Let’s talk about aaaaart! I was writing a separate podcast recently that touched on Art.  As I went on an epic detour and found myself furiously typing four pages of notes,  I realised that art had to be a separate entity. In fact, this has turned into TWO blogs/episodes!  It turns out I have a LOT to say. 

I studied English and Art History at university and absolutely loved it. I could easily get lost in art books, museums and galleries all day! I love learning the story behind art, the societal commentary it provides, the artist who made the art, what it says about who bought it, and the way that it elevates a room. 

So today, in part one of this two-part series on art, I'm going to be covering how to choose art and affordable art ideas.

Art = personality

Art and decorative objects offer a great opportunity to inject your personality into your home. When I use the term ‘art’, I am using it very loosely to cover any decorative item hung on a wall or displayed on a surface (loads more on this below). You certainly do not need any special experience to buy art! 

I urge you instead to allow yourself to feel a connection to a piece and let that guide you, rather than feeling like you don't know enough to ask how much it is, how it's made or who made it. Your connection to the piece is the most important thing here - which means your opinions are king!

However, when chosen or hung badly or framed badly, art has the ability to make things look a bit ill-considered, soulless and mass-produced. Thankfully there are some simple tips to avoid this.

How to choose art for your home.

Choosing art for your home is an extremely personal process, it's very subjective. You're going to be drawn to stuff that’s completely different from what I'm drawn to.

The key thing here is that you feel confident about what you love, your favourite colours, and your favourite styles because that's what's going to guide you, and prevent you being pulled into millions of different directions.

Here are some further tips to help you find and choose pieces for your home and hopefully navigate this intimidating field.

• Start with the space. What are the colours in the room at the moment? You don't need to stick to these colours, but it's useful to be aware of them because choosing art that references those colours or contrasts with those colours looks great. So you need to consider the space where the art is going to be displayed. Look at choosing pieces that are proportional to the space and create a focal point in the room. 

• Choose art that makes your heart sing. Sometimes that means entirely disregarding my first tip! It's so important that you love what's on your walls. Art is a super personal choice, so choose pieces that resonate with you and your memories, your experience, your culture. Consider the emotions or feelings that the art evokes in you and how it will make you feel when you see it in your home. Choosing art because it's fashionable or looked nice on a retailer's website is a surefire way to create rooms lacking in personality. Art should make a statement and be a talking point. 

• Figure out a budget. Art can be expensive, so determine your budget before you start shopping. Consider buying prints or reproductions or secondhand pieces if you're on a tight budget, or invest in a few high-quality pieces if you have more to spend. Asking for contributions to an original art piece for a birthday present would be a lovely idea (I’m planning to do this!). Then, don’t be afraid to ask how much something costs. It might be the same as your house in which case you’ll leave it, but you might also be pleasantly surprised, or find out there are payment plans etc.

• Mix it up. Don't be afraid to mix and match different art styles, mediums sizes and frame colours. You want to hang a combination of framed prints, canvases, textile pieces, kids art, etcetera, to create art that really shows off the personality of you and your family. Hanging just one type of art in the same frame throughout your house will make it feel more like a hotel than a home.

Affordable art ideas.

So what if you don’t have the budget to invest in high end art pieces? I’ve pulled together a ton of tips to hopefully help you to find art that does meet your budget without needing to necessarily resort to buying cheap reproduction prints (although there is sometimes a really good time for a repro print, i’m not poo-pooing them completely- more on that below!)

Important note before we get started, Know your style. Start with you, not what's in fashion, not what's on trend, but think instead about your memories, your loves, your passions and your values. 

1. Don't be afraid to ask. Sometimes art dealers, artists, art galleries can be incredibly snooty and they won't want to tell you the price, which does my head in! But it never stops me from asking the question. So don’t be afraid to ask. You never know! I once fell in love with some exquisite hand-painted baubles at an art market and presumed they would be out of my budget and nearly walked by. At the last minute, I decided to stop and ask and was pleasantly surprised and bought 2!

2. Look online for original pieces by emerging artists. There are places like the Affordable Art Fair, Partnership Editions, Artspace, Artfinder and Saatchi Art that all sell pieces from emerging artists at more affordable price tags.

3. Go to art fairs. Art fairs in general are a great place to find original pieces. It may involve sifting through some not-so-great stuff, but you will usually find at least a few artists or makers that you can explore further. Look out for artists that are local to you too - social media is your friend here.

4. Follow or have on your radar screen, screen or block printing studios, framers and printing presses. Look out for their studio sales. I have some treasured pieces I picked up at artist seconds sales and printing press studio sales.

5. Check out second-hand items from places like charity shops and flea markets. These can be great places to find original, affordable art pieces. When you are in flea markets and secondhand shops, look out for the art, but keep an eye out for a beautiful frame too. When a vintage frame is put onto a contemporary print or art piece, it can look really beautiful and make even a mass-produced print look like an elevated work of art. General antique stores can also be great places to get original pieces for an affordable price.

6. Do it yourself! If you are feeling crafty, there are tons of DIY tutorials on Instagram, Pinterest, or YouTube that will guide you through the process of creating your own original art piece, whether that's a painting, a collage, a sculpture or a textile piece. Think about what you could actually make yourself, or maybe what your kids might be able to make themselves as well. 

7. Try art school sales. Many art schools hold annual student art sales where you can find affordable pieces by emerging artists before places like Saatchi Art get to them. These sales can be a really great way of supporting young artists while adding unique and affordable art to your home.

8. Don’t discount mass-produced prints. Prints from places like Desenio, IKEA and Poster Club can be a really great, affordable way to put art on your walls. However, with these prints, remember to approach them carefully and with consideration - only buy prints that you really connect with, combine them with more unusual pieces. We want art that actually reflects you and your personality, so layer them in carefully and be thoughtful about how you use them.

9. Change your definition of art. If items are displayed in the right way, you can turn anything into a charming and unique piece of art for your home. Here are some examples of some things you can experiment with:

   1. Tea towels (The Tate shop sells limited edition ones, I have a pair of Jenny Holzer ones I adore)

   2. Plates

   3. Mirrors

   4. Beautiful pieces of fabric

   5. Really large scarves

   6. Small rugs

   7. Sailing signal flags

   8. Childrens clothes

   9. Quilts

   10. Tapestries

   11. Wreaths. Check out my workshop on creating your own wreath if you want to experiment with these! 

10. I’ve experimented with all of these suggestions in my home, and the more unusual items that I’ve hung on my wall are among my absolute favourite pieces in my house!

11. Display your memories. I really love it when people display things like cinema tickets, exhibition tickets, travel tickets from a really special trip, kids drawings, recipes, letters even receipts! Framed with a nice mount and frame, it really can look lovely. As long as it’s something that’s going to connect with a memory that you have, play with framing these as they can look great and be really special unique pieces. (Part 2 has lots of ideas for framing and hanging)

12. Look up exhibition posters. So for example, let's say Matisse is one of your favourite artists. You can then go onto Etsy or eBay or 1stDibs or any other similar site, and start searching for vintage Matisse exhibition posters. They are a little harder to get, but in a beautiful frame, they look really incredible and have that personal connection too.

I hope these tips get you excited about experimenting with art! 

In the second part of my series on art, I'm going to be talking about how to frame art, how to hang art, and how to do a gallery wall really well, so be sure to read that for even more tips.