Art work

[Borris]

Just bought my first house. I’m all decorated and furnished but the walls look bare. How and where do you choose pictures for the walls. I’m not arty and don’t have any favourites.

Buy what you like, at a good price. I have an eclectic mix of art most of which I've picked up cheaply on ebay, for less than £20 (my search limit). I only go for original art and am happy to search charity shops and antique places to find nice cheap frames for framing. Also check out exhibitions by amateur artists where the art is often for sale.

It’s tricky to build up a collection from scratch ( and expensive) but I agree the basic rule is to buy what you like. I have a mish mash of originals - I love print work in particular and try to support local artists - framed posters- some originals, some not- and prints, plus some photography. Digital art is often striking and affordable. I’m personally not keen on personal photos on the walls but that’s also an option. I think they look best not too large and arranged in clusters if you do decide to go for that. Really hate large personal photo canvas portraits but literally everyone in my extended family would disagree with me on that, hence I am immortalised on 4ft canvas in DMs kitchen. I also don’t like art matched to the furnishings. Think it looks a bit twee. I quite like art that clashed in style or period with the rest of the house. But yes, it’s personal. Have what you like.

critically, whatever you buy, when you put it up, be aware of the weight and hang appropriately so you don’t pull the wall down!!

Go to local art exhibitions, print exhibitions and small independent galleries. Lots of young artists are struggling at the moment. You can pick up work for £10 and up. By going to a few exhibitions you can get the feel of what you like. Consider colours that would link or contrast with your decor.

There will be some craft exhibitions coming up soon and some artists have work there. Also look at Etsy.

I agree with buying what you like. And prints are a great and more affordable way to buy art. You've just missed the boat for student degree shows and as an artist who sees a lot of degree shows, I don't think they're necessarily the place for affordable wall-based art.

Are you on Instagram? If so, lookup #ArtistSupportPledge It's an initiative started during lockdown where artists sell work for up to £200 and when they've sold 5, they buy an art work from another artist through the Pledge.
Lots of good drawings/watercolours/paintings available.

Regarding what you want, maybe look on something like Pinterest or Houzz to see where people hang art work in similar looking properties, for inspiration. You might end up wanting to do a mini salon hang, eg lots of art works hung closely together, or a more linear hang of a row of pictures.

You can create visual unity by using the same type of frame, or go for a mish mash of styles.

Look at somewhere like ArtFinder as they curate artists, so it’s a bit more selective. You can choose a budget.

Handmade prints are traditionally the cheapest way to buy original art. Digital prints (fancy photocopies on nice paper) are also a good way to buy art, more cheaply.

It can be overwhelming- but it’s absolutely fine to choose things that go with your decor, and choosing what you like is key. There’s no big mystery as what is good- it’s only what you like. I’m an artist and collector

My experience of this has been buying prints as that was what I could afford, but as I have got older and have more cash I prefer originals. With prints I would make sure I really liked them before buying so didn't rush in.

What I do find hard is to make sure they also work as decor. Colours are irrelevant to me for that but size isn't.