DIY Art Gallery
I created an art gallery in my front room. Yes, at nearly 50 years old, I'm still playing shops in my own home.
It's called the Piano Wall Art Gallery, for obvious reasons, and it has a regular footfall of four.
Yeah, But Why?
I was getting towards the end of completing a new collection (Borrowed Hope) and I wanted to display all the pieces together. I thought about hiring a hall, or asking a venue to host. But that all takes time, money, logistics, and someone else saying yes.
So I just thought, I'll do it here, in my home.
The piano wall was the obvious choice but I didn't expect my husband to suggest it; what with it being in the front room and all that. Also he had a really nice jazz poster on the wall. But suggest it he did, and it was a big yes from me. You can just about see the bottom of the jazz poster in this photo below.
Floor Plan To Wall Plan
The wall is fairly small — about 1.5 metres square — and it was already painted a deep blue. I wasn't sure the colour was going to work with this collection, but I'm actually really pleased with how it looks against these colourful paintings. It might not work for the next collection (Andy, get the magnolia ready), but for this one, it's just right.
I laid the twelve pieces (and some placeholder canvases) out on the floor, moving them around until the balance felt right. Once I was happy, my husband took that floor plan and translated it onto the actual wall.
Not all the fastenings on the backs of the paintings were the same, though. Some had D-rings, some had sawtooth hangers, some sat at different depths — so the drilling wasn't a simple measure once, drill everywhere job. We had to work it out piece by piece.
I'm aware that next time I put together a new exhibition, there's a good chance the screws will be in the wrong places for a completely different set of paintings, and we'll need to patch and repaint before we start again. So be it.
Playing Galleries
It's a really useful way to see my work as a collection, rather than a pile of paintings leaning against the skirting board. It's also my chance to photograph the pieces properly, and to see how a body of work actually hangs together.
I've done little info cards and I've bought a pack of tiny red dots waiting to be used for when I sell a piece.
Altogether Now
Laying twelve pieces out side by side is a different way of looking at your own work than seeing them one at a time as you finish them. Something jumped out once they were all up on the same wall.
It's obvious I'm right-handed. There's a definite preference running through the collection for clouds that zigzag off to the right. I hadn't noticed it in any single painting — it only showed up once I could see the whole body of work at once.
Maintain The Peep
My gallery lives in my front room, which means it has a window. When people walk their dogs in the evening, or do the school run past the house, they can glance in and catch the paintings if the blinds are open. I've got a couple of little Moroccan lanterns in there too, and if I leave the blinds open just as it's getting dark, the whole wall lights up softly through the window. It's a nice moment. Neighbours getting a tiny, unexpected dose of art on their way to put the bins out.
Write The Theme Tune, Sing The Theme Tune
If you're an artist reading this thinking I could do that — go for it. You don't need the perfect space. You just need a stretch of wall, some patience, and if you are as short as me, someone willing to help.
None of this needs to be expensive or perfect. It just needs to exist. So if any of this has you thinking you could do the same in your own front room, here's the canvases I used:
A Local Gallery, For Local People?
If you know a gallery that you think might like my work, let me know and I'll check them out. Or if you know them well, feel free to show them my work. My paintings won't be right for every one, but that's the point of art, isn't it? It just needs to find its right home.
If you have got this far, two things I think you might like:
- My art palette biscuit recipe - easy to make, even easier to eat
- Snapshots - the little painted polaroids collection - original art for £50