How to Buy Original Art For a Loved One

Art Collector FAQs

Nov 14

Buying art for someone else can feel intimidating. You might find yourself asking things like ‘What if they don’t like it?’, ‘What if it doesn’t go with their decor?’ or ‘What if they never hang it?’. These are all reasonable concerns so I am here today to help you ask some more constructive questions that will help you to find the perfect piece for that special someone.

There are a number of factors to consider - the recipient’s tastes, what brings them joy and what they want their home to feel like. You might also consider whether they own their home as this may affect how they hang the artwork.

Here are some key questions to drop into conversation or ask yourself about that person.

1. Where’s your happy place?

Large original linocut depicting slow waves lapping with sea foam and silver light reflecting

A person’s happy place can be very telling. It can open up realisations about their favourite colours, hobbies and what energises them or brings them calm. If they are a coast lover then that could be a starting point for searching for art. From there consider whether they go there for quiet walks, sea swimming or even surfing. Are they there for peace and slowing down or to get their exercise and a dopamine hit.

The peaceful walker might be more drawn to an artwork that shows the vastness and stillness of the coast (see the piece above), whereas the adrenaline junky would be more drawn to a piece that celebrates the tumbling waves that they feel compelling to ride (see below).

Framed original linocut in vivid colours showing a large tidal wave against an orange sunset.

2. How do you want to feel when you get home?

Your home should be the place that you feel safe and at your best. For some of us that means somewhere cosy where you kick off your shoes, pour a glass of wine and vegetate. For others, it’s the place you have friends round and dive into your hobbies. This can have a big impact on the style of your home. If you’re looking for minimalism so that you can clear your mind then simple art pieces that evoke calm are the way to go. Something like this piece would fit that tone.

Minimalist kitchen with silver birch and bluebell artwork hung next to an archway.

For the people who want to come home and feel energised, think bold shapes and colours like the one below. It leans into a tropical theme - vibrant colours and a big floral.

Square Pink Hibiscus artwork in hot pink with bright blue background and green foliage in white mount and white wood grain frame

3. What colours make you feel that emotion?

A lot of investigation has been done into the psychology of colour. The stereotype is that of red representing anger, blue a low mood and so on but in reality we all react slightly differently to colours and the variety of hues can’t be reduced to such broad assumptions. We often attach memories to colours - the colour of our parents’ car when we were little, our childhood wallpaper or a favourite toy - even the colour of the bluebells that pop up in spring in our favourite park when we walk the dogs.

Sometimes you can find nods to these colours in the clothes that people wear or the trinkets that they have collected. If they are still dreaming of the home they want then the clues might come in the TV that they watch and the books they read.

Here is a full rainbow of artworks…