I have very few dark blue objects in my house (only two, to be exact), yet I have always been drawn to strong hues of blue.

I am sure almost everyone of my readers would be drawn to anything by the French artist Yves Klein (1928-1962) at a leading modern art museum somewhere in the world. He actually patented the heavy pigmented blue he used for his art pieces towards the end of his workmanship – IKB (International Klein Blue).

I would have loved to hang out with Yves Klein. He had a good sense of humor. Once in the fifties he removed all his art pieces from a gallery and painted the walls white and the outside windows in his signature blue. About 3000 people waited patiently outside for the grand opening of the exhibition only to be greeted with a blue drink and all empty white walls with not a single art piece in sight. (How do you think the newspapers covered the event?)

I can only dream about my own Yves Klein art piece. I do however have a monochromatic blue painting by the Swedish painter Gunnar Okner (1920-2009) that I bought the summer before I moved to the US (1995). It is very dear to me. (Identical to the painting below only taller and more rectangular). It hangs over my husband’s nightstand table and nicely compliments the blue chest on my side of the bed.

One day I would like to try a room with all dark blue walls. Not a big room, just a small study or library. Dark blue is very rich and intense.I think dark blue and cognac is such a stunning color combination. This image has been sitting in my inspiration folder for a long time.

Blue/teal and cognac again.

More blue walls.

So you can only imagine how happy I was to find out that I had won a BLUE flower painting (blog giveaway) by my good blog friend Barbara’s (who I can’t wait to meet in person) daughter! She is only 15 (!) and is showcasing her art pieces on Etsy.

With a strong passion for art, a ton of creativity and entrepreneurial skills at this early age, this girl will go far! (If you want to support this young artist (and isn’t that more rewarding than buying anything mass produced for your walls?)  — visit her on Etsy — here.  More dark blue is moving into my home. And I like it!

After a long and happy summer together my kids will hop on the school bus this morning (school in our area starts the day after Labor Day) equipped with big smiles, sun tanned legs and new backpacks. You can count on their emotional Mom running along side the bus and spelling out finger hearts in the air until she trips at the end of the sidewalk. The kids will get back into their routines and I will get back into mine. We shall find out if I like a quiet house or not…

Warm hugs to you all.

Image credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8+9, 10 + 11, 12,