I’m working on a few projects at the moment though am not quite ready to share any of them yet. So, given it’s been a little while between posts, I thought I would chime in with what I hope is a helpful ‘share’.
If you follow me on Facebook you would probably know that I like to use it as a medium for sharing some of the awesome, budget-friendly, home-related resources I happen to stumble upon during my impromptu online quests of discovery. You may also have seen this post from a week or so ago…
As mentioned in the Facebook post, I actually discovered the site (Awesome Art) a few years ago though only just recently got around to checking it out properly. It offers heaps of pretty cool high resolution images for download. Although not free, at around $9 – $14 each they are still great value. You can also purchase complete collections on disk (or via file transfer) for a heavily discounted rate. Oh, and did I mention that all images are copyright-free, royalty-free and can be used for any commercial purpose!
I was instantly smitten with the amazing large-scale museum quality illustrations from ‘Birds of America’ by John James Audubon, which immediately brought this gorgeous living room to mind…
I have loved this room forever.
As simple, relaxed and natural as it appears, according to the House Beautiful article, it’s actually quite a high-end space, with custom pieces and exclusive elements, including the original eagle painting (which just makes such an amazing statement in the room).
Needless to say, for many of us cost-conscious decorators, for the most part original art just isn’t an option. Which is why affordable digital images are actually totally priceless (quite literally in the case of completely free printables). They give us the ability to create our very own ‘custom’ wall art which can look a million bucks for next to nothing and really make our thrifty spaces sing.
Here are a few of my faves from the John James Audubon collection…
Most of these images are very large, measuring around 1.5 meters (60″) on the long side at 300 PPI.
The ‘Birds of America’ collection is just one of many available through Awesome Art. The Vintage Illustrated Posters are also pretty cool, as are some of the Albert Bierstadt landscapes. Depends what floats your boat, I guess.
Anyhoo, I hope this has made at least a few of you silently mouth the word ‘awesome’ and perhaps even sparked a new project in some of your beautiful brains :-)
Remember, if you’re after more art printables don’t forget to checkout my Free Printables directory. Also, I’ll be posting the second instalment (Customising For At Home Printing) in my Free Art Printables series (you can read part one here) later this week…or sometime next week…or maybe the week after, at the very, very latest…hopefully :-)
Oh, and if you don’t already, feel free to hop on over and join me on Facebook or Twitter for more frequent stumble sharing.
You are always so generous with sharing the stuff you find. I saw your post on Facebook though didn’t really consider the possibilities. Seeing that photo of that stunning room with the amazing eagle has started my brain cogs turning though. Thanks!
I love this kind of art. Of course buying original pieces is out of my budget so this is an amazing alternative. Thanks for sharing :-)
Wow, thanks so much. I agree that when decorating on a budget, accessories like wall art can make all the difference. This is a great option.
I love all of these. They would make a great gallery too.
These are right up my alley. I have loved that House Beautiful photo for ages as well.
I can’t wait to do one these. I’ve been looking for just the right one for the living room. Ever since I read the free printables post I’ve been excited to try it!
Great Anita. So glad my ramblings are actually helping :-)
These are so good and very unique. They last for decades and are so beautiful. I need to start painting again, these are very inspiring
Thanks for assembling this gorgeous treasure trove of images. I’m dazzled by the possibilities. One question: where do you usually print your large scale images? I’m thinking of doing one of the Audubon birds and wondered if you had a go-to for inexpensive large-scale printing. I’ve had luck before with Staples and printing on card stock–the colors looks so wonderful on the heavier paper. But Staples’ site and file transfer can sometimes be erratic. Any thoughts? Thanks again–love your blog!!
Hi Robin
I’m actually in the middle of writing a series of posts covering understanding, editing and printing printables (part one is here: https://thepaintedhive.net/2014/03/diy-large-scale-antique-bird-art/#comment-41122).
I’m based in Australia and use an online service similar to that of Staples. In the past I had trouble with uploads too though fortunately they now seem to have fixed their interface.
I can’t provide any specific alternatives, though if you Google “online print services” (or similar) you should find heaps of companies to compare processes and prices.
Have fun :-)
Where is the vintage cow graphic from?
Hi Anne
I assume you’re referring to the bull from the headline graphic at the top of my Free Printables posts? Isn’t he adorable? I found him on Wiki Commons: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Friedrich_Voltz_Ochse.jpg
The full resolution download is around 16 x 11 inches, though only 72 DPI. If needed, refer to my info in the Understanding & Editing Free Printables post (https://thepaintedhive.net/2014/01/free-art-printables-understanding-editing-plus-a-resource-directory/) for tips on increasing the quality :-)
Kristine
Awesome tips! Thanks ;-)