Valentine’s Day, a holiday with a long history and great contemporary relevance, is just around the corner! February 14^th is celebrated as love day, but it was not always a holiday like it is today. Are you ready for Valentine’s Day? Traditionally, people send valentines, or love notes, to show their love at this time of the year, but you can also show love by changing your décor at home or in your work place. Artwork is a perfect way to celebrate this holiday that dates back to the early centuries A.D.

About Valentine’s Day

In ancient Rome, February was the month for the fertility festival called Lupercalia. At some point around the third century A.D., the Christian church began to observe Valentine’s Day, either as a way to Christianize the pagan Roman festival, or to commemorate the martyr Saint Valentine. The history is murky, but eventually February 14^th was established as the day of love, which we still celebrate today.

Inspirational Decorations

February 14^th is recognized as a special day for love, but it is by no means the only day for love. You can get your décor ready for the special day by changing your wall art. At Fulcrum Gallery, you can find dozens of inspirational posters on the theme of love. “Love Conquers All Things” and “Love Is All You Need” are just two of the beautiful sayings you can find here.

Birds

One poster you may like in particular is Alan Pelletier’s “Birds on a Wire – Love,” an evocative yet simple depiction of two birds together in space, balanced on a wire supporting the letters L O V E.  Birds are a fitting motif for Valentine’s Day because of the historic association between romance and birds. During the Middle Ages, when the celebration of Valentine’s Day was developing into its modern form, February was thought of as birds’ mating season, hence the connection between birds and romance. If the birds like February, it must be a romantic month!

Romantic

If you feel that there is nothing more romantic than Paris, Fulcrum Gallery has plenty of selections in its Romantic Art section. From prints called “Paris Romance” to Gustav Klimt’s well-known “The Kiss,” there is something sure to please your loved one this Valentine’s Day. If you or your loved one is more of a daredevil, or if you are a fan of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, the black and white “Speedbound Red” may be what you are looking for.

Lips, Kissing

Decorations are great way to get into the spirit of Valentine’s Day, and Fulcrum Gallery also has lips- and kissing-themed posters in a variety of sizes, shapes, and styles. These posters can be given as gifts, but using them as decorations leading up to Valentine’s Day can make the holiday even more special.

It’s All About Love

We love people every day, but Valentine’s Day gives us a special opportunity to make people feel loved. Let’s get into the spirit and make the most of the holiday!

Martin Luther King, Jr., a central figure in the Civil Rights Movement, preached peace in the face of brutality and died a violent death at the age of 39. His methods, shared by Mahatma Gandhi and other well-known leaders, have been praised long after his death, and he lives on through his quotes. Color your living room with the words of a great man who continues to influence millions.

These art prints evoke a sense of hope and security, even through less vibrant colors like black and white. Although simple, they remind us that the words are the focal point by refraining from using graphics that can distract from them. This provides a calming contrast to more colorful decorations in your living room. If there aren’t many other decorations, it emphasizes the minimalism in a very classy way. Martin Luther King art prints fit in just about anywhere, no matter the environment.

Just Words

Some of the most bare bones art can be the most potent. Veruca Salt’s “Hate Cannot Drive Out Hate” proves this with black, cursive-like scripts against a plain white background. Featuring only four lines of text, it offers a quote that’s easy to remember. Capitalizing the word “LOVE”’ creates a focal point near the bottom center, and it also drives home the point of the quote and reminds us of how much power love really has. This is a great print to hang in the living room to bring your family together. Family love can turn into love for your fellow man for the people who live alone. “Hate Cannot Drive Out Hate” inspires warmth and simple goodness through its minimalistic approach.

This approach is repeated for Veruca Salt’s “You Have to Keep Moving Forward – Martin Luther King Jr,” which sets King's words in a variety of texts (most frequently block text) against a dark gray background. Using large letters that take up the entire space of the poster, it is easily readable. Capitalized verbs accentuate the importance of actions, while the word “forward” is italicized to create a forward slant. Different words are bolded to add emphasis.

Words And Simple Graphics

Taylor Greene’s “Martin” uses large capitalized white print over a generic silhouette. Rather than taking away from the text, the graphic enhances it, giving King’s words an ideological context by placing it within a person’s head. That it isn’t Martin Luther King’s head isn’t a problem: rather, it echoes the belief that his approaches are universal and that anyone can benefit from using them. With this print in their living areas people can challenge themselves to put King’s ideas into practice and bring him back to life through the realization of his ideas.

Martin Luther King, Jr. art prints can bring hope and positive energy to people’s homes and provide constant motivation to love one another and work for a better future. Treat yourself to a happier life by hanging Martin Luther King’s words on your wall.

Mother's day is almost here, every mother or soon to be mother should be appreciated always but especially on this day. So, what should you get her to commemorate the occasion? Every mother is different so if you don't already know what mom likes, it can be tricky shopping for a gift for her. An easy and meaningful gift to give mom is artwork. If your mother likes the beauty of flowers or wine then getting artwork is easier than ever. But for mothers that don't like anything specific, that you know of at least, what about art that highlights the special bond between parents and their children? Let’s take a look at some unique fine prints and you’ll quickly see why art is truly the best gift for moms.

For the Flower Loving Mom

Flower art is a great gift for mom's that like flowers and gardening. If you know her favorite flower, you can shop by flower type and get her a painting or photograph of her favorite flower. If she doesn't have a favorite or you don't know her favorite, try searching by color. Giving mom a flower print that is her favorite color is a gift that keeps on giving. Even a print that matches the color scheme in her bedroom or living room. This will make decorating so much easier....all she has to do is open the box and hang the frame or canvas piece.

Another good alternative to getting her flower art that is not her favorite (if you don't know her favorite) is getting a painting or photograph of two flowers together. Giving this to her as a gift can represent you and her and it can also represent your relationship together. If it is a gift from both... find flower art with three flowers.

For the Wine Loving Mom

If mom loves wine, chances are she'll love wine art as well. With over 1,600 art prints in our wine category, you're bound to find one that mom likes. Some women don't like to drink wine, but they love the beauty of wineries and the beauty of wine glasses and bottles. Prints like Vineyard Hill I by Sung Kim and A Wine Tasting by Marilyn Hageman are perfect for the Mothers that love wine for the beauty.

For mothers that love the beauty of wine, but also love drinking it for the taste prints like Wine Bottle, Grapes and Walnuts by Loran Speck would be a better choice. It shows a wine glass with food and also shows foods that go great with wine like fruit and nuts.

For the Animal Loving Mom

Animal paintings are always a great path for a gift, it can speak to lovers and non lovers of animals and gives a personal touch to your gift. The first way you can go about shopping for animal gifts for mom is to shop by animal. If she has a favorite animal, you can start there. If you don't know Mom's favorite animal, you can look for images of animals in pairs. We carry many art prints of baby animals with their mother. Art prints like First Christmas by Bonnie Mohr, Watching the Horizon by Lucie Bilodeau or Makulu by Ron D'Raine are few of the many mother animal and baby animal prints we carry that would make a perfect gift for Mom.

Motherhood Gifts for Any Mother

Emile Munier Collection:

First on our list is Mother’s Day art by Emile Munier. He was a French-born painter who specialized in portraits of women, children and household pets. We have several of his best works in our collection, including Pardon Mama, A Special Moment (1874) and Maternal Affection. Some of these paintings that would be a perfect gift for Mother's Day are ones that include a mother embracing her child.

Giving these paintings to a mother can show that she is passionate and loving. These specific pieces are best when given from the mother's child but can also be given from a spouse or other close relative as well. These paintings can be grouped together or paired with paintings by Munier’s mentor, William Adolphe Bourguereau. Bourguereau is the next French-born figure painter on our list.

William Adolphe Bouguereau

Unlike his student, William Adolphe Bouguereau liked to paint cherubs and angels too. His paintings relate to all mothers as he has paintings of young mothers with their children as well as older mothers. He also has portraits of couples together which would be a great gift from the spouse to the mother. Paintings like Mother and Child and Not Too Much to Carry are perfect depictions of motherhood. In some of William's paintings, women and children often appear in a holy light. Examples include paintings like Awakening Heart and Whisperings of Love (1889). However, not all of his women and children were given angel’s wings. These pieces that show women and children as angels and other spiritual figures are perfect pieces for a religious mother or a mother that believes her children were a gift.

Giving Mom the gift of art is a gift that keeps giving. She will feel appreciated and loved every time she sees it hanging on the wall. Have Mom's gift already hanging on the wall and surprise her! Check out our how to hang framed art and how to hang canvas art pages for help on hanging the art for her. 

Showing your love for someone special during Couples Appreciation Month doesn't have to include fattening foods, overpowering perfumes and expensive flowers that eventually wilt and die. There is a better option, love art. Love art comes in different forms to match the personalities of those you appreciate the most. For instance, there are heart paintings, romantic art and love prints to choose from at our gallery. Created by a variety of accomplished artists, they’d fit into a wide array of interior designs too. Let’s take contemporary interiors and pop art fans as examples. They may enjoy art by Roy Lichtenstein.

Roy Lichtenstein’s artwork often features comic book characters kissing or pining away for a loved one. His romantic yet contemporary scenes may be placed on to canvas, framed or laminated to suit your loved one’s design sensibilities. We've even heard of couples who display the comic book lovers alongside of memory boxes filled with souvenirs of their first date, engagement or wedding.

Word art also tends to be quite popular among Couples Appreciation Month celebrants.

This is especially the case with prints that include romantic poems or sayings. Artist Louise Carey has several pieces of art that fall into that category. The sayings that she uses in her artwork often talk about unending love, true happiness and friendship. They tend to have a contemporary, youthful vibe that many people adore. Those that prefer a more mature feel to their artwork may prefer prints by artist Bonnie Mohr instead. Her paintings include complete romantic poems and verses that touch on issues like fate, spiritual love, marriage, new beginnings and the joy found in sharing life’s journey with another.

Those are just a few of the art themes lovers will find among our holidays collection.

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and with it, the mad dash for the perfect gift for your Valentine. You want to show them how much you love them while also giving them something they can actually use in their day-to-day life. What better gift then, than the gift of art? In this Valentine's Day Post, check out some of the beautiful art prints available from love art to romantic and heart art. A gift that gives all year-long, art is the perfect way to say, "I love you" this Valentine's day. 

Love Art

There are a lot of options for love art, you can go with something as simple as a Chris Paschke print with the oriental symbol for love that has a quiet elegance or if you want to get a Jack Vettriano print "Dance Me to the End of Love", a stunning print of an elegant couple dancing. You can also go a more whimsical route with a cute print by Marla Rae with two beautifully painted owls and words, "Owl Always Love You". 

Romantic Art

If you want to be more romantic and still show your love for your valentine, than a piece of art from this romantic collection is perfect. It is a showcase of more elegant pieces that are still fun. Including David Bromstad's piece, "Pucker Up!" which features a vibrant pair of red lips and a stunning piece by Laurie Cooper of a man kissing his love while wrapped in beautiful green leaves. These pieces are all stand out art that will add a luscious and romantic feel to any room it hangs in.

Heart Art

Nothing says I love you quite like a heart so why not choose a beautiful and vibrant piece from the Heart Art collection to gift to someone you love? There are many pieces to choose from, the "Three of Hearts" by Liz Jardine is a simple, but gorgeous piece of heart art or the piece "Love in 44 Languages" by LA Pop is a wonderful piece for Valentine's Day because it expresses your love perfectly with the 44 ways to say love in a heart shape.  

The choices for art to give on Valentine's day are truly endless. You can choose a piece that expresses your live in an elegant, timeless way or you can go for a more fun and whimsical look. Whatever matches your valentine's personality, art is the perfect gift for your Valentine this year.