Art prints with character for your walls

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. There is also the option of buying some images printed onto canvas; these are fulfilled by Printumo. All prints are available worldwide. These art prints are made for people who want something with a bit of presence, humour, atmosphere or visual bite on their walls.

Art prints should earn their place

A wall can take more than a polite, forgettable picture. The best art prints do not need a great deal of explanation. They have a strong shape, an interesting texture, a memorable subject or simply a combination of colours that keeps working every time you walk past them.

That is what I am looking for when making work and when choosing pieces by other artists for the site. It is not about filling a catalogue with every possible style. It is about selecting images with enough character to live with. A good print can make a quiet room feel less empty, give a hallway some energy, or provide a point of focus in a sitting room without making everything look overly arranged.

Some people know exactly what they want before they begin: a rural landscape, a black and white drawing, a bold graphic piece or a photograph. Others only know they want something better than generic wall decoration. Both are perfectly good starting points. The useful question is not whether a print fits a fashionable look, but whether you will still enjoy seeing it six months from now.

The appeal of sheds, metalwork and working places

I have always had a soft spot for old industrial buildings, sheds, corrugated iron and industrial metalwork. These things have an accidental beauty that can be missed when you see them every day. A patched roof, a weathered door, a rusting panel or a collection of pipes and brackets can have more character than a freshly designed building.

There is line, tone and history in these surfaces. Corrugated iron catches light in a very particular way. Old paint fades into unexpected colours. Metalwork creates patterns that are practical first and beautiful by accident. That mix of usefulness and visual interest is a recurring source of ideas for me.

Much of the work is also inspired by the Gloucestershire countryside and sites around the River Severn. The landscape there can be open and calm, but it also contains working yards, old structures, river edges and the sort of buildings that look as though they have been added to, repaired and adapted for decades. I photograph much of this subject matter when the weather allows, then often paint from it when the weather gets bad. It is a method that gives the finished work room to become its own thing rather than simply copying a photograph.

Drawings that leave room for the viewer

New charcoal drawings have recently been added. Charcoal is particularly good for this kind of subject because it can be direct and physical. It is capable of rich black areas, smoky greys and marks that suggest rather than describe every detail.

A charcoal drawing can work especially well in a room that already has plenty of colour or pattern. It gives the eye somewhere to rest while still holding attention through texture and contrast. That said, black and white is not automatically quieter. A strong dark drawing can be the boldest thing in the room.

There are also new photographs available, including images that focus on the graphic oddities of buildings, signs and streets. Photography records a particular moment, but it also lets you notice how strange and composed ordinary places can be when framed properly.

Los Angeles signs and street scenes

Los Angeles has a visual language all of its own. The large advertising signs, lettering and sun-bleached streets are not shy. They were made to be seen, often from a distance and at speed, which gives them a useful force when turned into images for the wall.

The Los Angeles pieces are available as photographic images as well as canvas prints. Paper prints tend to suit people who enjoy the crispness and detail of a photograph, particularly when framed simply. Canvas has a different feel. It has a softer, more physical presence and can work well for a larger statement image where you want the picture to hold a wall without the need for a frame.

Neither option is inherently better. It depends on the image, the scale and the room. A clean-lined urban photograph may suit a paper print beautifully, while a large sign or street scene can have real impact on canvas. The main thing is to choose a size that gives the work enough breathing room. Small prints have their place, particularly in a group, but a good image can often handle being bigger than people first imagine.

A personal selection, not a warehouse of pictures

Alongside my own work, the site includes artists whose work I admire. New exciting works by Steve Parker have been added, bringing another voice and another way of looking at familiar subjects. That is part of the point of the shop: it should feel like a collection made by someone who cares about images, not an endless scroll of interchangeable products.

Originality does not have to mean difficult or obscure. It can be as simple as a linocut with a great composition, a landscape that catches a particular kind of weather, or a drawing of a humble building that suddenly looks like a small monument. The work should reward a second look.

The prints are not limited editions. That keeps things straightforward and means that if an image speaks to you, it is there to be enjoyed rather than treated as a race against a countdown clock. The value is in the image itself, the quality of its production and the pleasure of having it on your wall.

Choosing a print that will last

Before choosing, think less about matching every colour in a room and more about contrast. A muted room may benefit from a strong graphic image. A colourful space can be balanced by charcoal, black and white or a quieter landscape. If you are buying for a rented flat, a print can be one of the easiest ways to make the place feel like yours without changing anything permanent.

It also helps to think about viewing distance. Fine texture and delicate drawing reward close looking, so they suit rooms where people spend time near the wall. Large signs, bold shapes and broad landscapes can be read from across a room or down a hallway. If you are uncertain, put a rough paper template on the wall first. It is a very simple trick, but it saves a surprising amount of second-guessing.

Choose the piece you keep returning to, rather than the one you think you ought to choose. A wall is a good place for a view, a mark or a memory that makes you look twice.