How to Hang Artwork



Posted: Monday, February 23, 2009

by Jeanene Stein
Giclee Prints by Jeanene

For tips on arranging and hanging your pictures ,here are some suggestions to help you decide how t
o hang your artwork: Say you have just visited a beautiful gallery and fell in love with this painting, bought it, but don't know where to hang it. If it is a painting that has colors and mood that blend into your home dcor, you are safe to hang it most anywhere. But say, you bought it on impulse, you love the painting but realistically, it really doesn't "fit" in any room. I am sure all of us have a favorite spot where we love to rest or meditate. That is your own private spot and normally you place things there that inspire you or that you love. Certainly if you bought such painting it must inspire you for some reason. Maybe it bring peace and rest, maybe it excites you, maybe it brings back memories of home. Hey, then your rest spot is a great place to hang it. Most of the time you want a painting to be the focal point as that is where most people look when they first enter your home or a room. Around that focal point you will want to create a room that helps bring attention to your artwork and the mood it sets. If the painting is large, one should hang it over a sofa or a piece of low furniture. When hanging art above furniture such as a sofa, you need to hang it at eye level or about 12 inches above the furniture. You can also hang it with a gallery of pictures that are complimentary to the one you just hung. That especially looks good if your have a lot of space on that wall. Anything that you hang along side the painting does not have to be another painting, although that works also, but one can hang plates, flower arrangement in wall containers, small mirrors, etc. to create an attractive gallery. It is important when you hang a gallery, that it be balanced and well pleasing to the eye. Cluster arrangements are tightly grouped with an even number of pictures together to give a statement or a focal point. This works on either large or small wall spaces, depending on the look that you want. By placing an odd number of pictures in a horizontal line gives balance and the sense of space. This works well in hallways or stairwells. To create a modern art gallery feel, particularly nice in hallways, lobbies and stairwells, give each piece ample breathing room. It is a bit tricky to get picture hung side by side and even. It may be good to get a professional to help you. At the least, one should use a measuring line for sure. HOW DID YOU DO THAT? I just finished hanging a gallery with nine of those 12" x 12" gallery prints (no frames). They were to be hung separately, but to appear as one piece of art. Frankly, I don't like doing that as it is always a pain. However it ended up being almost "picture perfect". Thanks to a plum line and a good eye, as well as a partner who helped. So I will try and tell you how it was hung. First, I found my center plum line and used a straight edge to draw it on the wall. The best way to hang a plum line is to get a colored piece of chalk and a long string with a thumb tack on one end which you hang from the ceiling. Place a rock or small object on the bottom of the string. The gravity makes the string hang straight. Place the chalk on the string all the way up and down. Hold the string tight from the bottom and pull it out and let it go suddenly. The chalk that comes off the string onto the wall will leave a straight line called a plum line. Paper hangers often use this to get the first piece of wall paper straight. Then I hung the middle row of pictures vertically starting with the bottom one (helps to know where you want the bottom to land) measuring to get them the same distance apart. Once you have the three hung perfectly straight on that plum line, then begin to hang the ones horizontally on each side starting again from the bottom up. It really is easy once you get the middle row even and lined up. You work off that middle row of pictures. On the first level, you can check it by laying a level across it to make sure the row across is even. Then do the other two rows the same and soon you will have them up. If that sounds too hard, like I said, you may want to get a professional to help. Another rule of thumb is DO NOT hang your pictures too high. They should be at eye level, unless at times for special effects, can be hung low. The only time you want to hang a picture high is if you have high ceilings and you are trying for a special effect there also or if you are hanging a large gallery of paintings If you are hanging photos, a very striking gallery is to take all your pictures you want to hang, make black and white copies all the same size. Then hang them in a black frame, evenly spaced in a gallery. Another tip is to keep the pictures free from dust. We sometimes only dust things that are sitting and not hanging. Practice makes perfect, so we all have to start somewhere. Good luck to each of you and get hung today. If you are looking for beautiful art work, please visit Jeanene's website a free articles
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