Three Tips for Starting a Gallery Wall

I love a gallery wall. First of all, the power of many images, with a personal curation speaks volumes about who you are, what you love and your personal aesthetic. Secondly, it is a great way to add many pieces to a collection without spending on one very large piece of art, but taking up the space of a large painting. Lastly, it can grow and change with your tastes as your collection grows (like a scrapbook for your home.) Have I convinced you? I have had many collectors say to me in the studio, "Oh, if only I had more walls!" To this, I say, use your walls differently. So here are my three tips if you want to start a gallery wall:

1) Start Small - It's ok if you only have three pieces to start. Organize them in a way that they look great together and plan to build out. You can rearrange later! It is easy to cover holes with wall repair and I suggest having a little can of your wall paint around to fix scuffs and cover holes.

2) Plan - Take your paintings, sketches and ephemera and lay them out on the floor to arrange them how you would like. Find a system that works for the pieces to make a grid. They don't have to all line up across the top, but they should make sense as to how they sit together.

3) Don't be afraid to mix and match, but find one common thread. That commonality could be frame colors or a common color palette. Make sure there is variation in size and if possible, put one piece in that varies the shape (either the art has a strong shape that is different, or the object has a different shape, like a plate.)

This is really just touching the surface on how to start a gallery wall. Next month, I will share ways to plan out the wall and grow your collection.