:
So, if it’s a rock, then I’ll break it to smaller pieces, then crush it as finely as I can. The crushed rock is the raw pigment. After that I put the powder into a jar and fill the jar with water. Depending on the source rock, I’ll either pour off the colored water into another jar to let it settle, or pour the rinse water out and keep the sediment for the paint. After the water clarifies and the pigment has settled, then I pour off the clear water and let the sediment dry. That is what I’ll make the paint from.
When it comes to plants, there’s more chemistry involved. I’ll make what is called a ‘lake’ pigment. Here’s a post that gives more information on that process.
I hope you love this earthy palette of color as much as I do! Thanks for reading ~ Madison