where to start with art

How to buy art for your home and your heart.

By Lize Brittin

Every house is made more exquisite, more spectacular and more personal by the art that graces it: a painting on the wall, a sculpture in the corner, an artifact on the mantel. Art is the heart, the final touch that transforms a mere residence into a vibrant home and ties all its elements together.

Yet, as designer Karen Marx of Boulder’s Marx Interiors points out, “Art can make or break a room.” Thus it’s essential to choose well and wisely. And those choices depend on myriad things, from affordability and color to fashion and individual taste.

The first rule? Buy art you love.

But what if your home reflects the Chadds Ford country style of Andrew Wyeth rather than the abstract drip paintings you adore by Jackson Pollock? Short of moving out or renovating, there are ways to satisfy your palate and blend your tastes with your current environment.

Knowing a few tricks can remove the limitations often associated with buying art to match a certain style. If, for example, what moves you is a modern abstract with high-keyed colors and your home is traditional, a dark wood frame can ease the painting into its surroundings. On the other hand, a contemporary home can easily accommodate a traditional painting if you choose a modern frame, like those made of iron and other metals.

Loving a painting that does not quite match everything in the room should never dissuade you from purchasing and displaying it. Robert Colachico and Trent Freistedt of Boulder’s 15th Street Studio believe in “celebrating the unexpected.” By dropping the notion that, say, a contemporary house demands contemporary art, or an Edwardian requires only Pre-Raphaelites, worlds of possibilities suddenly become available.

“Art should redefine space and speak to the owner,” Marx says. “It should fit in with the overall purpose and intention of the space.”

Each room is a separate entity, for each enfolds a different activity. The atmosphere in a bedroom is entirely different from that of a living room, den or kitchen. This, too, gives the art buyer greater options. If a piece of art doesn’t fit the foyer, it may look stunning in the dining or guest room, or even the kitchen.

Marx believes it’s essential to consider the feel of the artwork rather than become trapped within the limitations of a specific style. By analyzing the colors, textures and general aura of a room, she can suggest how a painting could blend into its surroundings to produce balance and harmony.

Because you live with the art, it should reflect who you are, not just be something that looks good above the couch. Nevertheless, it’s important to consider what evokes the right ambience for the particular space that’s being created. If the work does not live comfortably where it’s placed, it not only looks awkward, but you risk falling out of love with it.

Other Considerations

Color has such powerful influences on mood, emotion and general health that it should be considered very carefully. A splash of color in an austere, monochromatic room can stimulate the senses and create excitement and surprise. The hues in a painting pull together all the aspects of a room and finalize its theme. If you’re aiming for quietude and serenity, soft pastels with calming greens and blues under dim lighting provide added tranquility. If, on the other hand, you want to make a room entertaining and uplifting with a bold statement, try reds and yellows under bright illumination.

Warning: Certain lights and sun exposure can cause colors to fade. Colachico and Freistedt suggest using protective, archival glass over a painting, print, poster or photograph to prevent damage.

There are, of course, an overwhelming number of themes to choose from. Whether you’re moved by pastoral landscapes and hushed still lifes, busy cityscapes, figurative or abstract work, keep in mind that the painting should reflect your own passions and sing to your unique soul.

Kathleen Schaden is a Boulder resident who has collected art for a decade. Her approach is to buy what gives her “a good feeling of enjoying life.” Because her Boulder home is Southwestern style, she also likes pieces that reflect the West and the area’s Native American heritage. However, she soon found she had more art than spaces to display it.

Schaden solved the problem of limited wall space by rotating her pieces. Beloved art—like her first purchase, a painting of a Navajo woman—is now displayed in her large finished garage or equally spacious garden room to make way for newer pieces inside her home.

“I have a tendency to shift my art around in my house depending on my mood,” Schaden says. Rotating art is a solution not uncommon to collectors and provides a great opportunity to buy whatever enchants them at a given period in their lives. In the world of art, as in almost no other sphere, the impulse purchase—the heart part of buying art—is not only accepted, it’s expected.

For many, however, buying art is intimidating (at least at first), so don’t be afraid to ask questions. Sales clerks in galleries are more than happy to help you with your decisions. While you want to avoid buying work simply because it complements the sofa, it may be judicious to bring along wallpaper and paint samples. And don’t forget to measure the wall space. Art is not cheap, nor should it be. Once you’ve outgrown the Maxfield Parrish posters of your college dorm years, it serves to buy thoughtfully, using all the tools and advice available.

“If you know that you are not going to keep what you buy for long, you may want to consider prints, posters or even photos over original artwork,” says Terri Hendrick of Terri Hendrick Interior Design in Boulder.

If, on the other hand, you want a long-term commitment, original artwork is the way to go. The best place to start looking for originals is within your own community of artists. Boulder’s annual Open Studios and similar self-guided tours of artists studios in nearby towns, commercial galleries, and exhibitions at artists’ cooperatives and contemporary art museums will yield one-of-a-kind treasures you’ll cherish for a lifetime.

> See related article "Ask Before Your Buy: Tips for Purchasing Gallery Art"

Lize Brittin grew up in a family of artists. After several shows, she traded in her paintbrush for a pen to pursue a writing career. She still has a passion for the arts and currently works part-time at Smith-Klein Gallery.

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