A practical guide to collecting illustration prints

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.

A guide to collecting illustration prints ought to begin with one fairly simple question: would you still like to look at this picture after the novelty has worn off? A good print does more than fill an awkward patch of wall. It gives a room a mood, a point of view and, sometimes, a small story that changes as you live with it.

You do not need a degree in art history or a house full of white walls to start collecting. You only need an eye for pictures that hold your attention. That may be a charcoal drawing of a battered shed, a landscape shaped by the Gloucestershire countryside, a lino cut, or a photograph of a huge old advertising sign in Los Angeles. The subject matters, but so do the marks, colour, composition and atmosphere.

Start with what you genuinely notice

The most useful rule is to buy work you would miss if it were gone. This sounds obvious, but it is easy to be steered by trends, matching cushions, or the idea that a particular kind of art is what one is supposed to own.

Look instead for the image that makes you pause. Perhaps it is the severe geometry of corrugated iron, the strange elegance of rusted industrial metalwork, or a quiet rural scene that reminds you of a familiar lane. Old industrial buildings have a visual life of their own: patched roofs, peeling paint, faded signage and improvised repairs create patterns that are often more interesting than deliberate decoration. A shed can be a small piece of architecture, a record of use and weather, and a surprisingly strong image on a wall.

Much of my own work begins with looking carefully at such places. The River Severn, old buildings and the Gloucestershire countryside provide plenty to work with. I photograph subjects when I can, then often paint or draw from them when the weather turns less inviting. The final image need not reproduce a place exactly. It should retain the particular feeling that made the place worth stopping for in the first place.

A guide to collecting illustration prints for your room

Before choosing a print, stand where it will hang and consider the wall as part of the picture. A small image can be excellent above a desk, beside a bookcase or in a group. On a large bare wall, however, it may look apologetic. A bigger print has more presence, particularly when the image contains strong shapes, open sky, bold linework or a clear photographic subject.

There is no universal rule on size. A busy wall of books, furniture and objects can suit a more intimate print. A calm wall with room around it can carry a larger work. If you are uncertain, make a paper template in roughly the same size and put it up with masking tape for a day or two. It is not glamorous, but it prevents the familiar disappointment of ordering something that feels smaller than expected.

Colour deserves the same practical thought. You do not need to match a print to every shade in the room. In fact, pictures often look better when they introduce a different note. A black and white drawing can settle a colourful room; an intense digital colour piece can wake up a quieter one. The aim is not coordination for its own sake. It is to make the wall feel considered rather than accidental.

Buy the image, not the supposed investment

These works are not limited editions, and that is deliberate. A print can be well made, properly produced and worth owning without being sold as a rare financial object. For most people, the real value is living with an image they enjoy, knowing it has been selected and printed with care.

Limited editions have their place, particularly for collectors with a specific interest in scarcity or resale. But a limited number does not automatically make an image better, and an open edition is not a lesser pleasure. Buy because the work has character and because you want it in your home, not because you expect it to become a pension plan.

Paper or canvas?

Paper and canvas change the feel of an image, so this choice is worth a moment of thought. Fine art giclée prints on paper tend to suit drawings, linework, photography and detailed colour work particularly well. Paper keeps edges crisp and lets you choose a frame that fits your room. A simple black, natural wood or pale frame can transform the same print in different ways.

Canvas has a more immediate, wall-ready presence. It can work especially well for painterly landscapes, bold signs and photographic images with broad areas of colour or texture. The Los Angeles sign photographs, for example, have the scale and visual punch to work well both as photographic prints and on canvas. Those oversized letters, sun-bleached surfaces and bits of roadside architecture carry a great deal of atmosphere without needing an explanation.

Neither option is automatically superior. Choose paper if you enjoy framing and want a refined, detailed finish. Choose canvas if you want a substantial piece with less fuss. The image itself should lead the decision.

Let a collection build slowly

A wall does not have to be completed in one shopping trip. In fact, the most convincing collections usually build over time. A small black and white drawing bought because you loved the line might eventually sit beside a photograph, a landscape and a more colourful guest artist piece. The common thread need not be subject matter. It might be a shared sense of place, an interest in texture, or simply the fact that every image has a proper point of view.

Try not to worry too much about whether every frame matches. A mixed collection can look far better when the pictures have enough breathing room and some visual balance. Repeat one or two elements - perhaps black frames, pale timber, or a similar margin around the images - and allow the rest to be a little less tidy.

There are new charcoal drawing images on the site, along with new photographs and some exciting new work by Steve Parker. Guest artists matter because they bring a different hand and a fresh way of seeing, while still fitting the kind of work I would happily put on my own wall.

A good print should keep rewarding attention. Give yourself permission to choose the odd subject, the weathered building, the rural view or the oversized urban sign that feels slightly outside the obvious choice. If it has presence, and you can imagine catching sight of it across the room for years to come, it has probably earned its place.