One of the joys of my ‘job’ as an artist is seeing people fall in love with art and deciding they want a painting to enjoy forever.

But it’s not always so straightforward. If there are two of you, you have each other’s taste to take into account, or there are more practical matters like “Should it match my walls?” or “Will it fit?” And choosing art as a Christmas present? At once a brilliant idea for the spouse who has everything, and yet potentially very easy to make a mistake.

Art can make an amazing gift at Christmas but how can you get it right? Smaller paintings are easy to fit in but for larger works it can be hard to imagine how a painting might look in your home.

ART GIVING TIP 1:  to help you visualise the space; measure out the size using sheets of newspaper stuck together. This one is for if size matters!

Galleries can totally throw your sense of scale, because, let’s face it – few of us live in plain white boxes! Simply measuring with a tape measure only gives you a linear dimension so the newspaper trick allows you to see the full area the painting will fill. But don’t play too safe; grouping small works together in a ‘gallery wall’ lets you add to your collection, and larger pieces in smaller spaces can have great impact. 

(featured painting: Bloom click for details)

There are two of us showing original paintings and prints from today until 9th December at 1of1 Design in Teddington (click for map location). Two different ‘Experiences of Landscape’ Nadia Day creates paintings from local park and river scenes: Windsor, the Thames and Richmond.

Hanging work in a different space had it’s challenges for us too, so you are not alone in figuring out things will fit! But we did it and it looks terrific!

I do hope you will come and visit. The gallery is open every day, but if you’d like to meet me there, then come along on ‘Lights Up’ night from 5pm on Thursday 29th November when we shall be there (with bubbles!) or send me an email.

ART GIVING TIP 2: If you are thinking of buying for a gift from an individual artist – do ask them what they recommend. Many artists will let you have work on approval for a short while. Last year I created bespoke gift cards for a husband who wanted to gift his wife a painting, but wished to let her choose. That way she had something to unwrap on the day and he knew she could pick the one she really wanted. 

ART GIVING TIP 3: A painting doesn’t need to match your walls! Choose it because you love it and you will never get bored. An art collection can grow with you and bring personality to your home. Listen to your instinct – when you get that slight tingle, you know it’s right.

If you’d like to order a print online as a gift, please take note of the following order times:

Order by Thursday 6th December and prints will be sent out on Wednesday 19th December, courier services allowing. It’s a bit more complicated this year as I’m away 7th-17th. All prints are made to order, and I need to be here to sign and send. Click here to view prints

See more of Nadia’s work at www.nadiaday.co.uk

Part of this post was originally a guest feature on The Chiswick Calendar website