Thursday, March 22, 2007

A doorknob is a thing of art

I love the doorknobs in my home. There are many. All the rooms have french doors that open onto a balcony. I counted all the doors - 12 of them. So I decided to draw them. I also enjoy hanging stuff on to the doors, as you'll see and that changes with every whim.
In the guestroom, always a flower glass with something from the garden, in this case a daffodil.
In the bathroom, an old star made from recycled tin, which I bought from an old retired farmer, when we lived in South Carolina...I can still hear him say with a long, southern drawl: "Oh, lordiee, lordiee.." What a fun old man he was!
Then the market basket is always on the ready at the living room door.
And here comes a little cheating as well...a door yes, but not really a doorknob, only a huge, beautiful old key. I used an old door I found at the back in one of our caves and made a bulletin board out of it, on which I hung this key and a wooden "Bonheur" heart, which really does give "Happiness" above my desk.
OK, so maybe they aren't all doorknobs, but purely for my enjoyment here, I depict them as such...a pretty porcelain handle to the bathroom and last but not least, the heavy brass handle from the large green painted wooden gates. It is always tarnished but looks glorious once it is cleaned. Which happens only when I need to get rid of bad energy. Then I'm stuck with a tennis elbow for the next 6 weeks.
There are still more doorknobs and handles and levers and keys, but I'm done now with doorknobs being a thing of art.







22 comments:

Sue said...

I agree with you about the door knobs. How wonderful you get to have all different doorknobs! Great drawings. Nice touch including the things hanging on the doorknobs.

Teri said...

What a MARVELOUS collection of door knobs and accessories! I loved reading about your experiences with them and the drawings. Just wonderful!

Carole said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Carole said...

Oh my goodness, you have been busy! I love how you've done this as a series of doorknobs. Beautiful lively illustrations - I love the way you've used the watercolour wash so loosely.

Anonymous said...

What a great house you must have! I love these.

Africantapestry and Myfrenchkitchen said...

Thank you everybody, for the kind comments...they are much appreciated, like always.
Ronell

Anonymous said...

Ronell,
What a wonderful collection and fabulous watercolor paintings of them. Thanks for sharing your house with us.

Lin said...

What a WONDERFUL doorknob study -- to say NOTHING about your FANTASTIC rendering of them!!! WONDERFULLY DONE ...exquisite execution!

Anita Davies said...

Such an enjoyable collection of sketches!

laserone_ said...

Wow, what wonderful doorknobs. We once lived in an old house (a run down leaky monster that had been condemned, when we were poor) but it had really neat antique glass doorknobs. The doorknobs you drew are awesome, I really like them! :)

andrea joseph's sketchblog said...

Ok these are good - very good. A fabulous collection of doorknobs. Your style works so well with the subject. Great colour. Lovely work.

Laureline said...

Ronelle, these are AMAZING!! I love seeing all the variations and plays on form and color. The green door is my favorite, though I like every single one of them. You and Casey must have such fun together--I'd love to come and sketch with you! Maybe on one of my next trips to France...

Laureline said...

Oops, sorry I added that extra 'e' to your name, Ronell. Old spelling habits die hard ;D.

Anonymous said...

I just don't know what I like better, your watercolor paintings of your door knobs or your ideas how to decorate and style them. Both of them wonderful!

Africantapestry and Myfrenchkitchen said...

Thanks so much for the beautiful praise on what I've done here, it is so encouraging!
Ronell

Unknown said...

These are SO COOL! Each painting is unique, and beautiful, and kudos to you for deciding to do a series about the humble doorknob. Love them!

"Maggie & Kevin" said...

What a lovely door handle series! What a lovely home you must have and the door handles are so unique. What year was the home built?

E-J said...

They're all wonderful, especially the last one with its gorgeous colours.

Anonymous said...

How cool! These are beautiful paintings and such interesting subjects.

nik said...

Ronell, this is wonderful. I love the watercolors. They are so bright and brilliant.

Africantapestry and Myfrenchkitchen said...

Thank you for the great encouragement and praise..I appreciate it!
Ronell

sandy said...

wow wow wow