Art: Tips On How To Choose, Frame And Hang It

Hello all!

At my store, Red Barn Mercantile, we recently started having regular workshops that are free to the public.  Just this week we had a wonderful workshop on art, how you buy it, frame it and hang it.

Michele Ward owner of Principle Gallery was our guest speaker.  I have to say that so far, this has been my favorite workshop!  She is so passionate about what she does and it really shows. We all came away with a wealth of new knowledge.  I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite tidbits.  Here you go...

• When hanging pictures start with the largest piece that you will hang in the middle and move out from there.  This piece should be hung with the center of the picture 57" to 60" from the ground no matter the height of the wall.  (When it comes to hanging art, my biggest pet peeve is when people hang their pictures too high.  If you get nothing else out of this blog, remember this one piece of info!)

• If you're hanging pictures on plaster place a piece of tape on the wall where you will be putting the nail.  When you are hammering in the nail the plaster won't crack as much.

• Fishing line, chain bought from a hardware store spray painted gold or left alone, jute twine and ribbon are all interesting suggestions for hanging art where you will see how it's hung.

• UV glass is ALWAYS worth the investment if it's a really important piece!

• When hanging a gallery of pictures the frames should be 1.5" to 2" apart.  Before hanging the pictures you can cut out the shapes of the frames and tape them on the wall to ensure they are placed where you like and you won't have a million nail holes.  I like to put the pictures on the floor and arrange them that way.  Sometimes the subject matter, color and frame widths are as important to the composition as the frame sizes so this gives me a chance to look at the entire picture (no pun intended!).  My mom and I have spent hours doing this before hanging a gallery.

• If you have to fill in a nail hole with spackle ALWAYS make sure it is dry before painting over it.  If you don't it won't dry the same color.  Also, when painting these spackled over nail holes use a small art brush or cotton swab.  There's no need to make big brush strokes on the wall.

• Add a little sticky tack on the back side of your frames so that they won't fall crooked.  The sticky tack won't permanently stick to anything making it safe for your frames and your wall.

• When buying art, you should buy what you love.  If it speaks to you then it's valuable.

• If you are buying an original piece of art you should look at other pieces by the artist to ensure their quality is consistent and that it's not just a fluke that this painting is really good.  You should also do your research on pricing and quality.

• Hope that helps when choosing your art!  Join Jennifer Barger, Editor of Fashion Washington, and myself for our next workshop on the New Americana trend that is infiltrating fashion, music, food and interiors.