JOIN JANE CONTINUING TO MAKE SENSE OF ART
And this month Jane is sharing some more tips on buying art.
Part 2 of our guide to buying art is all about the space where you will house your growing art collection.
How does that space need to feel?
You will be in it everyday so the artwork that goes into it needs to feel right – appropriate for the space where you will hang it/place it.
A really important wall to get right is the wall opposite your bed – and this wall is going to be very different from, lets say a wall in your dining area. This is the first thing you see every morning as you wake up – so it needs to be calm with a subject that makes you happy. The photo above shows a wall opposite a bed – a charcoal drawing and 2 floral paintings with subdued mounts and frames giving a sense of calm.
The photo below shows a much more dynamic picture in a dining area adding energy to the space.
So as you begin your search, make sure you have the dimensions of your rooms to hand and some photos of the spaces really help.
Maybe you are looking for a particular colour palette – to fit in with existing soft furnishings? If so, have some photos of these. A near miss can look terrible!
If you are considering a piece of art from a local gallery it is worth asking if they will allow you to take it on approval – this way you can try it out in situ for a day or so. Some galleries will – others won’t – so it is always worth asking the question. This is less likely to be possible at art fairs. However if you are visiting an artist’s studio it is worth a try!
Sometimes you may get a piece home and realise that its not right for the space you had imagined it in – but because you love it you will find another place for it – and always be so happy that you bought it!
One of the great things about art is that you can move it – from room to room or indeed house to house if you move. I have friends who regularly move pieces around. Personally, I don’t! I’m a creature of habit and love the comfort of the known, but I enjoy seeing how other people move paintings around, completely changing the character of their spaces.
On the subject of moving – you can take your art with you whereas your expensive wallpaper has to stay. So that leads me on to wallpaper or not wallpaper. For me, the art work is the priority and I want all my pieces to ping out, rather than be muddled in with busy wallpaper. So my preference is a plain painted wall giving my pictures the prominence they deserve.
A picture that is to be placed on a busy wallpaper needs to have a wide enough plain frame and mount to create some distance between the picture and the paper. Otherwise it will get lost.
And don’t forget – we are not just talking about paintings – sculpture, ceramics and photography will all add beauty, interest and energy to your home.