Four years ago, I went to my first Kim Schuessler gallery showing at Bennett Street Gallery (now Pryor Fine Art) in Atlanta, GA. I will admit I am not an art aficionado and I don't frequent art galleries (although it is one of my goals in 2011 to begin to do so).  I was literally moved to tears when I saw Kim Schuessler's art. I loved every single piece that hung on the walls at Bennett Street Gallery that day. Art has never moved me that way.  Unfortunately I wasn't used to the financial investment involved with such a love affair so it has taken me a while to write this blog post....Being the stubborn dreamer that I am, images of Kim's work have been the center of my vision goal boards year after year....Educated at the University of Georgia and the Parsons School of Design in NYC, Kim has a really impressive resume (and so pretty huh?) Her signature style combines paint, paper, and stenciling and she depicts figures that capture moments such as a couple’s first dance, a ballet recital, or a walk in the rain. Kim Schuessler begins paintings that assume a life of their own as she tears paper to form their dresses and splatters numerous colors of paint to express the energy and intensity of the moment.I love the texture and hidden details inherent in her mixed media style but it's the unabashed use of color and the faceless figures that allow me to dream about the figures on the canvas.

"Don't Forget to Stand with Pride" is one of the first ones that I laid my eyes on...

"Freshly Squeezed" is one of my all time faves......

"Sowing the Seeds of Love" is what I call sophisticated whimsy!

When the invitation for Kim's 2008 "Don't Forget...." Solo Show came in the mail, Joann framed the invitation for me to hang on my office wall because she knew that's about as close as I was going to come to owning my own.  Sigh.....

"Dressed in the Promise of a Rainbow" was one of  the lead pieces on the invitation to her 2009 Solo Show at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. Once again I drooled and fawned but it was not to be.......

So then comes October, 2010 and I decide to revamp my family room (if you are a designer you know how painfully slow the process is attempting to apply your craft to your OWN home ).  I am thrilled with our new flat screen tv, yummy furniture, classic window treatments but what about that HUGE wall above my gorgeous new sofa? I decided then and there that nothing but a Kim Schuessler would do even if that wall had to stay blank until angels threw down green bills from the heavenly skies.

Thanks to my wonderful husband and my new friends Joy and Gabi at the Shain Gallery in Charlotte, NC, "Ring Around the Rosies" now adorns my family room wall. It is my single most favorite piece of decor in my home and it probably always will be. It reminds me of the joyful life I am blessed to have with my two blonde daughters in tow and of course  to always DREAM BIG!

Recently, at The Congressional Women's Luncheon honoring Laura Bush, one of Kim Schuessler's painting was chosen for the invitations and programs. She has over 25 exhibitions to her credit including several sell-out shows in collaboration with Neiman Marcus so I think my investment was a smart one. Regardless of the cost, I am proud to be one of Kim Schuessler's "collectors" and definitely one of her biggest fans.