In late 2011, I looked at my living room wall and decided I need to refresh it. So I decided to do a small project by taking photos of the flora that surrounds my home since I am living near one of Singapore's best Nature Reserves, The Bukit Timah Hill.
I have been running on the forest trail for quite a while, enjoying the peace in contrast to the hectic city life. With inspiration of 18th century botanical illustration, I decided to do a modern interpretation. Armed with a hybrid compact micro four thirds digital camera, I decided that's the way to go for my living room.
Little did I know that the more I shoot, the more I see. And before I knew it, it had become addictive and obsessive. I ended up having a botanical portrait blog plus an online shop as well. As I try to refresh the wall, the wall actually refreshed me.
It took me about a year to complete the wall. It was quite a challenge trying to work out the different sizes so I decided to do the initial layout on my laptop. Once I decided the position, I hired a professional. I would have taken 6 hours with extra holes in the wall, but this guy did it in 3 hours.
Check out Francis's time-lapse video of the installation:
Thanks, Francis!
Have your own Before & After project you'd like to share with the editors? Submit it here.
(Images: Francis Ooi)
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Splendid view from your livingroom window...wow
And another WOW for your after photo....really nicely done.
Gorgeous!
Ok, so I'm not a fan of grey walls (isn't there enough in every day life to depress us?) even though it Does look sleek, and the layout of the prints could be a little better...but I like the idea here and because the subjects in the prints are smallish and the background is mostly light, the whole thing REALLY Works! Good job!
Fantastic! I love the look of this. I collect 18th century botanical / bird illustrations so this is really up my alley. It looks so much more interesting and fresh than the before picture. Great job! I'll have to check out your store :)
Gorgeous! The scale of the art before was fine, but the impact with the darker walls and beautiful prints is really lovely.
I really liked the art that was on the wall before, but I LOVE the botanical prints even more. You have officially inspired me to replace the large canvas which is on the wall that is gorgeous but yellowing.
Definitely more cozy. Feels more lived in. LOVE.
Love!
Lovely.
Stunning! What a gorgeous space.
This looks awesome.
Many gallery walls become too much to look at very quickly, but your beautiful prints have enough white space to all look individual and be seen. Lovely restful wall color, too.
Well done!
Modtomic..."isn't there enough in life to depress us?" Grey isn't depressing. It's a color. Why is it depressing? I find it soothing and calming.
I'm glad the gallery wall doesn't consist of a lot of different frames types and colors. When they do my eye tends to just go to the frames and not the contents which is what, i believe, we are suppose to be looking at.
Your photographs make a stunning gallery wall!
Nice colour choice gives texture and depth.
The gray wall is BEAUTIFUL!
lovely! how did you photograph the plants - did you clip them and bring them home to shoot ?
I love this! I've always loved botanical prints, but found them a little old fashioned for my home. These are gorgeous!!!
One question: I notice there are three size on the gallery wall, but only two sizes for sale on the online shop. Are there plans to sell that in between size?
Lovely job!
beautiful
Inspiring - just love it.
Is that an ikea couch? I want something just like it.
LOVE the gallery wall and fantastic botanical prints. Very inspiring! Thanks for sharing this.
Corporate. Sterile. That said, my opinion is just that - an opinion. Very pretty, but not to my liking.
Love your botanicals!
Very beautiful.
Nicely done and a beautiful way to showcase your art!
do not have the patience for all those photos lined up.. but i like the print that was on the wall before.. and love the couch.. i want it.. ;)
Hi diakay, Thank you. Yes i brought them home and shoot from my living room balcony. Natural sunlight seems to work the best for me. Not direct sunlight otherwise the shadows will be too strong and hard. cheers!
Hi cfbetcher, thank you for your compliment. Yes there are other sizes available. Please email me at whatiseewhenirun@gmail.com for other sizes. Thank you. Cheers.
what was the before piece?
It was my own oil painting. An experiment. I call it "blur" :)