Art collecting for walls with real character

Welcome to my blog, I am a professional cartoonist, illustrator, artist and writer. My site here is intended to promote a range of works that I think will look good on the wall. Included on my site is not just my own work, but some works by other artists whose work I love and hope to bring to a wider audience. I hope you enjoy your tour of my site and welcome any feedback. Prints are fulfilled by The Print Space for prints on paper, they are one of the UK's premier fine art print companies, and there is also the option of buying some images printed onto canvas, these are fulfilled by Printumo. All prints are available worldwide. For me, art collecting begins with the simple question of whether an image will keep rewarding a look once it is on the wall.

Art collecting starts with what you want to live with

There is no need to approach art collecting as though you are building a museum. Most people are choosing work for a hallway, kitchen, study, sitting room or the bit of wall that has looked oddly bare for too long. The useful test is not whether you know the correct art-world language. It is whether the picture has something about it that holds your attention.

That might be a strong line in a charcoal drawing, a quiet rural view, a funny detail in an illustration or the peculiar beauty of a weathered shed. Good pictures do not have to shout. Often they simply give a room more character and make it feel more like yours.

A print can also be an excellent place to start. It allows you to buy work because you genuinely like it, rather than treating every purchase as a grand financial decision. The works here are not limited editions, which keeps the focus where it ought to be: on the image, the quality of the print and the pleasure of having it around.

Choose a picture, not a category

People sometimes feel they should decide whether they are landscape people, photography people or fans of drawings before they buy anything. I would do it the other way round. Find images that appeal to you, then notice the threads that start to emerge.

You may discover that you keep returning to pale winter fields, bold black-and-white marks or overlooked bits of industry. Perhaps it is the arrangement of shapes that catches you rather than the subject itself. A corrugated wall can be as interesting as a grand view when the light is right, and old industrial metalwork often has a rhythm and texture that a new building has spent years trying to avoid.

That is part of the appeal of old buildings, sheds and working structures. Their patched surfaces, rust, uneven paint and practical additions tell a story without making a fuss about it. They have been altered by weather and use. A good drawing or photograph can retain that feeling while making the composition clear enough to work on a wall.

The Gloucestershire influence

Much of my own work is inspired by the Gloucestershire countryside, where a gentle landscape can sit beside something far more makeshift and industrial. The River Severn and its surrounding sites offer their own particular mix of open sky, muddy banks, old structures and changing weather. I photograph much of this subject matter when I can, then paint it when the weather gets bad.

It is not about making every shed picturesque. A shed with an awkward lean, a line of corrugated iron or an old gate can be visually excellent just as it is. Sometimes the best subjects are the things most people pass without seeing. Their appeal lies in shape, surface and the evidence of a life being lived or work being done.

Give the room a proper look

Before choosing a print, stand where it will hang and look at the wall honestly. A small image can be perfect above a desk or in a narrow gap, but it may disappear above a large sofa. Equally, an oversized canvas in a crowded room can feel like it is trying too hard. Scale matters, though there is no universal rule.

Think about viewing distance as well. Detailed charcoal marks invite a closer look and suit places where people naturally stand nearby. A photograph of a large advertising sign in the Los Angeles area can have more immediate impact from across a room, especially when the strong lettering, faded colour and open space around it are allowed to breathe.

Those Los Angeles sign images are available as photographic prints and as canvas prints. Paper often gives a photograph a crisp, considered presence, while canvas can give a larger wall a more substantial feel. Neither is automatically better. It depends on the room, the size you have in mind and whether you want the piece to sit quietly with other work or make a firmer statement.

Do not be too concerned about matching every colour in the room. A picture that repeats every cushion and lampshade can look rather planned. A contrasting image, perhaps a monochrome drawing in a colourful room or a sun-bleached urban sign against darker furniture, is often more convincing. Let the work bring something new to the space.

A mixed wall is usually more interesting

A room gains depth when different kinds of work can talk to each other. A rural landscape can sit very well near a lino cut, a loose charcoal study or an urban photograph, provided there is some shared feeling between them. It might be a similar tone, a love of strong outline or simply an eye for unusual subject matter.

New charcoal drawing images have recently been added, along with new photographs. Charcoal has a directness that I particularly enjoy: it can be broad, dark and physical, yet still pick up a surprising amount of atmosphere. It is a good medium for buildings, trees, skies and structures because it does not pretend that the world is tidy.

There are also new, exciting works by Steve Parker. Including artists whose work I admire is an important part of the site. It keeps the selection personal rather than turning it into a vast catalogue of things nobody has properly looked at. The point is to offer work with a distinctive visual voice, not just more choice for the sake of it.

If you are putting several pictures together, begin with one work you are certain about. Add others gradually. You do not need identical frames or matching subjects, although a little consistency in framing can help a varied group settle together. More importantly, leave enough space. Pictures need room around them, particularly if they have strong line, detail or colour.

Buy with confidence, not pressure

There is a strange idea that a first piece of art must be a very serious commitment. It is only serious if you make it so. A print can mark a new home, remind you of a place, give a work area more life or simply be an image you enjoy every time you walk past it.

Quality is worth paying attention to because it changes how an image reads. Fine art printing should hold detail, preserve subtle tones and give colour the depth it needs. That matters in a grey Gloucestershire sky, the grain of old timber, the folds of corrugated iron and the bright painted letters on a Los Angeles sign. A well-made print does not turn a weak picture into a good one, but it gives a good picture its best chance.

The most satisfying collections are usually built slowly. Start with the work that you cannot quite stop looking at, give it a good place to live, and let the next choice follow from there.