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Gallery wall art to make you happy – set of 6 watercolour paintings!
- February 23, 2023
- Art
Welcome to my first blog, I am delighted to pen this one!
I wanted to begin by giving you some insight into my latest gallery wall watercolour paintings. What is gallery wall art you might wonder – simply put, it is a collection of items: usually framed artwork, photographs and personal treasures hung in a group. These are meant to delve into memories, tell stories and in some ways present the character of the home. My objective behind any painting is to bring joy and aesthetic wonder to the viewer and my latest set of gallery wall paintings were done with just this intent in mind – art to make the viewer happy and create a welcoming home.
Step 1 – Beginning with a personal favourite bright and vibrant yellow – it is a cheerful colour that i often associated with happiness, positivity, and warmth. I made a list of art ideas that would make the viewer happy – Art that makes you happy is often characterized by bright colours, playful imagery, and whimsical subjects. I jotted down a list of 5 – 6 watercolour painting ideas to include in this set. Heres what my first list looked like –
• Sunflowers
• Daffodils (of course influenced by the poem)
• Quirky tea set
• Yellow toys (to evoke childhood memories)
• Sunsets
Step 2 – was to explore vibrant and dynamic images to create a joyful and welcoming atmosphere and decide the sizes. I usually make mock-ups in Photoshop as I explore images. Not every image makes a great painting subject and I think it is essential to pick the right image and apply art principles before choosing the subject. Along the way, I discarded some of my initial ideas and added a few others. My final list included the following –
• Sunflowers
• Yellow Cottage with a garden (a wecloming home!)
• Winnie the Pooh (this one was a great suggestion by my daughter!)
• Yellow Chinese vase (the tiny details and colours make this an engaging subject, as an artist I am biased to these)
• Classic, vintage car – must admit, it was tough to choose just one car and I think I picked a great one!
• Sun conures – illustrated in a fun, playful way.
I fixed the sizes for each subject and once again turned to Photoshop to assist with making mock-ups for each painting. I mixed and matched sizes and shapes to create a dynamic look to draw attention. Once I was happy with the visualisation of the paintings, I picked up my watercolour paper and brushes.
Beginning each painting with tons of excitement, I had to slow myself down and not rush to finish them. I painted 4 of these paintings with a limited colour palette consisting of 3 staining, transparent colours.
More about this in my next blog. Here are my 6 ‘happy’ paintings that I thoroughly enjoyed making!
A gallery wall can be very dynamic and interesting, drawing the viewer’s interest and holding their attention. You can –
• Identify and measure the wall space where you intend to hang the artworks. It is not necessary to hang all 6 together on the same wall, you can place 4 together on 1 wall and 2 on the adjacent wall. The dynamic nature of a gallery wall is only limited by your space or imagination. Cut out old newspapers to the size of the framed paintings to check how they fit on the wall.
• Frame with purpose – Consider your room’s decor and colours when selecting the frames for these paintings. You can frame some using mounts and some without – the more variety the better! Experiment with frame colours and mount colours. You can use different coloured frames for the paintings as well as mounts in vibrant yellow or muted browns.
• Experiment with layouts before hammering in any nail – experiment with different layouts on the floor. This will help you visualize how the paintings will look on the wall and adjust them before committing to a layout. Use those paper cut outs to stick on the wall to test the layout.
• Use different hanging techniques – Hanging artwork at different heights and angles will create a unique display.
Creating a gallery wall can seem daunting at first, but with a little bit of planning and imagination, you can create a stunning display that will elevate the look and feel of any room in your home with these paintings or prints. HAPPY DECORATING!
Visit the Original Art page to browse these and other paintings and Prints page to browse prints on textured archival quality paper and canvas.
I always value feedback, good or bad. Do let me know if these paintings make you happy. How would you frame them, with a wooden, black or white frames or a mix of colours? Which is your favourite of the lot?
