Coyotes, succulents, and squids

November 03, 2014


Can you ever have too much color, too much art, or too many succulents, even painted ones? No way! This corner of my living room perks me up every time I see it: a Cathy Carey painting called Coyote Wonderland, a couple of fun candle holders, and a tabletop squid planter from Digs Inside & Out.

Yep, that’s a plastic echeveria in the squid. No shame; my house is dark. Lamps, faux succulents, and bold color are my friends.

How about you? Does your taste in art tend toward botanicals and landscapes too?

All material © 2006-2014 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

26 responses to “Coyotes, succulents, and squids”

  1. Ha! You didn’t have to fess up to that – no one would have known from the photo. Nice painting.

  2. Dee Nash says:

    No shame there. Very, very cool.

  3. Lisa at Greenbow says:

    I also have a lot of birds, butterflies…nature. I love your colorful setting.

  4. Marilyn Rodriguez says:

    Love the painting. As an artist, I love to paint gardens and landscapes with an abstract approach.

  5. Jenny says:

    Wow! I think I live in dowdyland.

  6. peter schaar says:

    Your painting is superb, even better than the one hanging in my bedroom! And what would many people (and service stations) do without planta plastica? Certainly, I have had situations where a plastic replica was the only way to go. No apologies, indeed!

  7. Alison says:

    That is a very colorful corner, I love it! I do have botanical art on my walls.

  8. Kris P says:

    I love the painting, although a painting featuring a coyote might well get me drummed out of the neighborhood as they have a very bad rep here. Still I like bold colors and the walls in our entry and dining area (the first room visible upon entering the house) have large, colorful botanical images. I love those squid pots too, just not the prices.

  9. Your painting is so festive, even the candle holders and succulent art brighten up that spot. I had a faux ficus tree inside for years, and I still have ocotillo and desert art, home and office. I must put back my “Wile E. chasing the roadrunner” as my pc’s screen background…

  10. Jackie says:

    HI Pam,
    Love the agave behind the coyote – like a headdress. My apartment is dark for the most part, so all my plants are near the south windows. Many of the prints and art are of butterflies, dragonflies and trees.

  11. That looks AMAZING! I love it!

  12. TexasDeb says:

    The space above and behind my desk, where my computer resides, is a gallery wall featuring a dozen different paintings and prints. Of that dozen, seven have botanical themes and two of those are landscapes. It’s not quite as great as a window view out onto a garden bed, but it certainly comes close.

    Your fine eye for color, shape and balance is a boon to the inside your home as well as the outside. Have you ever designed any indoor spaces besides your own home? (just curious)

    • Pam/Digging says:

      I love gallery walls. They are revealing about the owner’s interests and tastes. Yours sounds lovely, a garden window you don’t have to clean!

      Thanks for the kind words about my decorating. I’ve always been interested in interior design (even as a child I rearranged my bedroom furniture and wall art constantly), but I’ve only ever done it for myself. I’d be way too plodding to do it for anyone else, needing to live with an arrangement for a while before I know if it’s right and always playing around with new accessories before finding the perfect spot. —Pam

  13. Your gift for using color, both inside and out, always amazes me. Just FYI, I have a small silk plant in a dark interior bathroom and it really seems to shock people; but like you, I offer no apologies (except for the dust it occasionally gathers!)

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Ah, Vicki, I basically just pile it on — color, that is. But thanks for the compliment. 🙂 Isn’t it funny how shocked people can be about fake plants in a gardener’s house? I have silk flowers too — white hydrangeas to brighten up dim spaces. I’m not trying to fool anyone. I just think they’re pretty. No apologies! —Pam