Where and how to source art for your home

Co-editor Charlotte reveals her go-to places for buying artwork and how to display them in your family home

Art is something I’ve always been passionate about and it’s a topic I get asked about a lot. Often people will ask where I get my artwork from, or if I’ve got my interior design hat on, people will often ask how to incorporate art into their interiors and how to build a collection.

Left: A print by Angie Lewin | Right: My treasured possession: a print by 20th-century artist John Piper

I appreciate that, for some, collecting is more intuitive than it is for others, but I’d say that even those who profess not to know anything about art or who aren’t really ‘into it’ will find pieces that resonate with them on some level. It’s about how it makes you feel rather than if you know X, Y and Z about the artist or their works.

It’s all well and good saying ‘find a piece that speaks to you’ if you don’t even know where to look in the first place. Looking for artworks based on things you love, places you’ve been, or that capture a moment in time is a smart way to start. Some of my favourite pieces relate to trips away. I bought a few pieces on a solo trip to New York and I love having them on display to remind me of that period in my life pre-kids when I was footloose and fancy free! But some others I treasure capture a special, personal moment. Commissioning artwork is a really great way to get something unique to you; I asked an old artist friend Melvyn Evans to create a print to celebrate my husband Martin and I’s wedding, which we used for the invite, but also had a few linocuts made that we gave to family members as a gift and kept one for ourselves.

I rather like trawling little independent galleries – often they will have print racks of more affordable limited-edition prints to flick through; places like Cambridge Contemporary Art, Rye Art Gallery (Rye in general is great for art with lots of little indie shops to peruse) and the Bankside Gallery in London are great for hunting for original pieces that won’t break the bank – the Bankside Gallery has a section here on it’s website where you can browse art that costs £200 or less. You may also find locally there are events – we have the Art In June open studios event here down in Kent, and throughout the year many artists will participate in ‘open studio’ days like these.