Some thoughts on Home Decor and Art ................



What are you working on in your home at the moment?

So many folks are either spring cleaning or redecorating seeking a fresh look to greet the Spring Season.

I have hardly started the house spring clean-the Garden Studio and my Conservatory store have been completed .I know what my priorities are!

Back to the home. If I 'm decorating I always change my artwork. I prefer the art to reflect the new look and don't like to be restricted to making the look fit the art. If I am not decorating a space I often change the artwork for a fresh look. That can be  changing artwork from one room to another or creating new artwork to suit.

COLOUR

I have customers who make decisions on art mainly on colour and I often get asked if that annoys me. No definitely not. Colour engages us fundamentally and can reflect the seasons .It is my number one factor so why shouldn't it be that for other folks.  I like to reflect the seasonal colours in my art and customers can usually engage with that. Sometimes folks ask me for a style or content of artwork they see in the studio or online but want  different colour accents. This takes us into the realms of commission but why not if that is really what the customer wants.

Spring usually makes us think of brighter colours with pastels often featuring. See "Snowdrop Wood" above. The trees are still quite dark and sparse but the light is bringing a spring feel and magic with new pastel colours .A local artist can help you find something to suit your new decor and it can be worth taking a swatch of material or a paint card with you. It is not about matching but finding something to complement your your colours.

Landscape or Portrait Shape

It is important to have an idea which shape suits the space you want to adorn with your new artwork. This can often be dictated by the size of the wall space .There is no golden rule on this and it is often pure personal preference .I find customers like landscapes in portrait shape just as much as landscape shape. However size of artwork is a factor here. What will fit your space and have impact? I had a customer at the Central Fife Open Studio 

event last year who had bought from a artist on holiday and found the chosen artwork was the wrong size and that the colours were not what they wanted. They commissioned a larger portrait shape seascape with different colours to suit their beautiful new kitchen. They remembered to bring the preferred size with them.

One Artwork or More ?

There are lots of ways to show off your artwork(s)!

Pairing artworks can add extra interest especially if you have similar colours with different content. This works well with abstracts which have been painted at the same time. I love the way customers explore the different shapes and make their own interpretations of the work. This can be doubly exciting with paired artworks.

Triptychs are interesting too. This is when 3 paintings are made at the same time and are displayed in 3 frames or on canvasses. Sometimes it is one scene  which unfolds across the 3.Pairs and triptychs bring added interest if you have space.

Gallery walls are very popular .This is often used where a customer wants to be able to add more to a collection of art. Customers sometimes find it hard to know where to start even although they are excited by the idea of forming a collection. Collections can be of originals or prints and sometimes a mixture. A way to start can be to choose a theme for the content of the works e.g. Fife Coastal Scenes or Flowers or you can plan a colour theme such as blues to complement a light wall. Once you get started you can start to see what fascinates you. While writing I am looking at my office wall

with a blue theme. It has 6 artworks at the moment with two blue landscapes in white wood, two scenes on portrait shape wood one landscape and one seascape, an abstract with blue in a white square frame and a square landscape in a floating frame. I like variety but my favourite colour is blue with yellow a close second and that's what I am looking at right now.

Think I may add to this wall soon.

Hope this gives food for thought folks.Let me know what you are thinking!